So I asked, “When does spring arrive?” It was both fun and fascinating to read all of your different “definitions” of when the season arrives for you.
Here are your responses:
“When the fiddleheads are up.”
“When the grass is turning green and it’s at least 60 degrees.”
“When I see that beautiful little haze of green on the hillsides…the trees budding.”
“When the first small buds started to pop on the pussy willow trees.”
“When the St John river starts flowing in front of my house and I see my first robin.”
“When the ice goes out over Caribou Dam.”
“When I can work in my yard without squishy mud.”
“Ice out on lakes and ponds, and fiddleheads.”
“When it stops snowing and I can turn off my heat!”
“When I look out and see all of the beautiful shades of green as the trees are waking up.”
“When I see my plants start peeking out of the ground!”
“Sunday afternoon during the Masters golf tournament.”
“When water stops coming into my cellar.”
“When we see buds on fruit trees and green grass.”
“When I see the little red buds pop on the maples.”
“When I first hear the “peepers” around our pond!”
“Hanging clothes on the line…nothing like the smell of clothes or sheets brought in from outside for the first time!”
“Peepers and warm wind!”
“When I see my first robin!”
“When the snow is gone and the bees and flies are out.”
“When the spring birds arrive.”
“The 1st month with no “R” in it.”
“The smell of fresh cut grass.”
“When the fish bite and fiddleheads are ready.”
“When we can go four wheeling.”
“When I see the tractors going by my place along with the trucks for planting potatoes.”
“When it’s at least 70 degrees.”
“When the leaves of the alder bush are big as a mouse’s ear.”
“When the daffodils bloom.” “When the ice is out on the lake.” “When the long johns come off!”
“When ice is gone at Madawaska Lake!”
“When the ice goes out of East Grand Lake.”
“When the pussy willows bud out.”
“Peepers and geese.”
“July.”
“Mother’s Day.”
“Mud season.”
“Black flies.”
“Dandelions.”
“When the tulips bloom.”
“Pussy-willows along the river.”
And as for me, it would have to be the high, two-note call of the black-capped chickadee.
Ted Shapiro holds the Broadcast Seal of Approval from both the American Meteorological Society and the National Weather Association. An Alexandria, Virginia native, he has been chief meteorologist at WAGM-TV since 2006. Email him at tshapiro@wagmtv.com.
