Daffodils, also known by their botanical name Narcissus, are the first flowers to bloom in our garden. The name originates from the Latin word affodill which comes from the Greek word asphodelus, which refers to a genus of flowers that emerge from fleshy rhizomes. It is believed that the Dutch put de, meaning the, in front of the word affodill, which eventually led to the name Daffodil.

Daffodils symbolise rebirth, new beginnings, hope, joy, and good luck. This symbolism could be because daffodils emerge first every spring to light up barren landscapes with their cheerful yellow, orange, and white flowers.

The centre of a Daffodil is a crown-like structure called a trumpet and is also known a Corona! 

Daffodils are the official tenth wedding anniversary flower. Chinese believe that if the Daffodils bloom for the Chinese New Year, it will bring luck to the whole household.

The Hyacinth bloom early spring accompanying the Daffodils and is a member of the asparagus family.

According Greek mythology legend, a young Hyacinth was killed when Apollo and Zephyrus were fighting over his affections. It is said hyacinths sprung up from his spilled blood.

The Hyacinth flower symbolises sport or play. Different coloured hyacinths carry different meanings. The blue Hyacinth signifies sincerity.

Pink hyacinths mean ‘playful joy’ while the purple flowers symbolise deep regret and white represents love and prayer.

When proud-pied April, dressed in all his trim, April hath put a spirit of youth in everything, – Sonnet 98: From you have I been absent in the spring by William Shakespeare.

That is what the spirit of spring brings to each one of us. In Spring, the earth laughs in flowers.  It brings in cheer and happiness.  It is a reminder to us about the warmer days ahead.  If we did not have the freezing winter, the spring will never be so pleasant. 

We enjoy everyday of Spring more because it is the weather of birds chirping; bees flying from flower to flower collecting nectar; butterflies fluttering showing off their colourful wings.

The first blooms of spring always make my heart sing as the flowers never worry about how they are going to bloom. They bloom and turn toward the light and that makes them beautiful.

To plant a garden is to believe in tomorrow and at the end of the day in the Spring, I smell like dirt. The very first flowers that appear in our garden at the onset of Spring are on the Weeping Pussy Willow. The Salix Caprea ‘Pendula’ is commonly known as the Goat Willow or Weeping Pussy Willow, which belongs to the Caprea genus of flowering trees.

The soft coating of hairs acts as insulation to protect these early bloomers from cold temperatures. Most other willows make similar flowers, and since they’re among the very first to bloom, they’re especially delightful—they signal the onset of spring. The tree derives its name from these soft silver tufts that resemble tiny cats’ paws, feeling so much like fur.

Among the fruit trees in our garden, the first to bloom are the apricots.

The pale pink and fragrant flowers are 5-petaled and appear singularly or in pairs.  Cultivation of apricot trees in China dates back 3000 years. From there apricot trees spread west throughout central Asia into Armenia. The Romans introduced apricots to Europe in 70-60 BC through Greece and Italy. Apricot trees probably moved to the US through English settlers on the East Coast,

Eclipses and transits are astronomical events where a celestial body partially or totally covers another celestial object.  The term eclipse also finds its roots in ancient Greek—it comes from the word ékleipsis, meaning to fail or to abandon.

Eclipses, solar and lunar, have fascinated scientists and laypeople for centuries. In ancient times, eclipses were seen as phenomena to be feared – many cultures came up with stories and myths to explain the temporary darkening of the Sun or the Moon.

The story of eclipses in Hindu mythology dates to the Samudra Manthan (churning pf the ocean,) as described in both Bhagawat and Vishnu Puranas. After the Amrit or elixir of immortality was churned out of the ocean, the Devas (Gods) used the Apsara Mohini to trick the Asuras (Demons) out of its share. One of the Asuras, Svarbhanu, disguised himself as a Deva, and sat between the Sun and the Moon for a drink of the elixir.

When Vishnu came closer, the Sun and the Moon revealed that Svarbhanu was a demon. By this time Svarbhanu had already sipped on the drink. Vishnu immediately cut off his head. Since the demon had already swallowed a bit of the nectar, his head became immortal. The head became Rahu and the body became Ketu. It is believed that from time to time, Rahu catches up with the Sun and the Moon, and swallows them. The incident doesn’t last long because Rahu has no hands to grab onto these two celestial Gods.

