What natural signs of spring should we be looking for?

My mom always said when you can hear the frogs at night.

New leaves on the trees with a sublime light green color only seen in early spring

Noses peaking out of masks.

The first signs of insanity. Because it will be one year of this mess and we are all going crazy!

I live in USDA Zone 6 , where in general spring doesn't start until April. But starting in February, if you have a few days above freezing, you may start to see little green fronds of daffodils and other bulb flowers poking out of the ground. Then when it freezes again they'll stop growing, and start again when it unfreezes.

Hot bros in cargo or cammo shorts and sneakers tossing footballs or frisbees in large public parks on warm days while shirtless and presenting beautiful muscular and hair legs.

Or, the return of nature and the trees' leaves and all that shit, too, I guess..

In the north, the first things that blooms are usually buttercups (ranunculus). They can bloom in a warm spell in February or early March, even if freezing weather follows. The early bulbs are species crocus, scilla, some species daffodils, snowdrops, and chionodoxa (glory of the snow). I saw robins on my lawn just before the freezing weather blew in but then they have disappeared (found a dead bird in my backyard this morning that might have been a robin - didn't look too closely, just grabbed the frozen thing in a plastic bag and walked it to the garbage can.) Red maples have red flowers in early spring, and if you know what to look for, you can see the red buds of them starting to unfurl along the bare branches in February or early March. Grass will start to green up during warm spells in March and that can give a person hope.

Pretty ladies in spring outfits.

By me, it used to be when you see Robins in your yard. A few stick around all year now. Daffodils are a welcome sight in spring.

I planted many daffodl bulbs throughout the years. Even when, during the winter when there's a warm spell and the green starts to emerge, as long as the blooms don't appear, it should be ok in the spring and will bloom as normal. I'm told....

*daffodil

I live in northern California, and I know it's late winter and spring is on the way when mustard starts blooming in the orchards, and the cherry and almond trees start to bloom.

There's an almond tree outside my house, I can see it from my living room window. I'm looking at it now, and it's covered in white flowers.

Boys in the bushes of your local park

The young Virginia creepers will be huggin' the bejeepers outta all the mornin' glories on the fence!

Someone bumping the thread about Speedos is a sure sign of spring. Better than that nasty ground hog.

Have you tried a calendar?

Hellebores in the yard have had new growth for about a month, and one has a bulb that's close to blooming. I'm psyched about that.

A later sunset?

In Zone 5, the first sign of Spring is a cardinal family - a bright red male, a smaller demure female, and one obese, Gary Larson-esque child.

In NY, when we get a late February or March snowfall and then a few unseasonably warm days in March, there is a distinct smell of the earth that I associate with spring/melting snow/thaw. It’s hard to describe, almost like ozone. It makes me hopeful that spring is around the corner.

Bleeding hearts and lillies of the valley.

I would say one sign I’m looking for is the absence of 10” of dirty snow everywhere.

I assume then that the presence of 12" of dirty snow means more winter

Crocus (the flowers saffron comes from) are the first to bloom here, then daffodils. Also look for scotch broom (yellow flowers on green brushy stick looking plants) and cherry blossoms.

Broadway chorus boys presenting hole like mandrills on 8th Avenue.

It may be happen a little early this year.

Wiccans in rut

The wildebeests shall begin their annual migration back to our area soon; I’ve already set-up the feeder in the back yard. We can watch them for hours from our breakfast room; we find them so amusing.

spring sprang sprong

The appearance of insects

Bees on the fruit trees

Also, when the ground is soft and cracked, as a result of alternate freezing and thawing

Pussy willows!

The birds start to get excited. I can almost hear the males "let's have sex" and the females "no, we have to wait until we're past the last freeze". My husband used to think I was crazy but after years of paying attention to it he hears it too.

Daffodils in the backyard.

There are a bunch of bluebirds in my yard all winter. Yesterday I noticed they were certainly bluer than they have been all winter.

The hellebores are usually a good sign, but they were crushed by so much snow that they didn't really flower this year.

But the daffodils are up in Philly!

No REAL signs of spring near me. Tomorrow is only going to be a high of 35 degrees and Saturday will only be a high of 33 degrees. I'm just north of NYC.

The snow is finally melting, it smells like damp earth outside, and the crocuses are starting to peek out! Daffodils and forsythia will be blooming in a couple of weeks too.

Chunk the Groundhog waking up from hibernation and eating gardener Jeff's veggies.

Ugh, r36. We have that shitty weather too over the weekend. But once we we get past Sunday, it looks like great weather ahead in the Northeast (well, at least as far north as Philly).

You can move things along a little faster if you sing to the flowers, birds, and bees!

Wet Ass Pussy willows R31

I saw a small moth flying outside my home two weeks ago in western PA

Hot guys in hot pants!

I live in a big crowded city, so the first signs of spring aren't birds and flower blossoms. I notice the lengthening days first; after months of coming home from work in darkness, it becomes lighter and lighter until I leave work in full daylight again.

Another sign in decreasing layers of outerware until I'm down to a thin coat, and then nothing at all.

I notice the tops of deciduous trees have a reddish or yellowish tint to them, indicating they are forming buds for leaves.

Forsythia!

Spring has sprung

The grass has riz

I wonder where the birdies is

Possibly the dumbest thread ever.

What are the natural signs of winter should we have been looking for?

My nasal mucus changes and I often get nosebleeds at the start of spring. I got my first one of the year on Tuesday!

Crocus, you idiot. How many times gotta tell ya?

But your mom wasn't the gardening type

No hobbies and the meat falling off of the bones of her arms

Instead she liked watching TV & tormenting/stalking people online

Hey! Just like you

Apple doesn't fall too far

[quote] In NY, when we get a late February or March snowfall and then a few unseasonably warm days in March, there is a distinct smell of the earth that I associate with spring/melting snow/thaw. It’s hard to describe, almost like ozone. It makes me hopeful that spring is around the corner.

This is happening right now. It’s in the 60s but there is still quite a bit of snow cover so feels a bit colder. It smells so good and is so nice to be sitting outside in the sun listening to the birds.

3 feet of snow

Unfortunately, because of all the snow in February here, I have damage to my garden by deer, a rabbit and voles. The voles ate all the carex grasses that I planted last year...thinking that because they are deer/rabbit resistant...they should be fine. I wasn't thinking about voles. The animals are desperate for food in the winter and you can see the damage in the spring. I'll remember to cover plants with cloches or a covering...using vole deterrents this fall. Oh well...back to square one. Other than that, the warmer temps and longer days..with daffodils and buds bursting are a welcome sign.

Miss OP, did you just arrive on planet Earth, since you appear to be unaware of the things that happen in the outdoors in the spring?