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Gardening: Ground water seeping out of the earth where the water table intersects the ground surface. (Source: EPA)
The Season: Spring is one of the four seasons of temperate zones. Astronomically, it begins with the spring equinox (around March 21 in the Northern Hemisphere, and September 23 in the Southern Hemisphere), and ends with the summer solstice (around June 21 in the Northern Hemisphere and December 21 in the Southern Hemisphere). In meteorology, it is by convention instead counted as the whole months of March, April, and May in the Northern Hemisphere and September, October, and November in the Southern Hemisphere. However, in the Irish Calendar it is counted as the whole months of February, March and April.
As in summer, the axial tilt of the Earth is toward the Sun, and daylight hours are greater than or equal to 12 hours and rapidly increasing (especially in higher latitudes). The hemisphere begins to warm significantly, causing new plant growth to spring forth, giving the season its name. Snow (if any) begins to melt, and rivers and streams swell with runoff and spring rains. Most flowering plants bloom this time of year, in a long succession beginning even when snow is still on the ground, and continuing into early summer. In normally snowless areas, "spring" may begin as early as February during warmer years, with subtropical areas having very subtle differences, and tropical ones none at all. Subarctic areas may not see "spring" at all until May or even June, or December in the outer Antarctic. (Source: Wikipedia.org)
Mechanical: A spring is a flexible elastic object used to store mechanical energy. Springs are usually made out of hardened steel. (Source: Wikipedia.org
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