Here are some signs that spring can't be far off

Did you remember to spring ahead Saturday night?

I know, I know, it's several weeks early this year -- the result of machinations to head into daylight-saving time sooner and supposedly save energy by shifting daylight hours later in the day.

Though you're probably a little groggier than normal, you can take the loss of sleep as a welcome sign that spring has GOT to be coming. Soon, it can only be hoped. After all, March is meteorological spring. Surely the actual weather might cooperate some day in the not too distant future.

But there are signs that this long winter is finally lessening its death grip.

• There were people out last Sunday (remember that 50-plus-degree warmth?) on their bicycles. Of course, they were trying to ride over stubborn ice and through a whole bunch of slush, but obviously they weren't going to let a little ice and snow dissuade them enjoying a great warm-weather pursuit.

• Spring athletes have taken to the streets, courts and fields. They're kicking those soccer balls and hitting those baseballs and softballs. High school runners can be seen on the streets of Geneva training for the track season.

• After last weekend, you can actually see grass again!

• You can see people driving around with the windows of their cars open.

• "I have a snowflake tablecloth in my dining room," offered a friend. "I put it away in favor of Easter pastels. It didn't help. Sigh."

• In that same vein, Easter wreaths are popping up all over, though I have yet to see a tree decorated with eggs.

• Instead of relying on an automated car wash, a few souls have been seen outside washing their own vehicle, a true rite of spring.

• Instead of her kids playing in the snow, a friend said, last weekend -- remember how warm it was, how delightful? -- they made a beeline for the basketball hoop in the driveway.

• That's a clear sign, another person told me: you can hear children's voices outside, as the kids play in the great outdoors.

• I ran into someone -- dressed in boots and winter coat and shivering away -- who dodged snowflakes as she talked about how she'd seen wonderful garden accessories at the store the night before. She resisted, and went home and looked in her gardening catalogs instead.

• And speaking of those heavy coats, some people are shedding them for lighter-weight jackets, signaling a mindset that has everything to do with optimism and nothing to do with the actual temperature.

• Here's a scary thought for those who are "swimsuit challenged." Signs of spring mean signs of summer next -- and summer means a swimsuit. A friend of mine cringes at the idea of appearing in one.

• People are starting to ask, "Are you going anywhere for spring break?"

• Inboxes everywhere are receiving enticements from clothing retailers, showing fashions in springtime pastel colors, clothes that can only be worn if the temperature rises. It gives one hope we may actually see such a day.

• Some people don't wait! Seen recently -- a 2½-year-old happily scurrying about in her brand-new "coral-colored" Crocs. She is all set for spring, that's for sure.

• And here's a clear sign, related by a friend of mine. Her son came downstairs, bleary-eyed at the, as she put it, "insanely early -- for him -- time of 10 a.m." A noise had startled him to the point that it catapulted him from bed, he told his mother. What caused the cacophony? It was a bird chirping outside his window.

Well, of course he was startled. We haven't heard such a noise in months.

• And finally, one of the clearest signs it's nearly spring? Some people are finally getting around to taking down their Christmas decorations.

Whatever decorations bedeck your yard and home, here's to spring-like weather for us all. Maybe it's 60 degrees out today...