Roundup of March 2022 Posts

Squill, Daffodils, Scylla, Narcissus, March 2022, spring

Blue squill – Yellow daffodils

Spring has arrived after a cold March 2022. Crocuses, squill, and snowdrops are blooming; the daffodils are pushing up buds. Despite weeks of cold rainy weather, we can begin to hope for sun and warmth. New Englanders live inured to this kind of weather. We know that spring is an iffy thing with fickle moods that comes and goes with unpredictable frequency.

To paraphrase Game of Thrones, “Oh, sweet summer child, did you really believe that winter was over?”

A Colorful Immigrant

Joro spider, golden orb weaver, JapanWhere our daughter lives, south of the Mason-Dixon Line, spring arrived a long time ago and snow (they did have some) is a memory. On the other hand, they can look forward to the arrival of native bugs that can’t survive a New England winter plus a new addition. Jorō spiders—large and colorful new immigrants that may reach their state,

These golden orb weavers grow to about the size of your palm and spin thick webs everywhere. They are gender dimorphic, which means the females are bigger than the males.

Jorō spiders hitchhiked from Japan on a container shipment, probably through the big Port of Savannah. They have been around for 10 years and are spreading into the South. They can’t bite us, however, because their fangs aren’t long enough to break the skin. I guess that makes me feel better.

On the whole, though, I prefer winter.

Roundup of March 2022 Posts

I continued my new series of Art Hiding in Plain Sight with two posts on enormous murals that can be found in public buildings. I have many more on my list that are worth a visit and readers keep making recommendations. They let me know about works of art that I never heard of. I love learning new and interesting things Art Hiding like this.

Here is the roundup of March 2022 posts by category.

Animals

Boston and History

Friends and Family

Lifestyle and Culture

Military

Tour Season Arrives

Cruise Ship, Boston Cruise Port, Raymong Flynn Cruiseport, Black Falcon Terminal

Cruise ship docked at Boston’s cruiseport

The tour season arrives this month, although it won’t pick up steam until May or June. Then I can start leading walking tours of Boston or riding a bus full of cruise ship passengers and giving them an overview of the city.

It will be great to have things return to normal — or almost normal. With this virus, one never knows what will happen.

Still, I welcome the tour season as another harbinger of spring and one, that for once, won’t mean isolation, social distancing, worry and fear.

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About Aline Kaplan

Aline Kaplan is a published author, a blogger, and a tour guide in Boston. She formerly had a career as a high-tech marketing and communications director. Aline writes and edits The Next Phase Blog, a social commentary blog that appears multiple times a week at aknextphase.com. She has published over 1,000 posts on a variety of subjects, from Boston history to science fiction movies, astronomical events to art museums. Under the name Aline Boucher Kaplan, she has had two science fiction novels (Khyren and World Spirits) published by Baen Books. Her short stories have appeared in anthologies published in the United States, Ireland, and Australia. She is a graduate of Northeastern University in Boston and lives in Hudson, MA.

One thought on “Roundup of March 2022 Posts

  1. I can’t wait for tour season either Aline. It will be so much fun swapping stories again and collaborating on new fun facts to tell the tourees.

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