Bringing in the Seasons
March 20th will be the first day of spring. We are so excited! Longer days, brighter sunshine, flowers blooming after a cold winter… But do you know exactly how the seasons change? The Tinker Fairy flew over to sprinkle some pixie dust (and enlightenment) on the topic! She tells us all about how she and her friends are bringing in the seasons this year…
Hi Pixies! I’m the Tinker Fairy. Have you ever found yourself wondering how the seasons change, year after year? Well it’s all to do with the help of… You guessed it – fairies! I’m going to teach you all about the seasons, all of their differences and the science behind them. Plus a little bit extra about how we fairies help them move along on the mainland!
What are Seasons?
Have you ever looked up in the daytime and seen that giant fairy in the sky? That’s the Sun – and its pixie dust, or sunshine, is very important to life on Earth. The Earth spins round every day. When you’re on the side facing the sun, it’s daytime – and when you’re on the side facing away from the sun, it’s nighttime.
But the Earth doesn’t just spin round – it also travels in space all the way around the sun. We call this orbiting. It takes the Earth a whole year to go all the way around the sun, completing it’s orbit! Now, because the Earth sits on a slight angle, it means that as it travels around the sun – different parts of the Earth will get closer to it, or further away from it. This is very important, as it changes a lot of things – things like the weather.
Based on how the weather changes throughout the year, we divide it into four parts – and we call them seasons. You may have heard of them – they are spring, summer, autumn and winter. Each season has its own distinctive weather. For example – you might have lots of lovely sunshine and warmth in the summer – and you might get chilly and snowy in the winter! Tomorrow is the first day of spring, and I’m going to tell you all about it…
Spring
Spring in the United Kingdom happens between March and May, just after winter has finished and before summer takes over. The days get longer and the nights get shorter – meaning the sun stays up for longer. Changes in the weather may include:
- Less snow and frost
- Higher temperatures
- More rain and sunshine
All three of these things mean it is the ideal climate for new flowers to grow, after a cold and sleepy winter! That’s where spring gets its name from – the new flowers that spring out of the ground. As my friend The Garden Fairy will tell you: some flowers that bloom around this time include crocuses, daffodils, snowdrops and primroses!
Top tip: whenever it rains while the sun is out, remember to look up – you may find a rainbow! My Light Fairy friend is very good at making these…
Lots of animals come out of hibernation (a very long winter nap!) in the springtime, and it’s the perfect time for them to have babies – so you may see lots of baby animals this season. Baby birds, baby bunnies, baby lambs and lots more! When Easter happens in springtime, we celebrate by eating easter eggs – well, eggs signify all the new life that starts in this season. How cool is that?
Summer
Summer happens after springtime has finished, and takes place between June and August. The days are at their longest, and the nights are at their shortest – so it may still be light when you go to bed! The weather this season may be a bit more like this:
- Sunshine, and lots of it!
- The temperature will get very warm
- Less rainfall
You have the longest holidays from school in this season – the Summer Holidays! The perfect time to go to the beach and play outside in the sunshine. Just remember to wear sun protection – as in this season the Earth is at its closest to the sun, so you have to be careful you don’t see too much sun and get a nasty sunburn!
Wildlife will be thriving in the summer! Lots of plants and yummy food will be growing, the baby animals from spring are getting bigger. Just make sure to water your plants, as they may be feeling a bit more thirsty in the heat. You may get a little bit more thirsty too if it’s warm. So don’t forget to drink lots of water!
Autumn
Autumn takes place after the summertime, between September and November. Some very cool changes happen this season – lots of people say that Autumn is their favourite season, despite the fact that for lots of you it’s time to go back to school! Days will get shorter again in this season. Changes in the weather in this season include:
- Lower temperatures
- More rainfall
- More windy – with a cold chill in the breeze!
One of the most exciting changes this season is the colour of the leaves. You may notice that all the gorgeous green leaves we’ve had over summer starts to change – into reds, yellows, oranges and browns. It’s beautiful! Later in Autumn the leaves will fall from the trees – which is why some of our friends in the USA call this season fall.
This is the season where mushrooms and toadstools grow! Remember you must never eat a mushroom you find outside unless your grown-up tells you its ok. But I don’t eat toadstools, I find they make much better places to sit instead!
Winter
Our final season – winter! The season between autumn and spring, December through to February. Something very exciting happens in this month – do you know what it is? That’s right! It’s Christmas! This season has the shortest days and longest nights, so it will be the darkest part of the year. Typical weather includes:
- Lower temperatures – brrr!
- Frosty mornings
- Snow!
As the coldest season, remember to wrap up warm and always bring a coat with you wherever you go. My friend the Animal Fairy says that lost of wild creatures will hibernate this season – which means they’ll take a big nap and sleep through all of the cold weather, waking up when things are nice and warm again. Creatures that hibernate include hedgehogs, dormice and bats. My friend Cheese always makes sure he finds somewhere warm to get cosy…
My friend Perri is very good at making frost… So make sure you tread carefully this season and try not to slip on her ice!
Bringing in the Seasons
Now I’ve talked at length about what the seasons look like, and even talked a little bit about the science behind why the seasons change. But I want to let you in on a little secret that the grown-ups don’t know! The real reason the seasons change so well every year in the mainland, is because me and all my fairy friends help – we love bringing in the seasons by using all our special powers!
Once the evergreen flower blooms, we know it’s time for spring – so the garden fairies help to make all the grass grow, while the light fairies melt all the leftover snow from winter. The water fairies spread the spring dewdrops, and the animal fairies make sure all the wildlife coming out of hibernation have a nice meal to eat!
Once the minister of summer lets us know it’s time to bring in the new season, we get to work! The animal fairies bathe all the birds, the water fairies make sure the plants stay well hydrated and the light fairies work extra hard at bringing all the sunshine to everyone. It’s hard work in the heat, but thankfully the fast flying fairies are there to cool everybody down!
In autumn, the garden fairies work very hard to make sure all the plants have grown lots of delicious fruits and vegetables for the winter months. The fast flying fairies make lots of strong winds to blow the leaves off the trees, and the leaf fairies paint all of the leaves their beautiful, golden autumn colours!
Winter is the time for the winter fairies to thrive! They fly over to the mainland and spread all sorts of wintery goodness. They make snowflakes, icicles, frost and snow blankets – whilst making sure that all the animals that are hibernating stay nice and warm over the cold season!
I hope you’re as excited for spring to begin as I am – I can’t wait for all the flowers to grow, and watch the leaves go dazzling green! Remember at the changing of the seasons to look out for your fairy friends – we work very hard tinkering away, after all!
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Written by Fiona Lynn