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Jackie: For this week’s podcastsinenglish.com if you're living in the Northern Hemisphere we want you to leave the city and head to the countryside because spring is here.
Richard: Yes, now we live in the country we can really feel the different seasons, can't we, Jackie?
Jackie: Yes, but, Richard, there is some discussion about when spring actually starts in the UK.
Richard: Yes. I think the… the weather people…
Jackie: The Met Office.
Richard: Yes, they say March, don't they?
Jackie: Yes; March, April, May are the spring months.
Richard: But then you also think of the spring equinox, don't you? When the days and the nights are the same length.
Jackie: Yes, for many people March the 20th, 21st is the beginning of spring. But for you, Richard, when do you feel that spring is here?
Richard: Well, for me I think it's the birds. You can start to hear cuckoos. So then that's the big thing, so the cuckoos and nightingales.
Jackie: And of course the birds are beginning to make their nests, aren't they?
Richard: Yes, yes.
Jackie: But it's not just the birds, is it, Richard? There's lots of other wildlife we can see um… which we couldn't see before for example er… ladybirds…
Richard: Yes, and um… spring lambs.
Jackie: Yes, that must be the… the… I think spring is the prettiest, the nicest season so I think the spring lambs are lovely and of course the flowers.
Richard: Well, of course the flowers, the daffodils. I think they come in early March in the UK. Daffodils and bluebells in the forest.
Jackie: Yes. For many people bluebells are definitely a wonderful sign that spring is here. But it's not just the flowers… well, it's also the blossom, the flowers on the trees: apple, plum, cherry. That all just looks lovely in the springtime.
Richard: And obviously the other big difference is the weather. I love the longer evenings and of course the warmer weather.
Jackie: Mmm, yes that starts to make a difference. There's a feeling that summer is not too far away and that's really nice.
Richard: Yes, we can wave goodbye to those dark, long evenings.
Jackie: But there is a problem with… with the spring though Richard, isn't there? It’s that we obviously get more sun which is wonderful but we also get a lot of rain and that means that things grow, which is fantastic, but it includes the grass, doesn't it?
Richard: Yes, the grass here is growing really fast, so I've got to go out yet again to cut the grass…
Jackie: And the weeds, Richard, don't forget to cut the weeds as well.
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