Spring is in the Air?

[205]

I've been looking hard the last couple of weeks for one of these. And I was coming back from the barn this morning, and heard that familiar whistle. Looked up in the apple tree and there was a pair of Redwing blackbirds. An ole timer told me 30 some years ago that this bird was the True sign spring is near! I anxiously wait every spring now for that familiar sound. Cant wait to see them swinging on the cat-tails! What's YOUR favorite True sign? Russell

[Fish-on]

Supposed to be 5-10 below here in northern Iowa tonight. No blackbirds for a while.

[Hawgeye]

When there are signs of the dormant grass showing through the snow. It was like 15 below last night. I am afraid we have a ways to go here in the frozen tundra of ND.

[sib]

I wanna believe! actually i think you're right, it won't be too much longer.

My wife saw 2 bluebirds last week, that's a good indicator.

For me i start looking for the waterfowl to return. Some local fowl never leave us here in west michigan, but most move south. Being surrounded by wetlands at my home, i have noticed a significant increase in the fowl now coming into our ponds, which have some open water for the first time since the end of Nov. Flushed 8 ducks out as the dawg and i walked this morn at daybreak:-), 2 weeks ago we hadn't seen a duck on the ponds for 2 full months.

"go outside and play"
sib

[cn]

Look for buds on the boxelder trees...the dried out part
has fallen off, and you can see the buds on the branches even while the snow is deep on the ground-spring is only a few weeks away then!

[AquaMan]

True sign of spring here in MN is an ice-free lake. ;-)

But the robins are my indication that we are in the final stretch.

AquaMan~~~~~~~~~~~~~

.·´¯° --- "It all begins and ends at the water's edge"

[Eyez]

Somehow I doubt we're anywhere near spring in SD. The snow after the last storm is now chest deep in my backyard. My whole yard is a snowdrift. On the bright side, I have made a bit of money lately pulling people out of ditches....


Eyez

[Hans]

You call this spring?

Here's what it looks like in my neighborhood!

http://pic2.picturetrail.com/VOL6/117898/204503/1560196.jpg

Hans

[Eyez]

I don't appear to have access to that particular file Hans. I thought about hacking it so I could see it, but then I noticed that it's apache....



Eyez

[Hans]

Should be able to just click and go? Works for me.

Hans

[Eyez]

Forbidden
You don't have permission to access /VOL6/117898/204503/1560196.jpg on this server.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Apache/1.3.12 Server at pic2.picturetrail.com Port 80



dunno....


Eyez

[Mac]

Here in SD it was -20 last night and +2 right now. It is not will spring arrive, but will the pile the city has built up to over 50 ft high of snow the they have cleared from downtown, be the start of the next glacial age? I have no idea which lumps on the deck are chairs and which are tables. My dog hasn't been even close to killing grass when she goes outside, because her feet are 30 inches off the ground. If the walls surrounding the sidewalk cave in while I am going to the mailbox, they won't find my body until the glacier kicks it out 5,000 years from now.(The scientists examing my body will come to the conclusion that I had put on all the clothing I owned and was making a break for warmer weather to the south when I ran out of food and a sudden storm overtook me)
No, the first signs of spring and Labor Day look like they will arrive simultaneously.

[AquaMan]

Nice rig, Hans.

You could not seen my rigs since the snow is higher then them.

;-)


AquaMan~~~~~~~~~~~~~

.·´¯° --- "It all begins and ends at the water's edge"

[Hans]

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/brakob/files/225snow.jpg

Hans

--

[ufda]

I understand as I use the robins too, but in a little different way. When the robins leave Tucson and head north, I know it must be spring on the tundra!
ufda

[cisco]

Could not get thru on either -- BUT, my guess is I can see pretty much the same right out my front window.

My part of Minnesota has 28 inches on the ground as of today, as per local media -- I have more than that out back.

[cisco]

It's so cold where I am, my dog has to jump-start rabbits before she can chase them.

[chadk66]

I can guarantee there were no red winged blackbirds in ND last night. -25 this am. I don't think we're gonna have spring in our air anytime soon. blahhh

[Juls_WI]

The crocuses (sp?) are coming up in my garden already. They are coming up through the snow. They are always the first to show when Spring is just around the corner. I haven't seen the first Robin yet, but I'm sure I will in the next week or two. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for a break in this crappy weather. I'm tired of being cold, that's for sure!

Juls

[Eyez]

That one works... one question, how did you get my truck in your driveway? That one looks just like the one I used to have, but mysteriously all proof that I ever owned it disppeared when it did... or maybe I was just dreaming about a new truck. :)

Either way, I'm sick of winter, and it looks like you are too.


Eyez

[Hans]

.....I was just shoveling snow and there it was under that big pile of white stuff. There was a title for a Lund Baron in the glove box, so I've been busy shoveling around all the other lumps of snow in the neighborhood, but no luck yet.

Hans

[Frank from TBay]

Good thoughts all...but wishfull thinking here. We just had a major winter storm with about 12in of the white stuff and now its gone down to 10 below F. The lakes are all slushed up and tough going. We see ice out in late april to the first week of may. Winter walleye ends on April 15.......I feel springy after that.On the positive note ice fishing has been good. We were out just before the storm hit and caught over 25 the biggest at 6#. Had a 40in pike thrown in for some variance.

