My favorite harbinger of spring is...

When is 'SPING'? (ducking and running but I don't think you can reach me up here LOL)

It is when I see my first Robin.

when the Mallord ducks are in the ditch(now) and when the air feels soft on your face you can smell spring

we have a Chuck-Wills Widow that calls at night this time of year. i always get a thrill when i hear it and i know that spring has arrived.

it's the smell. When you can smell the dirt without the tang of frost, then it's spring.

My "other" is when I see the sprouts starting to come out of the ground. Then I do the "spring dance." Karen aka liebran

For me, Spring is the return of the hummingbirds. I love them. They are so much fun to watch, and it is so obvious when the scouts come in.............they zip around looking for anything possibly related to nectar or sugar water. I also love being able to keep my windows up 24/7, the smell of fresh air is a delight. Too bad Spring doesn't last longer around here!
Belinda

Freesias! They smell heavenly and then I know that the orange CA poppies, purple lavender, pink and white heuchera, and all the roses are on the way. Mine started a month ago so everything's starting to bloom right now. We're a few weeks early on the season due to a stretch of unusually warm dry weather lately.

Frogs Frogs Frogs

I usually hear them just when I think the dreary winter will never end. Lifts my spirits!

All choices mentioned certainly signal Spring in New England..even though our Spring is a bit brief and we transform every bit of sunshine and warmth into a gift.
The vortex of birdsong at dawn, the smell of fresh air from open windows (ridding us of all those winter "sick germs") hearing the slapping of teenage daughters in flip-flops and shorts though a TAD early, and the yellow pollen that covers every surface in my home and beyond.
Can't forget the ritual of the Beacon Hill Hidden Garden Tour in Boston, the transformation of hefty winter bedding for light and airy layers, noting who appreciates the fountain of the forsythia vs. cutting them back to yellow balls, and the utter passion of being drawn to the soil. My guess is in a former life, I was some kind of a Pagan Princess that hooted 'n howled at the significant moons. Lol. Happy Spring to All! Lynda

When I can leave all the windows wide open and get out of the shower without freezeing to death. My kitties love spring and fall because they get to spend time on their kitty porch!

X

when the days start to finally get longer and there is still plenty of light in the early evening....

I know what "harbinger" means, but what is a "sping"? HEHEHEHEHE!!

It's FROGS for me. I know when I hear them that spring is here...and that these delicate amphibians are still thriving on our poisoned planet!

Mine is the "greening" grass. Everything is so brown and dirty in the month of March until that grass starts turning green, what a relief to see it!

Opening the windows all day and night... boy do I love that!

I didn't really have a solid answer on this one. I guess when the robin's come back is close enough. I think when I put my outdoor speakers back out to fully annoy my neighbors is a good harbinger too.

Now I see the "sping". Kooger and Pekasky had me hunting for it.

When I hear the first "quack" of the wood frogs, I can be sure the crocus will bloom the next day. Two mallards return to paddle about on our pond, then the peepers complete the ritual. The laugh of the robins are always in there as well, but sometimes they are far too early to be reliable! The frogs know when it's really spring!!

When the frogs start croaking! My house is surrounded by wetlands and it sure gets loud. I had to pick frogs because the harbinger of spring is when my mud-covered little boy comes tromping through the house in knee high rubber boots to show me his pail o' frogs. Hard to be mad at someone who is so happy!

Michelle

First, yellow crocus, then daffodils, forsythia, and best of all, dogwoods! The last is the signal that my Hostas are springing up and I can celebrate the warm weather.

Laura

I know spring is around the corner when I hear the first robin singing.

When the forsythia starts to bloom then I know its spring. They are so cheerful and sunny.
And also when the grass turns green. [I am in SE Michigan.]

I love our little frogs. We've had one brave soul singing all through the winter but now his comrades have joined in. I don't think the three freezes adage holds true here; I think it's three more months of freezes! I just have to be careful digging in early spring because some of them are still hibernating. I unearthed two yesterday digging up alfalfa.
Here's one fat and happy under the pumpkins last summer.

When I can dig in the dirt! Soft, rich soil, and see my friends - earthworms! I love those little guys!

I voted for when the frogs start singing (peepers here), it's a hopeful sound. But my real first day of spring is the day the Loons return home. I love listening to them at night.

When the iberis blooms and Clear Creek starts to flood from snowmelt.

When the crocuses start blooming.

When the Frogs and Toads start singing-
and...they're having a party at the Pond tonight..

Well, I picked the "when a certain plant blooms" answer. But after reading some of your answers, I have to agree that it's a combination of things.

When I start seeing robins again, I know spring is getting close. Then, the chorus of birds that sing in the morning are louder and start earlier. (We don't have frogs around us, so that answer was out.)

When the daffodils, grape hyacinths, tulips, and LILACS bloom... then spring is in full swing for me. (I agree, heaven must smell like lilacs!) But, spring starts for me when the white and brown of winter give way to various shades of green. And we get a lot of rain, instead of snow. And then the FLORESCENT green grass after a good, long thunderstorm. Yep, then it's spring.

Last year was the first time my lilac hedges bloomed. I didn't know you were only supposed to prune them every OTHER year!

~Kristy

This message was edited Apr 3, 2007 12:14 AM

I see the one I voted for isn't the most popular, but second. It is being able to leave the windows open, day and night.

I love fresh air. I don't mind the chill on my face as long as I am covered up. It is wonderful and I can then hear the birds in the morning which are much better than an alarm clock.

I love spring.

Daffodils! I long for the bright yellow splash all winter. Mine have buds now.

Love this...

ice-worm says when the geese return
Spring here is when the gees leave !

Also...AYankeeCat says when he can hear the Robin
Robins are a first sign of winter for us !

Baseball, crocus & daffodils!!

You go Grampapa!!! Seems like months ago I flashed you a picture of our daffs in bloom when you were yearning. : ))

Ahhh...the frogs singing lifts the winter doldrums!

I'm saying crocus, forced forsythia, other small bulbs,more forced forsythia, then daffodils and real forsythia and forget-me-nots, then tulips and working on other perennials and trying to keep shipments of annuals alive long enough to pot them all up, 2 trips to HD a day sometimes, oh and then it's over, it's summer. This spring I hope it doesn't rain quite so much!

xxxx, Carrie

I'm not sure I quite got the order right, but when it happens, it's right.

This message was edited Apr 3, 2007 9:16 AM

Apologies for my stuttering fingers, which left out the "r" on spring ;o)

My first thought was when the daffodils come up but pussywillows are really the things that let me know that spring is here. I remember being in school and having it always be a contest to see whose pussywillows would come out first. I also LOVE magnolia blossoms but nobody has seemed to manage develop one hardy in zone 2. At least we have lilacs.

Robins are definitely a sign that spring is here but the birds I look forward to most are simple white-throated sparrows. I love hearing their distinctive call (pretty much the only one I recognize). Around here, most people look for the geese though. Everyone is getting ready to go out for their traditional spring goose hunt.