Modern Signs of Spring

Back in the day people measured the coming of spring by such things as when the crocus blossoms, when the robins return, when buds appear on trees and when a young man's "fancy" turns to love. Frankly I have no idea what a crocus looks like, I don't have time to squint at every bird I see to determine if it's a robin and in my experience a young man's fancy is rarely swayed from "love." Here then are some modern signs of spring:

1. the start of baseball spring training
2. street sweepers cleaning up the winter's leftover mess
3. the arrival of Shamrock shakes at McDonald's
4. Easter dresses on sale
5. Peeps in the grocery store
6. cars lined up at the airport post office to drop off their tax return

Of course this all culminates in "Leaf Day" - the day my father says all the leaves are out on the trees and it looks like summer. Which is approximately May 10th from our observations over the years. I swear I used to have more of these but I can't think of them anymore. Let me know if you can think of others.