I probably would have come up with a more relevant question, but right now I'm just annoyed by flat tires and having to go to work while the sun is shining. So send me some positive thoughts, people. Tell me the five best things about this time of year. Running over your neighbor's big pile of lawn refuse and getting a flat tire does not count.

-- Anonymous, April 03, 2000

Answers

I live in North Carolina, so my list is heavier on the no-longer-cold department.

1. flowering trees, especially dogwood 2. wisteria 3. walking the dog without my enormous, heavy coat 4. more daylight 5. sandals

bonus: spring beauties and bluets in the woods, warblers are back, songbirds are singing and won't shut up (good and bad, I guess)

-- Anonymous, April 03, 2000

Big puffy white clouds on a clear blue sky. The smell of the earth and growing things after an early morning rain. Being up early enough to hear the morning birds and seeing the squirrels doing their thing. No mosquitos. College students walking along in halter tops and shorts.

-- Anonymous, April 03, 2000

Let's see... I live in Florida and most people think I'm able to do most of this year-round, but it isn't so...

1) Wearing sandals again. If I wasn't so afraid of stepping on something and getting some horrid infection, I'd go barefoot all the time. And thank god for Chili, the shoe company that makes the sandal I've found that feels like you're wearing nothing at all on your tootsies.

2) Having an excuse to use my sunless tanning products. :) I am deathly afraid of getting wrinkles and my mom's warnings of "stay out of the sun or else you'll start looking like beef jerky - dark, but very wrinkled" stuck.

3) Wearing shorts and tank tops to show off the now tanned legs and arms that I was afraid to show before.

4) Walking outside after work and taking a deep breath. It always smells like sunshine. Or maybe that's just because I've been cooped up inside a mall for hours on end. ::shrug::

-- Anonymous, April 03, 2000

Lilacs. Warmth. Everything in bud. Robins returning, magpies getting frisky. Digging out my window boxes and looking at seedlings. Going barefoot. Swimming outside. Later sunset. Trees going into leaf and having more privacy. Everything smelling fresher. Spring cleaning, even.

-- Anonymous, April 03, 2000

1)Letting the pooch go swimming (still too cold for humans). Watching Howard do that simultaneous drink & swim thing is a hoot.

2)More light in the evening (especially now that Daylight Savings is in effect.) Bye bye Seasonal Affective Disorder.

3)Sitting on the front stoop shooting the shit with the neighbors. Facilitated by more light in the evening.

4)Color. Green grass. Blooming trees and shrubs. Jonquils.

5)Thundershowers. Gives you an excuse to stay inside and cuddle and have sex without thinking you're wasting a sunny day. Followed by mud. Yeah, it's gross and messy and covers the dog. But it makes that cool squirk noise.

-- Anonymous, April 03, 2000

oh oh oh, I almost forgot

6) Asparagus! (and sundry seasonal produce)

-- Anonymous, April 03, 2000

How possibly to narrow it down to just five ?

Daffodils, which poke their heads up through the falling snow in defiance of the elements.

Forsythia, the broad smile of Mother Nature.

Grass greening on the soft, warm ground.

The green mist of just sprouting leaves on the trees, leaves not really visible from a distance but their promise gives us this enchanting view.

The clouds beginning to act like summer, big and fluffy.

Birds, squirrels doing their things quite visibly and care free.

Why stop there ?

-- Anonymous, April 03, 2000

Ah, lets see:

1 - Being able to open up all the windows allowing a light breeze to waft the curtains and airing out the shut-up-since Fall smell in the house.

2 - Being able to go outside and play with my almost-four year old after dinner instead of plopping her butt down in front of the TV.

3 - Going to the beach and walking along the boardwalk and basically enjoying the sight and smell of the ocean before it is invaded by New Yorkers and teenagers.

4 - Coming home from work and stripping down to a T-shirt and shorts.

5 - I also agree with the thunderstorms. I could stand outside and watch the overhead spectacle all night if I weren't so afraid I'd be struck by lightning. :)

-- Anonymous, April 03, 2000

Believe it or not, L.A. isn't warm and sunny year round. So here's my top five best things about spring:

1) Warmth 2) The smell of freshly mown grass 3) Warmth 4) Being able to sleep without three blankets and sweats. 5) Did I mention warmth?

Of course, by the time summer rolls around, I'll be cursing the heat, but that's not for a few months now.

-- Anonymous, April 03, 2000

Five good things about springtime

1.) Wandering over to the local park or school on a Saturday afternoon and watching the kiddies playing soccer or baseball.

2.) Driving on George Washington Parkway in D.C. any time besides rush hour with the windows down and the radio blaring (ed. note: May not apply to anyone not living in the Washington area).

3.) Barbecues, picnics and eating lunch outside.

4.) Easier to wander around aimlessly when not encumbered by winter coat, sweater and boots. Also less likelihood of leaving said items at restaurants, bars, etc.

5.) Stark winter landscape replaced with blooming cherry blossoms, flowers and assorted shrubbery.

and for Marylanders ... 6.) The Orioles haven't been eliminated from the playoff race yet.

