While the official first day of spring was three weeks ago, many in the northern hemisphere are only just starting to experience warmer weather. People, plants, and animals are beginning to emerge from their winter modes to step outside, bloom, and otherwise welcome the sunshine. These photos show glimpses of the new season from around the world, as we shake off the winter and greet the spring.
Signs of Spring
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Stella Ferruzola, 3, poses with a Blue Morpho butterfly on her nose at the Sensational Butterflies Exhibition at the Natural History Museum in London, on March 25, 2013. #
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Visitors enjoy walking through moss phlox at a garden in Tatebayashi, Gunma prefecture, about 80 km north of Tokyo, on April 7, 2013. Over 400,000 blossoming moss phlox are expected to attract many visitors until the upcoming Japanese "Golden Week" holiday season in late April and early May. #
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A newborn lamb sleeps on its mother's back in a barn on a farm in the Wiltshire village of Edington, England, on March 21, 2013. Despite the poor weather the lambing season, which normally runs from February to May, is well under way. #
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A man dressed as the Easter Bunny is given a warning by California Highway Patrol Officer Adam Griffiths in La Mesa, California, on March 31, 2013. The man was stopped on his motorcycle for not wearing a proper safety helmet and because his costume might impair his vision. #
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Spectators watch as participants dance and throw colored chalk during the Holi Festival of Colors at the Sri Sri Radha Krishna Temple in Spanish Fork, Utah, on March 30, 2013. According to organizers 50,000 people were expected pack the temple grounds to celebrate Holi, the passing of winter to spring, and throw colorful powder throughout the day. #
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A vehicle plies between walls of snow after the Srinagar-Leh highway opened to traffic in Zojila, 108 km (67 mi) east of Srinagar, on April 6, 2013. The 443 km-long highway was opened by Indian army authorities for traffic on Saturday after remaining snowbound at Zojila Pass, 3,530 meters (11,581 feet) above sea level, for the past six months. The pass connects Kashmir with the Buddhist-dominated Ladakh region, a tourist destination known for its monasteries, landscapes and mountains. #
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A steeplejack clears snow and icicles from a roof in the center of Kiev, Ukraine, on March 27, 2013. Kiev came to life after record-breaking snow that blanketed the capital and other parts of the country over the weekend. #
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The passenger ship "Soderarm" heads in a channel cut through the ice by an icebreaker to the jetty of the island Husaro in the Stockholm archipelago in Sweden, on April 5, 2013. According to the Swedish Metereological and Hydrological Institute (SMHI), the ice coverage in the Baltic was the thickest and most extensive ever on record. #
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A tree with snow near the Imperial Ancestral Temple following overnight snowfall on March 20, 2013 in Beijing, China. Beijing witnessed a heavy spring snowfall with a depth reaching 10-17 centimeters overnight. #
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Newborn lambs huddle under heat lamps at Gwndwnwal Farm on April 1, 2013 in Brecon, Wales. Dai Brute runs Gwndwnwal Farm in Llan-Talyllyn, with his wife Dulcie Brute and son Paul Brute. The recent cold snap has meant that farmers have had to continue feeding their sheep long into the period when they would normally be able to survive on grass in more mild weather. #
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A Falla burns during the last day of the Las Fallas Festival on March 20, 2013 in Valencia, Spain. The Fallas festival, which runs from March 15 until March 19, celebrates the arrival of spring with fireworks, fiestas and bonfires of large puppets named Ninots. #
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An Afghan boy sells balloons during a gathering to celebrate the Afghan New Year (Nawroz) in Kabul, on March 21, 2013. Nawroz, also known as Persian New Year, is observed during the March equinox, marking the first day of spring. #
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Volker Kraft decorates a tree with around 10,000 Easter eggs in a garden in Saalfeld, Germany, on March 19, 2013. The retired couple Christa and Volker Kraft have been decorating their tree at Easter for more than forty years. #
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Lightning steaks across the sky behind the Young Meadows Presbyterian Church in Montgomery, Alabama, on March 18, 2013. Strong storms moved across much of Alabama on Monday, bringing hail, high winds, and heavy rainfall as a cold front passed through the state. #
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A woman and child pose for another photographer, under the cherry blossoms around the Tidal Basin that are starting to bloom, Friday, April 5, 2013 in Washington, District of Columbia, The blossoms are blooming a little later than expected due to the unseasonably cool weather. #
AP Photo/Alex Brandon
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