When the winter weather breaks, it’s time to get outside to look for other hopeful signs that spring is on its way.
A telltale sign that spring is coming is waking up to birds chirping who are back from migrating all winter.
The snow is starting to melt, the days are getting longer and it starts to stay bright longer.
In honor of those first tentative steps we take out the ice-battered door, squinting skyward at the bright yellow orb we thought had deserted us, here are DaytonMostMetro’s Top Ten Signs of Spring:
RUSHING THE PATIO SEASON
1. We’ve all been cooped up inside for so long on the first nice day we can’t wait to sit on a patio, like this one at Fifth Street Brewpub, even if there still is snow outside! Looking for some great outdoor dining? Check DMM’s Dining Guide for over 40 al fresco options. And now with all of our local breweries we can do a lot of outdoor drinking, too!
THE LURE OF THE BRACKET
2. Starting on selection Sunday the buzz of fans and nonfans alike begin. You’ll see brackets hanging on walls of offices all over town. Fans and nonfans alike are all lured by the possibility of winning a little cash and the just as important bragging rights that come from the thrill of that unknown underdog advancing to the next round. Folks huddle around TV sets and you can actually hear the groans of loss as folks agonize over their pools. Employers often get an acute attack of anxiety over plunging productivity, as many of the key games are played in the middle of the day. Win or lose, Dayton comes alive as hosts of the First Four , which this years tips off on Tuesday March 17th & 18th.
WEARING OF THE GREEN
3. “David Letterman said there are 4 places in the world to be for St. Paddy’s day… Dublin, Ireland, New York, NY, Chicago, IL and Dayton OH. The thing that makes UD so special for St. Paddy’s isn’t one specific party…. It’s the WHOLE university and most of Southern Ohio, that will migrate to UD’s student neighborhood aka “the ghetto.” A magical one big neighborhood and no parents are home. A school with roughly 8000 students living on campus will grow to 18,000 every St. Patricks day. All day the streets are filled with drinkers in green. Every house is open to anyone. . The administration sends out an email a couple weeks in advance to all students’ parents urging them to speak with their little Dayton Fliers about not going too hard that day. And if the UD Ghetto isn’t your scene, head to the corner of Fifth Street and Wayne Avenue where The Dublin Pub put up a huge tent and thousands of folks flock to the Oregon District for kegs and eggs, green beer, Irish dancing and help the DubPub hold the title for largest seller of Jameson’s Irish Whiskey in the state.
PLAY BALL!
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4. If you’re a baseball fan, spring arrives with two simple words: Pitchers & Catchers! The might not be playing for keeps for another month, but for now everyone’s in first place and The Boys of Summer are back! And our Dayton Dragons are back at practice. The Dragons will open the 2015 home season on Sunday, April 12 when they host the South Bend Silver Hawks at Fifth Third Field in the first of 70 Dragons home games. Start time for this game will be announced at a later date. The Dragons first Midwest League game of 2015 will be played on the road three days earlier, Thursday, April 9 in Comstock Park, Michigan against the West Michigan Whitecaps.
FOOD TRUCKS ARE BACK
5. The Miami Valley has about 40 Food Trucks rolling around town to give us the best in Street Treats. Harvest Mobile Cuisine won the $10,000 grand prize in last year’s Springfield Gourmet Food Truck Competition with its Land and Sea BLT and will be back to defend their title on August 15th. But you don’t have to wait that long to grab a meal from your favorite truck. The Yellow Cab Food Truck Rallies kick off on Friday, March 20th and will continue on the 3rd Friday of each month through October. You’ll also find trucks at our
local breweries and at various office parks around town. You can always check DMM’s Calendar (select the food truck category) to find a truck near you!
WE’RE NOT SWERVING BECAUSE WE’RE DRUNK DRIVING- WE’RE JUST DODGING POTHOLES
6. Potholes begin after snow or rain seeps into the soil below the road surface. The moisture freezes when temperatures drop, causing the ground to expand and push the pavement up. As the temperatures rise, the ground returns to normal level but the pavement often remains raised. This creates a gap between the pavement and the ground below it. When vehicles drive over this cavity, the pavement surface cracks and falls into the hollow space leading to the birth of another pothole. “We’re looking over the next few weeks it’ll be probably be worse than a normal spring for potholes,” said Montgomery County Engineer Paul Gruner. “We’ve had a lot of freeze-thaw cycles and some really cold temperatures, and that’s not a very good combination for pavements.” You know it’s bad when there’s a list of potholes published in the DDNews.
ICE CREAM STANDS ARE OPEN
7. These little seasonal neighborhood gems each have their own personality and can often unite a community on a sunny day. As you stroll on down to grab a waffle cone, shake or hand dipped sundae, there’s something about that first sweet treat that wipes away all the dreamy, winter doldrums. So whether it’s the Dixie Dairy Dreem, Dairy Queen, Andy’s Frozen Custard or Rita’s Italian Ice, that first taste of spring sets the tone for your entire summer! With each lick memories of summers past come flooding back and the joy of being outside, in your flip flops suddenly put a big old smile on your face.
DUCK FLIGHTS
8. As the Great Lakes begin to open up and ice disperses, we get skeins of ducks coming up the Ohio River Valley. Our first spring ducks are often the hardy mallards and black ducks, followed closely by the impressive wood ducks. A baby duck is called a duckling, and an adult male is a drake. An adult female duck is called a hen or a duck, and a group of ducks can be called a raft, team or paddling.
HERE COMES PETER COTTONTAIL
![Easter Bunny_thumb[2]](http://www.mostmetro.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Easter-Bunny_thumb2.jpg)
9. When you see the Esther Price Bunny waving outside The Wayne Avenue store you know spring is here! “The company is 88 years old, so it’s been here a long while. We’ve got third generations coming in here,” said Jim Day, General Manager and President of Esther Price. “It keeps the kids happy.” From chocolate eggs to baskets stocked with candy, the goodies are melting off store shelves and into Easter baskets of kids and adults across the Miami Valley.
KINGS ISLAND OPENS FOR THE SEASON
10. Year after year, the best thrills the region has to offer are at Kings Island. Speed junkies can get their fix on Banshee – the longest inverted roller coaster in the world. Challenge The Beast – the longest wooden roller coaster in the world – and Diamondback. There’s also The Bat, Drop Tower, Delirium, Flight of Fear, Invertigo, The Racer and Vortex. The thrills never seem to end at Kings Island. . Be among the first to experience the new Woodstock Gliders and Snoopy’s Space Buggies in the 14-time, award-winning Planet Snoopy kids’ area.