Rahu and Ketu denote the points of intersection of the paths of the Sun and the Moon as they move on the imaginary celestial sphere with the earth at the centre and are respectively called the North and the South lunar nodes. Eclipses occur when the Sun and the Moon are at one of these points, giving rise to the understanding of swallowing of the Sun and the Moon by Rahu and Ketu.

The Gospel of Luke 23:45 for the sun stopped shining and the curtain of the temple was torn in two. Mark 15:32 Let this Messiah, this king of Israel, come down now from the cross, that we may see and believe. Those crucified with him also heaped insults on him.  33 At noon, darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon.

However, the biblical details do not accord with an eclipse: a solar eclipse could not have occurred on or near the Passover, when Jesus was crucified.  A solar Eclipse lasts for around seven minutes and is too brief to account for three hours of darkness.

A solar eclipse can only happen during the New Moon when the Moon passes between the Sun and Earth. Similarly, a Lunar Eclipse during the Full Moon. Although there is a New Moon every 29 ½ days, there are usually only two or three solar eclipses each year. That’s because the Moon’s orbit is tipped 5 degrees to Earth’s, so the Moon’s shadow misses Earth during most New Moons. Though the diameter of the Sun is 400 times that of the Moon, but it is also 400 times further away, which results in the Path of Totality. This path is typically 16,000 kilometers long but only 160 kilometers wide. To witness the Sun totally eclipsed by the Moon you must be in the path of totality.

The total solar eclipse in Niagara Falls, was ranked #11 on National Geographic’s Best of the World list for travel adventures.   The mayor of Niagara Falls declared a state of emergency in the region as a precautionary measure ahead of an expected large influx of people who came to observe the total solar eclipse. Officials were concerned that the large congregation could overwhelm traffic, emergency services and cellphone networks. More than half a million people flocked to the border city, home to the iconic waterfall, to witness the wonder.

Mississauga and the Greater Toronto Area, we are a few kilometres outside the Path of Totality, where the eclipse was about 99.86%.  It was a cloudy day; hence we could not observe the eclipse in full. The eclipse began around 2:00 PM, with totality at 3:18 PM and lasted around three minutes. 

At 2:00 PM, slowly and laboriously, the moon’s shadow ate into the sun during the next hour.  It was a gradual darkening of the sky as a second sunset began around 3:15 PM. At 3:18PM, nearing totality, the diamond ring effect was seen, when all but a tiny glaring dot of sunlight was visible, accompanied by a ring of light around the moon’s darkened face. After three minutes, the moon’s shadow slowly receded and the sun slowly began to reappear. After another hour, the sky had brightened again,

Reminising about the Total Solar Eclipse of16 February 1980, during our Third Semester at the national Defence Academy (NDA,) where many Cadets and Officers took it as an unwelcome and evil event which they presumed affected their lives negatively and they had to be protected from its evil effects.  It was a Saturday but was declared a national holiday as many feared that even the residual light entering the rooms may have adverse effects on the human body, especially the eyes.

To ensure people remained indoors, Doordarshan -the only TV channel then – screened the popular Hindi movie Chupke Chupke.  The England Cricket Team was playing the Bombay Test and due to the Solar Eclipse, both cricket boards decided the Second Day as the Rest Day.

We were all ordered to make our cabins into total blackout by placing our blankets on the windows. We were ordered to lock ourselves in the room until the evil receded. Special Duty Officers were posted in the Squadrons to ensure that the orders were strictly adhered to. The Academy for the first time in its history came to a near standstill.  All roads were deserted; Gole market closed; there were no humans sighted anywhere. 

Only a few diehard Cadets, immune to superstitions and blind beliefs, ventured to sneak a view of the eclipsed Sun through the side of their cabin windows.  I managed two sheets of blank X-Ray sheets from the Mallu X-Ray Technician at the Military Hospital, folded it as my suns-hield to view the eclipse.  Our classmate Late Commander VS Ranganathan and our senior Commander Rangarajan from Sainik School Amaravathi Nagar (TN) were members of the Astronomy Club.  They were lucky to view the eclipse through the telescope atop the Science Block and photograph the event.