BS: You know that it's Spring when...

Subject: RE: BS: You know that it's Spring when...
From: keberoxu
Date: 04 Jun 17 - 12:14 PM

....when, as the driver of a car,
you have to keep a lookout for bicycles   
rather than snowplows.

Subject: RE: BS: You know that it's Spring when...
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 03 Jun 17 - 08:14 PM

Could be wood pigeons, Jim. They sound somewhat cuckoo-ish from a certain angle. But they basically say "my TOE'S sore, Betty." Not that I'm impugning your birdwatching skills, you understand......

Subject: RE: BS: You know that it's Spring when...
From: ChanteyLass
Date: 03 Jun 17 - 08:04 PM

. . . the gypsy moth caterpillars are everywhere, including on me (yuck), and destroying trees by chomping on the leaves

Subject: RE: BS: You know that it's Spring when...
From: Charmion
Date: 03 Jun 17 - 10:08 AM

... it looks like barbecue season, but it's so chilly you worry that the chicken will be stone cold by the time you get it off the grill and in the door.

Subject: RE: BS: You know that it's Spring when...
From: Jim Carroll
Date: 02 Jun 17 - 03:20 PM

"I know it's Late Spring when: "
The ****** cuckoos wake you up at sparrows-fart and are still at it when you stagger off to bed
Jim Carroll

Subject: RE: BS: You know that it's Spring when...
From: keberoxu
Date: 02 Jun 17 - 03:15 PM

I know it's Late Spring when:

the manager has turned off the central heat in my apartment building

AND

I need my heavy winter quilt
to get through a night in bed
without getting thoroughly chilled.

Subject: RE: BS: You know that it's Spring when...
From: frogprince
Date: 27 Mar 06 - 01:41 PM

You know it's spring in this part of Michigan when you see the first robin that didn't come back too early and freeze to death on your lawn.

Subject: RE: BS: You know that it's Spring when...
From: Trevor
Date: 27 Mar 06 - 07:04 AM

I'VE SEEN IT!! THE FIRST DEAD HEDGEHOG OF SPRING!!.

And I heard a curlew in the field behind Squilver yesterday. And all those little bits and pieces that have been hiding underground waiting for a drop of warmish rain are poking their heads out.

Subject: RE: BS: You know that it's Spring when...
From: Kweku
Date: 27 Mar 06 - 05:16 AM

how do you think it will feel like, to live in a land where there is no spring;honestly?

Subject: RE: BS: You know that it's Spring when...
From: Liz the Squeak
Date: 26 Mar 06 - 01:30 PM

.........The queues at adventure parks get longer!

LTS

Subject: RE: BS: You know that it's Spring when...
From: Alice
Date: 26 Mar 06 - 10:02 AM

It is spring here in Montana mountains when the snow (like it did last nigh) comes down in a wetter, thicker, heavier blanket that coats every branch and twig, breaking the trees and sending boughs onto the street. The tips of some bulbs against the south foundation concrete wall are now buried under a wet blanket of snow. This will go on until about June, with melt, growth, snow, and a cycle of more breaking branches as budding tree leaves carry a heavier blanket of snow.

Subject: RE: BS: You know that it's Spring when...
From: Azizi
Date: 26 Mar 06 - 04:23 AM

Hello Purple Foxx, the Spring period of Daylight Saving Times starts on April 2, 2006 here and the only way I can remember what to do about the clocks is

Spring forward
Fall back.

So I guess that means we'll be losing an hour next week or does that mean that we gained an hour sometimes in the fall and now we're going back to the time it's supposed to be?

Oh, I'm so confused...

But at least the time on these Mudcat threads is right as far as I'm concerned.

;o)


Have a good day!

[I'm only up because I'm on call..the crisis is over-relatively. I'm back to bed]

Subject: RE: BS: You know that it's Spring when...
From: Purple Foxx
Date: 26 Mar 06 - 03:14 AM

British Summer Time (GMT +1)begins today.
When do clocks go forward in North America?

