Spring And A Young Mans Fancy Turns To Love
Without Prejudice
“In the spring a young man's fancy lightly turns to thoughts of love,” said Alfred, Lord Tennyson in his famous 1842 poem Locksley Hall.
Our lawns are newly mown as of last night and the little boys run and dive on it with the German Sheperd trailing them like a demented shepherdess. She barks at the next door Blue Heeler, defending her charges in case the barrel like bitch would even so much as try to scramble under the fence.
My arms are covered in goose bumps, I feel heady and strange almost as if I have flu. The smell of newly mown grass and something else. A smell unlike no other, the smell of Spring. It's a smell hard to describe but it's a smell dredged up from
memory.
It's like it has always been there, this scent and I see meadows and a creek, a pebbled creek where you know the water is icy cold at the edges, a border of smooth stones and yellow gritted sand. Not the fine white sand of the beach but heavy grained amber coloured sand that looks almost edible. Like warm Demerara sugar.
The scent of rich brown earth stunned with fat rain drops that then stops for a while and starts again. Turning the dry cracks into rivers of wet. And I know this year the cracks will disappear as we filled them almost to the brim last March with whole leeks and vegetable peelings, tea bags to attract the fat brown worms.
But is it just a thought in a poem or a real medical condition ? Does Spring equate to love ?
The birds are chirping, bees are buzzing, and spring flowers and spring romance are about to be in full bloom. Love is in the air and everyone is catching spring fever. What causes this sudden upswing in romance?
It could be that warmer spring weather puts everyone in a good mood, or at least requires less clothing.
It could have something to do with body chemistry, the body’s backlash to seasonal affective disorder (SAD), or our physiological response to the abundance of new growth in the world around us.
It could be that warmer spring weather puts everyone in a good mood, or at least requires less clothing.
It could have something to do with body chemistry, the body’s backlash to seasonal affective disorder (SAD), or our physiological response to the abundance of new growth in the world around us.
Spring Fever – Part of a Real Medical Condition
“In the spring a young man’s fancy lightly turns to thoughts of love,” said Alfred, Lord Tennyson in his famous 1842 poem Locksley Hall. But what causes these thoughts of love?
According to prominent psychotherapist and researcher Dr. Norman Rosenthal from the National Institute of Mental Health spring fever is driven by the body’s reaction to its changing environment; a reaction to the increased amount of spring sunlight.
According to prominent psychotherapist and researcher Dr. Norman Rosenthal from the National Institute of Mental Health spring fever is driven by the body’s reaction to its changing environment; a reaction to the increased amount of spring sunlight.
Rosenthal, the first doctor to describe the concept of SAD, said in an interview with the New YorkTimes that as the available sunlight increases – particularly morning sunlight – people who suffer from SAD during the winter months will begin to feel better, even giddy. But is this
giddiness spring fever?
Science of Spring Romance
giddiness spring fever?
Science of Spring Romance
In his book, Mammalian Reproductive Biology,Dr. Frank Bronson, a biologist from the University of Texas, agrees that spring fever in mammals is regulated by sunlight.
Bronson also says there are both direct and indirect photoperiodic cues that increase the amorous air this time of year.
Grossly simplified, the change in season brings
more sunlight, better moods, and a better climate
for romance in mammals, including humans.
Grossly simplified, the change in season brings
more sunlight, better moods, and a better climate
for romance in mammals, including humans.
Indirectly, the change in season means plants and insects will begin to flourish again, which has a positive effect up the food chain and creates a healthy environment suitable for procreation.
So whether it’s bright long days, winter finally being over, or fresh spring food that put you in the mood for love, spring fever is out there and you could catch it.
Our lawns are newly mown as of last night and the little boys run and dive on it with the German Sheperd trailing them like a demented shepherdess. She barks at the next door Blue Heeler, defending her charges in case the barrel like bitch would even so much as try to scramble under the fence.
My arms are covered in goose bumps, I feel heady and strange almost as if I have flu. The smell of newly mown grass and something else. A smell unlike no other, the smell of Spring. It's a smell hard to describe but it's a smell dredged up from
memory.
It's like it has always been there, this scent and I see meadows and a creek, a pebbled creek where you know the water is icy cold at the edges, a border of smooth stones and yellow gritted sand. Not the fine white sand of the beach but heavy grained amber coloured sand that looks almost edible. Like warm Demerara sugar.
The scent of rich brown earth stunned with fat rain drops that then stops for a while and starts again. Turning the dry cracks into rivers of wet. And I know this year the cracks will disappear as we filled them almost to the brim last March with whole leeks and vegetable peelings, tea bags to attract the fat brown worms.
