
It's not just because the weather's warmer.
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Ah - - when animals are born has a lot to do when they are conceived! Farmers plan the breeding to make sure they are born in warmer weather. Management!
Whereas Fall/Halloween focuses on dying, Spring/Easter is the polar opposite and is all about life, rebirth and renewal. What better symbols of new life than eggs, pregnancy, fertility, baby animals, blossoming trees and flowers in bloom and, of course, the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross in order to give us new and eternal life.
Spring has been late in Asia, too. It's probably the effect of the - NAO, again. I usually see magnolia buds starting to open around March 17th, but they stayed snug in their fuzzy wraps until the 30th, this year. It's the same with forsythia, apple and cherry blossoms. But, as of April 9th, everything is blooming at once! We had 2 days over 10 C (50 F), a rainy day, then two more warm and windy days. That's all it took for every tree and bush to go crazy, trying to make up for lost time.
A small added factor in our late spring was the Chinese smoke and dust cutting our sunlight. The dust? Much of northern China is apparently trying to become part of the Gobi Desert. They really need to plant trees as windbreaks, as was done in the Great Plains states after the Dust Bowl.
All my years I had never heard that rabbits could conceive a second litter while still pregnant....it's no wonder that there are so many of them around! Poor momma rabbits, though. I have to say that my garden plants wish they would stick to what the other animals do for amounts of young ones. I think lambs are about the most precious looking babies there are. I lived on a farm that had lambs every year and they would actually play a running game with each other. They would see who could get to the other end of the pen first. As I watched, I noticed that the ones that were a bit older were doing a bit of cheating though, they would start out a bit further from the fence than the younger ones, and of course get to the other side first, where they again stopped a bit short of the fence for the return trip. They would all wait for everyone to get there before starting for the other end, but the littler ones weren't seeing that the older ones had a big advantage. lol
A few friends of mine raise sheep on their farm and it looks like there will be some new born lambs come April! Here in New Mexico the weather is beautiful. I live just south of Santa Fe as well. If you have ever been to New Mexico, it is a hot spot for raising springtime cattle. The reason why is because we have plenty of sunshine and sunshine is what the springtime babies love
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