Subject: RE: BS: You know that it's Spring when...
From: GUEST,Andy
Date: 25 Mar 06 - 06:22 AM

Round these parts, we know its spring when the pregnant 14 year olds start wearing crop tops!

Subject: RE: BS: You know that it's Spring when...
From: Liz the Squeak
Date: 25 Mar 06 - 05:34 AM

The local fox population has become more vocal... had a dog fox roaming the streets the other week, barking the fox equivalent of 'here I am, I'm gorgeous, come and get me, you know you want to'.... sounds just like someone being murdered.

I know it's spring when I don't get laughed at for wearing sandals.

LTS

Subject: RE: BS: You know that it's Spring when...
From: Purple Foxx
Date: 25 Mar 06 - 05:30 AM

Both my cats were extremely keen to go out first thing this morning.
This after 3 or 4 months of being equally keen not to.

Subject: RE: BS: You know that it's Spring when...
From: Metchosin
Date: 24 Mar 06 - 02:01 PM

so true.

Subject: RE: BS: You know that it's Spring when...
From: GUEST,dianavan
Date: 24 Mar 06 - 01:47 PM

When it rains pink cherry blossoms...

Subject: RE: BS: You know that it's Spring when...
From: Metchosin
Date: 24 Mar 06 - 10:38 AM

some of the chopped green bits in your tuna sandwich move of their own accord. I discovered that my big pot of chives on the deck is already infested with aphids.

Subject: RE: BS: You know that it's Spring when...
From: Bat Goddess
Date: 24 Mar 06 - 08:51 AM

It's officially spring when I spot my first snowy egret of the season. But sap buckets and bare knees on joggers also count. And (spotted yesterday!) the first yard sale signs.

Linn

Subject: RE: BS: You know that it's Spring when...
From: kendall
Date: 24 Mar 06 - 08:04 AM

We also have Robins, and it's not uncommon to see half a dozen or more on the same lawn looking for earthworms.

But, the Cardinals; we have one male that is always attacking the mirror on my car. What a bird brain.

Subject: RE: BS: You know that it's Spring when...
From: GUEST,DB
Date: 24 Mar 06 - 06:20 AM

The British newspaper, 'The Guardian' used to have a cartoonist called Posy Simmons (perhaps it still does - I haven't read it for years - too many supplements!). One of her cartoons sticks in my mind because there was a frame captioned, "Spring has sprung and Luzula campestris flourishes her chesnut blossoms". This caption made me laugh out loud for its breathtaking obscurity! Luzula campestris (or Field Woodrush) is an insignificant grass-like plant with hairy leaves and tiny chesnut-coloured flowers which you need a magnifying glass to appreciate. Nevertheless, it does flower early and can be considered a sign of Spring.
At the time when Posy's cartoon appeared (mid 80s, I think) L. campestris was very common - albeit overlooked by about 95% of the population. Last year I set out to photograph it and struggled to find any - is this the way the world ends with lots of tiny, insignificant things shuffling off the stage unnoticed?

Subject: RE: BS: You know that it's Spring when...
From: Kweku
Date: 24 Mar 06 - 03:56 AM

open mike,


in 1999 there was news to the fact that a stone is coming from somewhere in outer space to crash on Africa,that came form renowned and respected international scientists(and I think it came form NASA).thank God that didnot happen, and if you will recall many religious bodies said because we are entering the year 2000, lots of significant things will be happening to the planet.

well mike, I have undertaken a lot of research on times and seasons ,and its implications for the future. my conclusions on the eclipse is based soley on my observations as well those of some friends of mine and as an opinion,I expect you to take it with a pinch of salt.

I don't know if you are ok with this explanation,but to avoid a thread drift,send me a personal message and lets see what we can do.

BTW,enjoy the spring.