-- Anonymous, April 03, 2000

1. Sex is better in spring.
2. Russell can play outside and do stuff, which I love to watch him do. (we took off the training wheels this weekend, though he still can't turn)
3. Daffodils and narcissus.
4. lilac bushes in New England
5. wysteria anywhere
6. butterflies

-- Anonymous, April 03, 2000

1. getting the taxes filed & out of the way 2. wanderlust & regular lust & spring fever 3. plants waking up & showing off & intoxicated 4. putting the hand lotion away till next year 5. birds, bees, butterflies & bikini underwear

-- Anonymous, April 03, 2000

1. Daffodils, which I prefer far more than roses or anything fancy.

2. Being able to open the back door and let the kitties roam around in our back yard (we have an 8-foot fence), even though Tubby likes rolling around in the dirt so much that his face and side are perpetually stained red.

3. The tornado warnings, and the scary look the sky gets when it's storming. (I'll think tornado warnings and scary skies are cool right up until a tornado wanders through my neighborhood and decimates my house)

4. Watching my husband and kid swimming in the pool (I'm sorry, 65 degree water is too damn cold for me; I notice that the older I get the wimpier I get about that sort of thing)

5. Watching the grass turn slowly from a dead-looking beige to a dark, deep green.

-- Anonymous, April 03, 2000

In Alaska we are usually pretty desperate by the time Sring rolls around. There are great things to look forward to at this time of year.

1. Snow finally starts melting 2. The days just get longer and longer....should be 24 hours of daylight in June! 3. WARM WARM WARM WARM! It's amazing just how warm 50 degrees feels. 4. No more parkas, no more boots, no more gloves, no more scarfs, no more long underwear...you get the idea 5. The bikes can come out of storage and we can play outside! YEA

-- Anonymous, April 03, 2000

1-The cat stays out for more than 10 seconds at a time 2-Flowers 3-More Daylight! 4-Warm! (relatively) 5-I can start putting the sweaters away 6-April birthdays of niece and boyfriend

-- Anonymous, April 03, 2000

1. The smell of wisteria is a big one for me too Beth.

2. The light staying until later, so that it was just glorious when we were wandering around Old Town Alexandria tonight, bidding adiue to old haunts

3. The cherry tree outside my window is in bloom making the apartment feel like a tree house.

4. The birdies are chirping and driving the cats nuts (they're so funny when the get to bird watching and it keeps them occupied for hours

5. Short sleeves, but not the attendant sweating that comes about later in the summer.

-- Anonymous, April 04, 2000

Spring? That's that pseudo warm flowery season, right? We don't get much of that in New York. Spring in New York means

1. Cabbies air out that FTD 'not so fresh smell' from their cars 2. Pre-sweat season for the homeless 3. Hot dog vendors stop keeping the buns in their pants -- there's sun to keep 'em warm, now! 4. Flowers in the dumpsters...ahhh. 5. Short skirts aren't just for hookers any more!

Anyone want to consider a student exchange program?

-- Anonymous, April 04, 2000

baby green leaves kids selling lemonade lots of rain easter candy miles of wildflowers along the highway

-- Anonymous, April 04, 2000

I think that some of these are more meaningful for those of us who live in climates that have actual seasons, but anyway, here goes:

1. The sun comes out for more than two days in a row, causing me to fantasize about sunscreens and short-sleeved shirts.
2. The car doesn't frost up in the morning anymore.
3. Green is a much prettier color than ugly brown, which is the color of mud, and the color of everything around here in the winter.
4. Daylight saving time! The sun doesn't go down at 5 p.m. I get off work and the sun is still shining. Glorious, glorious.
5. Summer blockbuster season is right around the corner. Love those big-budget action movies -- a guilty pleasure, but pleasure nonetheless.

-- Anonymous, April 04, 2000

1] The crocuses.

2] Going to a professional baseball game; hot dogs, beer, the crack of the bat, the sun in my eyes, the crowd. Heaven.

3] The whur of lawn mowers on sunday afternoons, it always means that summer is coming.

4] Less clothing, more skin. The possibility of seeing my daughter's little feet and hands digging in sand for the first time.

5] The cherry trees are all in bloom right now.

-- Anonymous, April 06, 2000

1. The prettiness of everything. London is ugly in the winter - all bricks and no leaves. But it becomes a beautiful city again from about mid-March onwards. 2. Sunshine. On the buildings, in the parks, dappling through my office window. 3. Blossoms. My favourite thing about spring. When I lived in New Zealand I never fully appreciated the change of seasons because it was always green and pretty, but now I relish it. 4. Longer days. Winter in London means darkness from 4.30 pm to 8 am. 5. Happy people. Maybe it's because of those long winters, but people get miserable here during January and February. Everybody loves to see the sunshine again. 6. Summer clothes in the shops again. I get so sick of black and grey by the end of winter.

-- Anonymous, April 07, 2000

1. Co-eds in miniskirts or tiny shorts 2. Drinks on the patio 3. Grilling steaks on a springtime evening 4. Opening the windows 5. Co-eds suntanning by the university lakes...

-- Anonymous, April 07, 2000

One bad thing about springtime: the use of the word "co-ed" in the year 2000. WOMEN GO TO COLLEGE NOW. You can start calling them "students" already, for the love of God. Didn't you say you used to be a college professor? Jesus.

-- Anonymous, April 07, 2000