Skepticism
Afternoon Inquisition 5.9
Earlier this week, looking out after the first storm of the year at the freshly bloomed plum tree, it finally felt like spring.
What makes you feel like spring?
(apologies to my southern hemisphere readers)
Earlier this week, looking out after the first storm of the year at the freshly bloomed plum tree, it finally felt like spring.
What makes you feel like spring?
(apologies to my southern hemisphere readers)
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When I see the first chihuahua being carried through on the end of a probiscus of a mosquito the size of a hummingbird I know that spring has arrived.
The call of the warden signaling the annual visit of my extended family to the State prison.
When it hasn’t snowed for about a week. I’m still waiting for the annual end-of-May snowfall, but since everything has started to green up I’m pretty convinced that spring is finally here!
1) The sound of lawnmowers and subsequent grass smell.
2) That first sunny day when the sky is blue and contrasts with the green of the trees.
When it stops raining for more than 2 days in a row.
Spring.
Thunderstorms. That and the Bradford Pear trees – usually the first things to bloom.
@Kimbo Jones:
I agree with that, and would add the sound of softly fluttering songbirds in a gently dewy morning.
That first quarter-inch of pollen on the hood of my car. (Or, if you prefer, sneezing up my first Brillo pad, which is about 15 minutes later.)
I lost my spring years ago.
Here in San Diego there really is no hard sudden change, so I go by the emergence of the wild flowers.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/duchek/2426522151/
The first three 100 degree days.
The first bit of sunstroke.
The pool is 80 degrees.
The first girlfriend of spring
I second the pollen comment. My car turns yellow every April….
The squeaking swingset one-note whine of young mockingbirds who have yet to gain a repetiore.
It’s pretty annoying, actually.
Robins.
Cherry blossoms.
Pea sprouts climbing their lattice.
Fat bumblebees on clover.
Sun-dried laundry.
Pinwheels.
Dandelions.
Farmers markets.
Wind. Lots and lots of wind.
Lilacs.
Daffodils.
Forsythia.
Wishing my screen door didn’t have a tear in it so I could take down the storm door.
Opening the windows so all the dust bunnies blow around the house and settle out of sight and out of mind (for a while).
The sun blaring through the bedroom windows in the morning and through the living room windows right onto the TV at night.
The Corvette comes out of hibernation.
Motorcycles.
Barking dogs who bark at nothing and do it all… day… long.
Garden dirt under my fingernails and forget-me-not burrs in my clothes.
And, of course, boobies. But then, that’s the answer to anything. That, or Anne Margaret.
All in all, a mixed bag.
Using up all the Windex getting all the pollen off my windshield…
Sunny days immediately followed by cold, dreary ones, immediately followed by pouring rain…I.e. normal DC area spring weather…
The piles of Sheltie fuzz while they have their semi-annual coat “blow out,” followed by dust Shelties…er, bunnies…
When my daffodils bloom: http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=1829441&l=f030f71758&id=588970697
Oh my god… look at the trees!!! I believe now.
Since this is my first spring in (sub-tropical) South Florida and we don’t get winter like we did in New York or Arizona I’ve been thinking about that a lot. I think the sign of spring will now be that sundown is late enough that I can hit the beach for awhile after work.
Please don’t shoot me for writing this but:
“The wonderful thing about skepchicks
is skepchicks are wonderful things!
Their tops are made out sexy smartness,
their bottoms are made out of springs!
Their bouncy, trouncy flouncy, pouncy
Fun fun fun fun fun!
But the most wonderful thing about skepchicks is,
that there is 14 now instead of just one.”
@Tim3P0: COTW oh hell Comment of the Milleneum
@Tim3P0: You know Tim I think I underrated you. This is the best I have read to this point. This is the comment of enternity. This should be said with a deep bass echoy sound.
Itchy eyes and a stuffy nose. Oh, and asthma.
Also: cleavage.
Spending significant time outside without a jacket, and everything becoming green. No number of other signs are sufficient in the absence of those two.
(Pollen here starts before the snow’s gone.)
Taxes.
@Tim3P0:
Admit it, you only post things like this so you have a good chance of sleeping with a Skepchick at TAM.
Sam’s dance card is getting full.
@ plebas
You say that like it is a bad thing.
Asparagus. I got some at the farmers’ market yesterday, and my mouth is watering in anticipation.
Yesterday I dug in the dirt for hours–got some seeds planted, the lawn mowed, and tidied up some of the garden beds.
There have been lots of flowers blooming, and the dandelions have already peaked, and my rhubarb is beginning to grow over the driveway, but it doesn’t feel like spring until there’s local asparagus.
Asparagus is its own reward.
@Tim3P0: COTW! I’m going to have images of springy skepchick bottoms in my head all day.
Almost end of school!!!
It’s that vaguely depressing feeling that winter’s over and summer’s on the way. I’m already looking forward to autumn.
@Tim3P0: COTW
Being wound tightly in a spiral to create tension that can be used to store energy usually makes me feel like a spring.
Oh…wait…
@Steve: I hastily typed that comment while rushing out the door to meet a friend to go see Star Trek. When we got out of the theater, we were in the middle of a downpour. No umbrellas, of course. Yep, definitely spring here.
The torrential downpours that mark the spring camping trip for my son and I. Every year!
We have a blast, and he cries when it’s time to come home.
@Tim3P0: COTW just wanted to vote for you again. Since you brought up skepchick bottoms. We have already seen that skepchick boobies are really nice. Do you ever wonder what their bottoms might look like?
@Gabrielbrawley: tim3p0 doesn’t wonder, he knows :p
@carr2d2: All of them or just one?
@Gabrielbrawley: i’ll let you live in jealous wonderment :D
Hmmm….fresh veggies are a sign of spring for this omnivore!
Allergies. :8|
@carr2d2: I was think more of an admiration than a jealousness. Something like wow, superman is so cool
Ditto on the pollen.
Also, when Orion is really low in the Western sky in the evening.
@Nicole:
Ha. “Is that Orio–ACHOO!… Must be spring.”
Is it bad that most of mine are related to riding my bicycle?
-switch from full gloves to half-gloves; can wear just a jersey or t-shirt with no insulating layer under my windbreaker (it’s summer when I can ditch the windbreaker too)
-don’t need to use lights or reflector gear when riding at seven PM
-upside: bridges on my favourite trails are no longer slippery
-downside: trails are full of pedestrians and dogs
Here in South Australia its the almond blossom.
So sad in one way that so many have been dug up and replaced by grapevines.
In the other way though, good wine and food is one of the things we do best so, if you are visiting Oz, contact me and I will show you a good time cos we do know how to party!
Course, the invite extends to you skeptics. I just had a vision of 5000 4chan Anonymous perverts rocking up on my front doorstep………..maybe I should draw some Venn diagrams here!
November.
Seriously, we already hit 104 last month. Phoenix doesn’t get spring.
Up here in Wisconsin, it’s me looking out my home-office window and seeing my retired neighbor starting his lawn maintenance.
While there are still scattered snow and ice patches on the lawn…
The trees may have leafed out, the fruit trees have blossomed but its still cold, wet and grey. Spring this year is over a month late with few prospects of much improvement. I do have fond recollections of past springs, but they are fading.
pics of skepchicks in bikinis on lawn mowers :D
@mali: where on earth would you see something like that?! :p
@James Fox: I don’t even have fond memories. My memories of “spring” are: “Oh. It’s hot!” Then summer: “It’s hotter!”
@carr2d2: I don’t know, but where is my invite?!
@marilove: well, i invite you to follow me on twitter
( http://twitter.com/carr2d2 ), and you may be privy to these things in future ;)