Lisa’s Logic: A Whole Extra Day

Every four years we get an extra day. We receive that extra day to even out the solar year and the calendar year.

I found this website, infoplease.com, which explained so nicely that the Earth travels around the sun in 365-1/4 days. In 100 years, those quarter days would put summer to begin in July and the year would be less than a month. Boy that would really mess with meteorologists, not to mention the rest of us.

The Egyptians first added leap year and the Romans designated February 29.

Then more math shows up and says if there are too many leap years, we will be off again by about 10 minutes. So the Gregorian calendar (that we follow) omits leap year every 400 years to shorten the year. So now leap year is every four years with this added rule: "A century year is not a leap year unless divisible by 400."

So for the next 3,300 years the calendar and solar years are only a half-second off. Just like that. Not to rush it, 2020 will be the next Leap Year.

And today many will be able to celebrate their true birthday. Happy birthday to you.

Women can propose to their one and only because it was set in the fifth century by St. Patrick who after hearing from Irish nun St. Bridget that women had to wait too long for a proposal, according to telegraph.co.uk. Two movies come to mind when that has happened, "The Proposal" with Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds and "Leap Year" with Amy Adams. And with a little research found that Julia Roberts in "Runaway Bride" pops the question.

So with this extra day, we can reminisce about Saturday when it reached 57 in our area. Boy was it nice. I noticed a handful of motorcycles and one bright yellow three-wheeler. That will stand out in the parking lot. People out and about biking and walking. It was nice to not have to worry about a winter coat, hat and gloves. A small taste of spring.

Then Sunday, in the mid-30s, back to winter with less snow on the ground, but it did try to add some. There was light rain that turned into some pretty big snowflakes making ripples in the puddles.

It seemed like two seasons in one weekend. Now an extra day to boot.

The sun is shining above ... Think Happy Thoughts.