Springtime in the Colorado Rockies arrives in countless forms, from subtly beautiful to, um, not so much.
“I know it’s spring when there’s snow on the tulips on the Pearl Street Mall in Boulder,” says Alexandre Heine.
“Spring’s not when the tulips first come up. It’s still winter. It’s not spring until the flowers have snow on them.”
Here’s a handful of other signs of a Colorado spring:
Chalk drawings on residential sidewalks
Yellow parking tickets sprouting on cars forgetfully parked in the wrong place on street-sweeping day
Greater prairie chickens performing their mating dance on the eastern plains
Hearing — and feeling — the vibrations from the bass thumping from a car idling at a stoplight on the opposite side of the intersection
Garage sales
Long-frozen dog doody in the backyard starting to thaw
Farmers markets and roadside produce stands
Mike the Headless Chicken Days festival commemorating Fruita’s celebrated rooster
People dressing for the outdoors by wearing shorts and a polyester pile top
Growling lawn mowers on weekend mornings
The return of the ice cream truck, often exactly at dinnertime
The appearance of fuzzy geese hatchlings, tiny baby rabbits, foxes and fawns
Forsythia bushes brilliant with yellow blooms
In-line skaters
Vehicle roof racks simultaneously carrying skis and a bicycle
Dandelions and other wild greens starting to sprout
Shirtless skiers tackling the slopes at Arapahoe Basin, and catching rays on Arapahoe Beach
Sighting a garter snake
Kayakers surfing the snowmelt runoff on Colorado rivers
Big rainbow trout running on the South Platte River between Spinney and Eleven Mile reservoirs
The mayfly hatch
Scavengers with metal detectors hunting for abandoned treasure on the freshly defrosted slopes under the ski lifts
Spears of wild asparagus poking up near soggy ditches
Water board staffers opening the gates on canals and ditches
