You all may think I'm crazy to enter this wilth all the snow on the
ground, but here goes. 

I've noticed increased avian activity in my backyard lately , and on
my walk downtown today I saw a male cardinal chasing a female.I
also saw a sparrow with some thread in its mouth looking for a nesting
spot.

58 responses total.

Nah, you're not crazy, the birds are crazy.  Maybe it's chemicals in
the birdseed.

On the other hand, maybe they know something we don't.

Dan, I was just noticing more birds at the feeder, like two hours
ago.  This winter, birds seem to have been pretty scarce in our
backyard despite the fact we offer three types of seed.  So I've
become quite tolerant of the squirrels and the mice, who seem to
appreciate the stuff well enough.

Does anyone know how early you can harvest forsythia branches
and have them bloom indoors in a vase?

   Well, usually by late Feburary we start to see a real sign of
spring: Dairy Queen opens!  I'll know its spring then.  I'm still
worried about the fat squirrels I'm seeing scurring about in the snow.

I don't *think* you'll have much luck with Forsythia branches unless you wait
until they bud. If there's a way to force them to bloom earlier indoors, I'm
not aware of it.

re #2:  They have been scarce, haven't they?  I noticed finches for the
first time in months.

re #0: It looks like 4 - 8 inches of snow tonight and tomorrow.  :(

Spring? Its been snowing for four days, the wind at 10,000 feet was
50-60 mph, the temperature is 0 to 15, avalanches are closing the roads,
so what is this stuff about "signs of Spring"?

The signs all have the word "spring" printed inside a red circle with a
red diagonal line through it.

Spring is just around the corner!  Keep the faith.  :)

Spring....When we got back from Colorado, our car was in an ice pond 
surrounded by a dam of snow/ice, at the airport, after whatever the
weather was doing here. I do notice that the days are getting longer,
though: that ought to heat up something somewhere.

It's going to be 40 degrees today!  Start looking for crocuses.  :)

Hmm, if that temperature is sustained for any length of time, start
looking for flooding basements too...

Saw two robins this morning while I was driving along Huron River Drive.

(I've been seeing robins all winter.  Food supply must be good.)

Ok, if you don't like that sign of spring, how about this one?  This morning
I saw the first signs of a male goldfinch starting his bright yellow
summer plumage.

Couple days ago I saw a mosquito.

But as I type we seem to be snowing again.

   Its Spring!

   Its Spring, I Know It Is!

   *Dairy Queen* on Packard is open again!

    Its Spring!  Whee!

Yeah, well, you better put on your snowshoes if you're going to go
there today.

Ol' Pern Winter seems to have gotten in one last lick.  Looking out
my window toward the street, I can't see where the curb is.  The yard
and street are uniformly covered with a thick carpet of snow.

Just the thing for the weekend!  Spring skiing!

Just remember, this is Michigan. That means it is possible to get up to 2
feet of snow as late as March 17. It has happened.

Spring is only 16 days away, though, and it is fun to look for signs of it.
Be careful not to peer too hard, though, and get blinded by the snow.

   It's still spring damnit.

   It is.

   IT IS.

Sorry - you have to wait to ca. 21 March. 

I had a nice spring ski this last saturday!

   Well, now I *know* its spring: I had my first Dairy Queen.

I just looked out the window, and there's no sign of it yet, but the
weatherman claimed we're due to get 5" to 9" of new snow in the next
12 hours or so. It might not close Dairy Queen, but it'll cover up
most of the *other* signs of Spring for a few days anyway.
Sorry, guys, I don't make the weather.

Doesn't look springy today!

I dunno...  This looks a lot like a typical Michigan spring day to me.

And it's still snowing.

It's the Spring of a new Ice Age...

Well, it's nice sitting here in my 2nd story study, looking out
over the neighborhood snowscape, knowing that the walk's already
been shoveled and I don't have to go anywhere today...

Shoot...gotta go shovel the walk.  Thanks a lot for reminding me,
remmers :(

  I want to know how all the snow manages to be on the road when I'm on
my way *home* from work rather than when I'm leaving for work..  If it
had been as bad when I was going to work as it was when I came home the
other night I'd've stayed home..

Maybe it snowed?

It sure is pretty out, though.  I know it's supposed to be spring, but 
The snow is so pretty.

Agreed.  Now if we could just convince Ol' Person Winter to do this
sort of thing around Christmas time...

The simple solution is to move things around, say by two months. Then
Christmas could be 25 February, Spring would start 20(ish) May, when
you'd know it; etc. 

   Well, spring doesn't officially start until next Saturday,
so I don't really understand why everyone is complaining.

  You're asking this about members of the same culture that puts Christmas
decorations up before Halloween is over with?

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