Subject: RE: BS: You know that it's Spring when...
From: Scoville
Date: 23 Mar 06 - 04:48 PM

1. Everything is suddenly covered in bright-green pine pollen.

2. It's February 17 but it's 80 degrees and the ice-cream trucks are out in force.

3. You have friends coming from out of state and, when they ask you what the weather's like, you tell them it will be somewhere between 30 and 90, could be dry, could be downpours, could be windy, could be humid . . . and, by the way, welcome to southeast Texas.

Subject: RE: BS: You know that it's Spring when...
From: Azizi
Date: 23 Mar 06 - 04:39 PM

More Thread Drift {but of possible interest to others here}

open mike, when I aearched online for some information about Solomon Linda's Mbube {The Lion Sleeps Tonight}, I found this informational tidbit:

"[Miriam Makeba's]The Click Song" (#1) had it's origin in the Xhosa language as "Gqongqotwane": Gqongqotwane is the dung-gathering beetle-- the miser of the insect world, known to the Xhosas as the Road Wizard. (Quoted from an early mid-60's LP by the Manhattan Brothers, issued in the US on Joy Records [#5004]). This is why "The Click Song" was also known in English as "The African Beetle Song".

Behind The Hits: The Lion Sleeps Tonight

Subject: RE: BS: You know that it's Spring when...
From: Azizi
Date: 23 Mar 06 - 04:28 PM

GUEST,23 Mar 06 - 12:11 PM

I know nothing about the connection between the March 29th eclipse and slavery and 1999 or any other year. Quarcoo wrote something about this in his 22 Mar 06 - 05:54 AM post.

My tenuous connection with any of this is that I wrote a post asking him to share information about what he had written.

Quarcoo answered my query in his own fashion. However, I'm not sure that I understand his response.

Subject: RE: BS: You know that it's Spring when...
From: MMario
Date: 23 Mar 06 - 03:59 PM

ha! found a half-frozen dandelion struggling to bloom today when I went outside on break. snuggled up to a south-facing wall.

Subject: RE: BS: You know that it's Spring when...
From: Alba
Date: 23 Mar 06 - 03:54 PM

Well I know it's Spring in these parts when I am up to my ankles in mud....spring has not quite sprung here yet as the mud remains in frozen suspension...:)

Ah Bluebells my favorites Liz
Jude

Subject: RE: BS: You know that it's Spring when...
From: Liz the Squeak
Date: 23 Mar 06 - 03:47 PM

I know it's spring when I start pining for bluebells and the sun on my face.

LTS

Subject: RE: BS: You know that it's Spring when...
From: ranger1
Date: 23 Mar 06 - 01:49 PM

Found two small coltfoot blossoms on the beach on Tuesday.

Subject: RE: BS: You know that it's Spring when...
From: Jeri
Date: 23 Mar 06 - 01:45 PM

Topsie, I believe British robins are different from the American Robin. Personally, I think calling them "Turdus migratorius" is just rude.

They seem like the Labarador Retriever of the bird world to me. They're not terribly pretty. They're sort of big and goofy, and seem to like people. One year, one would watch me from a tree or a spot on the ground 10 or so feet away while I was gardening. When I walked away for a while, it flew to where I'd been working and ate the unearthed grubs and worms. There's one that nests in the ornamental 4' high cedar 'bush' next to my porch. There's another that nests in a shed every year and just builds nests upon nests. So far, I think it's a triple decker, and I wonder if I should remove it so it doesn't hit the roof this year.

Robins mean Spring to me, but so do leaf buds and longer days, the sound of peepers, snow drops, crocus, and the greening-up of the creeping thyme in my front yard which came from the grave of F.J. Child. There also will be dandelions and fiddlehead ferns and the smell of dirt. Righ now, it's time to begin the catch-and-release of ladybugs (ladybirds) that have spent the winter indoors.

Subject: RE: BS: You know that it's Spring when...
From: MMario
Date: 23 Mar 06 - 12:21 PM

topsie - if you live in a migration flyway you see robins in flocks. at least the American version - in the breeding grounds you don't.

