EARLY SIGNS: “I’m the one who enjoys reading about the first
signs of spring and getting outdoors and hearing nature at its
best,” writes Carl Andress of Bradford.

“Monday night, just before that thunderstorm moved through, I
heard a lot of peepers out back behind Fretz Middle School. And has
anyone noticed how much the trees are budding already? Maybe
because of the unusually warm weather this month. Could this be a
sign of early summer?”

Meanwhile, we heard from Wilcox resident Chip Swanson who heard
peepers for the first time Tuesday night.

A cautionary word from Jan Graham: “Many RTS readers have
written in about their sightings and enthusiasm for spring’s
return.”

“Your readers need to be cautioned about getting too enthused so
soon. There is a well-known and popular saying among meteorologists
and gardeners: Three snows after the forsythia bloom. The forsythia
have not yet bloomed.”

We have always heard the peepers have to “see through the glass”
(snow or ice) three times before spring has officially arrived.

To us, “spring” in Bradford was right on target this past
Tuesday: Miserably cold and wet, so nasty you’re actually praying
for snow. Still, we have been remarking for the past few years
about our weather getting increasingly warmer as we appear to be
dropping into weather patterns of lower Pennsylvania. To have such
unusually warm temperatures in March, though, that’s more like
Maryland.

God forbid we should enter into that political territory about
“global warming” but suffice it to say we like the idea of keeping
a daily log of anecdotal evidence for years to come.

DANCE TIME: We hear from A.C. Vanerstrom of Rosemead, Calif.,
regarding the class of 1968: “From 1965-68 we had places to go on
Friday nights and weekends to unwind a little. I remember dances at
BHS cafeteria, the K of C Hall, the Armory, and Pingies. My friends
and I really enjoyed listening to the bands play, dancing, and/or
just hanging out. Those were some good memories. I don’t know what
the kids are doing these days for entertainment, but it can’t beat
the good times we had then!”

ANOTHER ENTRY: Hal Harmon suggests its neither the pileated nor
the ivory-billed woodpecker that’s the model for Woody Woodpecker
but, instead, red-headed woodpecker.