[Buckeye]

I know spring is in the air when I have the varmint rifle out the tractor window and a whistle pig in the crosshairs while broadcasting clover seed. Won't be long now.

[curt quesnell]

good news...its gonna be 30 degrees in northern minnesota
thursday, friday, saturday, sunday and monday....!!!!!!!!!!!!!

winters not over but we will start to slap it around a bit
soon..(i hope this post doesnt make winter angry)

curt quesnell

[eyebanger]

When I take off my long handles I know its spring.

[Weyes1]

You guys up north really have it bad. We just got 6-14" of snow here in north central Kansas. Last week I saw around 30,000 Snow geese heading your way all week then bam! Snow storm for us - regular northern flurry to you guys.
From what I hear it's not supposed to hit the 40's until mid next week. So much for going fishing this weekend.
Cabin fever is getting to be too much.

Weyes1
Kevin Clark
weyes1@wamego.net

[BD]

At least you guys have snow. After last weekends rain what little snow we have is under an inch of glare ice.

[cisco]

Pioneers used to have a problem with body hair growing thru them there longhandles -- they often had to cut them off, come spring.

[CJHughes]

Here in cetral Ohio it is the robin that starts spring for us.Now I am going to make you guys jealous.The local lakes here thawed out last week . I caught one saugeye my son caught two my brother-in law 2 and his son 8. The biggest was 5lb , man did it feel good to get out on the water.It was alittle rough getting back in gale force winds . Bad part I think it was cold enough last night to freeze the lakes again, but they should be open by this evening.

[Ness]

Every spring, my houseplants perk up and get a sudden growth spurt, it must come from the longer days. Hasn't happened yet this year but I'm starting to notice a little change in them...
of course, it's probably just wishful thinking. My favorite bird is the red-wing for obvious reasons :-) It's 5* here this morning, I think I'll be waiting awhile before I see one yet.

[RANGER]

Here, in Pittsburgh, it is two indicators - the Robin and the Sea Gulls on our rivers. Similar to Hinckley(?), Ohio's buzzards we get the migrating Sea Gulls heading to the Great Lakes from the Chesapeake Bay area and further south. Haven't seen either!

This long, cold Winter will make all of us appreciate the new fishing season all the more!!!!!!!! Right?


RANGER


"KEEP YOUR LINES WET, YOUR POWDER DRY and THE BEER COLD"

[TLY]

Robins are nice, open water is better.
If this winter is any indication, next fall I am going to tie a snow shovel on my truck front bumper and start driving south. Won't quit until someone asks me what that thing is on my front bumper!!!!

Lent is about now here, maybe we can give up winter.

[Bottomfeeder]

For the last two years I have been on the 3 month program here in Northeastern WI.
1998-I had the boat in the water on December 14-Got it out again on March 14 1999.
1999-Boat in the water on December 7--Got it out on March 7, 2000.
Last year I put it away on November 7. I should have been fishing on Feb 7 to continue the 3 month program. The water is still hard. This winter is getting old.

[Backwater Eddy]

Spring is here for me when I hear thunder and smell the rain.

When the rain lets up the sound of frogs, meadowlarks, and blackbirds fill the air and all the while I am slipping the river current jigging for a walleye.

WAKE UP ED!

Ya ok, but for now, I just hope my Blazer starts, and the doors are not froze shut, again.

Backwater Eddy

“February is the month designed to teach people who don’t drink what a hangover is like.” Garrison Keilor

[Mac]

Spring is here in SD! Warm south wind and wind chill of only -25. We're getting above Zero a few hours each day, but no above freezing anywhere in the 7 day forecast. Incidentally, the drifting in the forecast is not the action of your boat, but the action of the snow as it fills in the path you cleared an hour ago.

[205]

Thanx Guys, You scared off my Redwings. Didnt see em this morning. And the Ohio Valley got a sciff of snow this morning. Thats alright though, its gone already! :-) I'd say by my calculations that those birds headed your way and that they should be arriving in your area around March 21st. Startin to ketch a few eyes down on the river. And the crappies are starting. TIGHT LINES! Russell

[Box]

Yep!

For me it's when the big flocks of Loons and Goldeneye and Mergansers and Bufflehead start moving up following the open water. For anybody in St. Paul area, keep checking little Gervais Lake in Maplewood for ice out, and then you will see flocks of Loons and the other shining white waterfowl by the dozens! It is just awesome! Usually around March31 the lake starts to open.

Please get here sooner Spring!

Box
MN

[STICKBOAT]

In my part of South Dakota seeing robins is a good indicator, but I think its a little different than most places. Around here we start seeing them when the snow melts down far enough so you can find the frozen ones that didn't have sense enough to leave in time last fall. God, this weather is depressing.

[ddt]

Its here====Sioux Falls. SD.
The sun is out,the robins are here,
the tree's are starting to bud,more
geese just flew over,going north.

With any luck,they might let me out
of this place//////PLEASE.

[Eyez]

You have geese in Sioux Falls? Snow Geese? I gotta clean my shotgun and drive south....... as soon as I can dig my way out to the barn to get the decoys out.


Eyez

[Dutchman]

What side of town are you on??? Or can I have some of whatever your drinking??? :)

[EricCO]

When you can do something outside after work and you don't need a flashlight.

[Dinky Dave]

>Supposed to be 5-10 below here
>in northern Iowa tonight. No
>blackbirds for a while.


Maybe iced wing black birds!