Subject: RE: BS: You know that it's Spring when...
From: GUEST
Date: 23 Mar 06 - 12:11 PM

open mike -
I've never seen a flock of robins. They normally go about in pairs and are territorial so any robins other than the brood they are rearing will be seen off. Maybe there is another bird with different habits where you are, also called a 'robin'?

Quarcoo and azizi -
If this year's eclipse symbolises slavery, what did the eclipse in 1999 symbolise, and any of the other eclipses at different times and over different parts of the world over the years? I reckon any eclipse could be hijacked for whatever political point anyone wanted to make.

I know it is spring because my pond is now full of frogspawn.

Topsie

Subject: RE: BS: You know that it's Spring when...
From: MMario
Date: 23 Mar 06 - 12:06 PM

Well - in my neck of the woods you go from cold (sometimes VERY cold) wet and snowy, or wet and muddy, or wet and flooded, or just plain cold cold cold; with short days, mostly overcast, and cold. Did I mention cold?

then in the spring you get shirtsleeve temperatures, it starts to dry out, you see the sun at least sometimes, the days are longer, it's warm, birds return from migration, farm animals in the fields have their young gamboling (or possibly froliking) with them, it is no longer cold enough to freeze the brass off a monkey, and did I mention it warms up?

Subject: RE: BS: You know that it's Spring when...
From: Azizi
Date: 23 Mar 06 - 12:01 PM

Quarcoo, I like spring because in my geographical area it means the end of the cold winter weather. During the spring the weather is warm but not too hot like it is in the summertime. The flowers bloom and leaves appear again on certain trees.

For this reason spring has become a symbol of new life, and new beginnings.

Subject: RE: BS: You know that it's Spring when...
From: Kweku
Date: 23 Mar 06 - 11:38 AM

everybody loves spring. whats so special about it?

Subject: RE: BS: You know that it's Spring when...
From: Alba
Date: 22 Mar 06 - 02:45 PM

**BG** Kendall.
Ah how I have missed that pungent aroma lurking at my backdoor when I open it for my Maine Shelta Hound at midnight or there abouts.(not)

I have seen my first Robin yesterday but no Skunks, dead or alive.........................................yet!
Jude

Subject: RE: BS: You know that it's Spring when...
From: kendall
Date: 22 Mar 06 - 02:37 PM

Sure sign of spring, a skunk. Dead or alive. We saw one today, poor thing survived the winter, but apparently tried to best a car with his scent gland. Talk about bringing a knife to a gun fight!

Subject: RE: BS: You know that it's Spring when...
From: Azizi
Date: 22 Mar 06 - 12:45 PM

Emma B, my compliments on your imagery.

If you're not a published writer, you should be one.

Subject: RE: BS: You know that it's Spring when...
From: Emma B
Date: 22 Mar 06 - 11:48 AM

Standing at the bedroom window with the first hint of warm late afternoon sunlight I can watch a train of gulls, still in their winter plumage, following the wake of a tractor and plough turning over the rich brown unfrozen soil.

Subject: RE: BS: You know that it's Spring when...
From: Wilfried Schaum
Date: 22 Mar 06 - 11:19 AM

The official spring marker is the apple blossom. Then spring has come in force.

Subject: RE: BS: You know that it's Spring when...
From: Kweku
Date: 22 Mar 06 - 10:54 AM

no this is analysis was done by a group looking out for signs using the sun,moon and the stars. because "what has been hidden from the wise and the prudent shall be revealed to the young and the sucklings". i happened to be part of this group.

that is for those of us who do believe in creation and in God.

Subject: RE: BS: You know that it's Spring when...
From: Azizi
Date: 22 Mar 06 - 10:36 AM

Thread Drift {somewhat}

Quarcoo, thanks for that information about the seasons in your country and about the total eclipse.

