The transition from winter to spring always seems dramatic here in Maine. Suddenly, the days are long, the earth tones are becoming greener and the peepers have begun their evening chorus. The pond is filled with frog spawn in little galactic bundles. Crows and ravens are fighting over nesting sites? mates? nesting material? I am not really sure! The red squirrels are beginning to wake. Some of them do not make it across the street. Ditto for the skunks- hence eau de skunk : a spring fragrance. My dog is very content sunbathing- ideal temperatures for a black dog in the sun. The occasional Mercedes and Beamer has marked the beginning of the return of snow birds to attend their summer residents. No black flies or mosquitos, YET. The Earth is FINE!

It is basically Spring three seasons per year here in Oregon. It is cool and rainy in Autumn, Winter and Spring and hot and dry in the Summer.

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"I am a Tory Anarchist. I should like every one to go about doing just as he pleased- short of altering any of the things to which I have grown accustomed." (Max Beerbohm)

Here in Ireland Spring is a little late arriving. Oh, sure, there is the beginnings of budding we can see all around us, and the joyful morning chorus of birdsong, but it has remained unseasonably chill, with a wintry feel still remaining in the air.

Traveling through the midlands during the week I noted that the early growth (grass) has not come up that much, and though the young lambs abound all over the country's pastures, they seem to be smaller, almost stunted in stature, compared to how they should have progressed to this point of the year. But they do survive, and in time, they will thrive....

Hard to ignore Spring - with lambs playing in every field. Stirs the heart. There is some innate cheerfulness, that has lain dormant, which the image reawakens in us; how can we scowl while another entity is 'gamboling' in front of our eyes, in broad daylight!!!

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"A man's work is nothing but this slow trek to rediscover, through the detours of art, those two or three great and simple images in whose presence his heart first opened."

The surest sign of a Michigan Spring is that I can't drive anywhere without coming across at least one lane that's closed.
It will be surrounded by cones and barricades and have a huge parked work vehicle. But there won't be any workers around. Usually don't see them till late summer. I guess the spring obstruction is just supposed to get us used to it.

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"It's never over... BOY!"
The Tall Man, Phantasm III

Here in OH, you can tell when spring is here once you hear the birds singing early in the morning, and you see all the flowering trees are in bloom. And the change is usually very abrubt. Last week, I was scrapping ice off my car in the morning. This week, its in the upper 70s everyday, and its warm enough to leave the back door open all night (my dogs love this time of the year for this reason). I can also tell that it is spring because the traffic gets heavier - I'm not entirely sure why that is though.

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Tiger got to hunt, Bird got to fly, Man got to sit and wonder 'Why, why, why?'
Tiger got to sleep, Bird got to land, Man got to tell himself he understand.
~Bokonon

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Order without liberty and liberty without order are equally destructive. - Theodore Roosevelt

You must be in the southern part of the state, right? Here in the north, the highs have ranged between 55*F (Sunday) and 75*F or so (yesterday)...

The three surest signs of Spring for me:
1) I sneeze the instant I walk out the door. (Many allergies...)
2) I start the day in long pants and a mid-weight jacket, change to shorts and a t-shirt mid-afternoon, and am wearing thermal underwear at night. (OK, maybe not that drastic, but you get the picture-- gotta love Northern Ohio...)
3) All the students on campus are suddenly very tan and inappropriately dressed. (It was below freezing Monday night-- WHY did I see students wearing shorts and flip-flops?!) SIGH...


LOL, java!! How is it that they can do all that construction and the roads in Michigan are still sh*t? BTW-- your post reminded me of funnies a friend once gave me: here and here

And both you and poletree reminded me of this one (edited for space and content):

YOU MIGHT BE FROM OHIO IF...
You measure distance in minutes.
Your idea of a traffic jam is ten cars waiting to pass a tractor on the highway.
“Toward the lake” means “north” and “toward the river” means “south.”
Down south to you means Kentucky.
You can spell words like Cuyahoga, Olentangy, Bellefontaine, Scioto, Tuscarawas, and Wapakoneta, and you know which letter is doubled in Cincinnati.
You know that the Serpent Mounds were not made by snakes.
You know if other Ohioans are from Southern or Northern Ohio as soon as they open their mouths.
You think all Pro football teams are supposed to wear orange!
Your school classes were cancelled because of cold.
Your school classes were cancelled because of heat.
Your school classes were cancelled because of fog.
You've ridden the school bus for an hour each way.
You've ever had to switch from “heat” to “A/C” in the same day.
You know all the 4 seasons: Winter, Still Winter, almost Winter, and Construction.
You know all the 4 seasons: Construction, Still Construction, Almost Construction, and Winter.
Driving is better in the winter because the potholes are filled with snow.
You carry jumper cables in your car.
The trunk of your car doubles as a deep freezer.
You design your kid's Halloween costume to fit over a snowsuit.
You think sexy lingerie is tube socks and a flannel nightie.
You find -20F a little chilly.
Your snow blower gets stuck on your roof.

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"Illegal aliens have always been a problem in the Unites States. Ask any Indian." ~Robert Orben

Ahh spring. That lovely time of year when the street preachers and panhandlers come out in downtown Minneapolis.

Oh yeah, birds sing, flowers bud, the grass starts to turn green, blah, blah blah.

Did I mention the street preachers?

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Catz: "And, the ever-sage Volvo Driver:"

Trees like razor wire with a thousand tiny green buds. the incessantly yet undeniably lovely chirping of the birds perched in the razor wire outside my window. Cockroach carcassed living here and there in the hallway of my apartment building. The sounds of kiddies playing in the streets. Yes, spring has arrived.

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LET ME SEE YOUR WAR FACE!!!