This past Sunday marked the vernal equinox, also known as the beginning of astrological spring. It’s one of the two days of the year — the other being the fall equinox — when day and night are roughly equal in length around the globe.

We would note that “meteorological spring” began March 1, the date used by meteorologists and climatologists to mark the beginning of the spring season.

However, to paraphrase Bob Dylan and Sam Cooke, we don’t need a weatherman (or a calendar) to be aware that a change is coming. Our senses have alerted us for the past few weeks to the impending arrival of spring.

We can see the crocuses that have been emerging, providing a burst of color through the barren ground.

Every morning right around sunrise, we can hear the chorus of birds in the trees, loudly chirping and tweeting after their winter of silence.

On clear days, the sun feels warm and strong, especially if we are on the leeward side of a wall or other structure, protected from the still-chilly March wind.

And even in the city, there is an earthy smell we have known since childhood that instinctively informs our brains that there is a change in the seasons.

To be sure, Mother Nature most likely will have some wintry surprises left for us. This April 1 will mark the 25th anniversary of the April Fool’s snowstorm of 1997 (we’ll write about that next week). But our senses have told us that Ol’ Man Winter is done and spring is here