I'm curious what meaning you give to this total eclipse. Is it something that others there are commenting on {for instance, is the television or radio media talking about the symbolism of the eclipse to chattel slavery that occurred in the 18th, 19th century?}

Subject: RE: BS: You know that it's Spring when...
From: Kweku
Date: 22 Mar 06 - 05:54 AM

BTW,Ghana will be experiencing eclipse of the sun on the 29th of march. so for those of you who have never experienced this eclipse,you can either watch it on CNN or live it(and of course CNN will do it nicely by reminding you that it is a horrible continent, unfit for humans to live in).

This eclipse interestingly will cover the West coast of Africa,areas where the salve markets were located or traded heavily in slaves will experience total eclipse,whiles the rest will experience partial eclipse. The eclipse will start from the west coast of Africa and end up in the carribeans(the last destination for the slaves).And come to think of it the year 2006 is 1999 in the African traditional calendar.

Subject: RE: BS: You know that it's Spring when...
From: Kweku
Date: 22 Mar 06 - 05:42 AM

In Ghana,we have only two seasons and this is common to most parts of Africa. The seasons are the harmattan(dry) season and the rainy(wet) season. the dry season is usually from April to September and the wet season occupies the rest.

But African weather always behave in a way very akin to the name "weather".eg. we didnot have any dry season for the year2005/2006,it virtually rained throughout the year.

Typically what we do is wake up in the morning and judging from the prevailing temperatures you will be able to tell if it will rain or not.

Subject: RE: BS: You know that it's Spring when...
From: JohnInKansas
Date: 21 Mar 06 - 08:06 PM

Well LiK's little cavort apparently pleased the Goddess. Or maybe it's because Lin decided to cook last night and She thought it was a burnt offering...

The snow that was forcast pretty much bypassed us, although they got the expected foot 50 miles north of us. The main Interstate highway (I-70) east/west across the northern part of the state has been pretty much shut down, but no reports of accidents of strandings.

We got enough cold drizzle to help with the fire hazard, but it's not certain whether it was enough to allow the farm folk to do their spring controlled burns of pasture.

The local prediction for tonight is for 20 F ( -7 C) lows, which will kill all the blossoms that were begining to bust out from the preceding warm spell, and will probably make any fruit crops in the area nonexistent for the year. If it gets as low as predicted there won't be many "spring flowers" later this year, although our daffys already had just about finished their show anyway.

The sure sign of spring is that our main heating unit decided to cease working sometime last night. A week or two later and I could have played around at fixing it all summer; but fortunately it was a small part and it's back in order for the last week or so of cold weather. (Unless it snows again in April - or May.)

John

Subject: RE: BS: You know that it's Spring when...
From: MaineDog
Date: 20 Mar 06 - 08:38 PM

-- when the Dog comes back from swimming covered with mud instead of ice!
MD

Subject: RE: BS: You know that it's Spring when...
From: Bobert
Date: 20 Mar 06 - 07:32 PM

Well, spring, to me, is when it stops snowing and hard freezin' at night... Guess it ain't here yet in this holler on the Blue Ridge 'cause they callin' fir snow tonight and tomorrow....

Yeah, it might not be like poor Sorcha's 20 inches but, hey, if it's still carryin' on like that, firget thinkin' spring is here... Maybe next week???

Subject: RE: BS: You know that it's Spring when...
From: Sorcha
Date: 20 Mar 06 - 06:50 PM

Here, SE Wyoming, bearded Iris are an early summer flower....not even breaking ground yet....Damn snow.

Subject: RE: BS: You know that it's Spring when...
From: open mike
Date: 20 Mar 06 - 06:10 PM

i thought the seven heads were snowwhite's dwarves..

i remember hearing one little old lady say
"You're as welcome as a daisy in June"

in the woods here one of the first spring bloomers is the shooting star
http://www.painetworks.com/previewsrf/hw/hw1339.html
http://www.easywildflowers.com/quality/dod.mead.jpg
http://www.calflora.net/bloomingplants/shootingstar.html
http://www.inhs.uiuc.edu/inhsreports/may-jun96/flowers.html
http://www.ventanawild.org/news/se02/shooting.html

i believe they are the wild cousins of the Cyclamen
which are also in the Primrose or Primula family..