It is February but the Dairy Queen is open at Harlem Road near Cleveland Drive. Would you believe that people are lining up in the shivering cold, waiting for something colder? Are they crazy or am I crazy for not getting in line?

As I weave my way over to the West Side to get my clock fixed, I see a speculator sunset that paints the Niagara River's skyline a golden red. I am on Niagara and Ontario Street, the time 6 P.M. Days are getting longer; a sure sign that winter is losing its grip.

Black footprints follow me into the house. I welcome mud instead of snow on my feet and entranceways. The front hall's a unsightly mess of tangled mittens, hats and boots are on the way out! Its time is up. Persistent sunshine peeks between my horizontal window shades.

Dirty snow is melting into the ground and turning into patches of green grass near a snow bank. On my street, I brake for a stray ball. Kids are outside more, using balls, bikes and skateboards. After a Buffalo winter, kicking a football around can be fun, even if it ricochets off the snow banks.

The merchants' anticipation of spring is greater than mine. Shovel sales, patio furniture, and gardening stuff are waiting for customers.

Saint Patrick's Day and Easter Candy, cards and gifts are showing up at the Southgate Mall. Aren't they rushing the Easter Season a bit?

The squirrels are alive with energy and so is a slow moving possum. Unfortunately, one possum is dead under a bush. I guess it's going to be my job to bury him. Frozen into the ground, grubby rubbish reminds me that spring means there is some cleaning up to do in my front yard.

Recently when I walked down 19th Street, to visit a friend, birds chirped in extreme bliss above me in the budding tree branches.

On a book-selling trip beyond our city, I headed south. I noticed cars parked in the grape fields on route 20. People were busy cutting and tying up the vines in readiness for this year's grape crop.

With freezing cold nights and longer warm days, farmers and rural families all over Western New York are geared up for "sugaring". Sugar vats are being prepared. Tubing and buckets are popping up in the woods.

Pulling to the left from the Expressway south from Rochester, I slowed around a curve near Cohoction, New York. As I looked over a field to see in the early darkness of night a sugar shack tent with a wood stove where huge vats belched steam into the night air. Tractors can be spotted on the roads again hauling wood or manure.

Recently, I stopped my car on a country road in Niagara County, rolled down the window, sat, and listened. The soft trickling flow of melted snow in a nearby stream was soothing music to my ears. I saw in another direction, wild turkeys pecking the ground and checking out prospective mates.

Some ponds are still frozen, but there's enough freestanding water in the middle and around the edges of Loon Lake to provide a resting spot for the returning Canada Geese.

Traveling down south to visit friends, in Chautauqua County, on Route 76, I saw an albino deer romping in the road! I think he had an incurable case of spring fever.

Such joy and exuberance in itself is invigorating. This improves my attitude. I'm more upbeat. The many signs of spring bring new life and hope to all of us.

With fresh eyes, I see what's new around me. The miracle of spring is happening again. I never get tired of it. My optimism is stirring. I'm going to claim fresh inspiration for the future. I see new opportunities developing. Shall I sign up for a night school class? I want to take some risks, seize the moment and make some careful changes in my life.

I intend to do some serious flirting with a new friend. I'm going to join a fat class [exercise group] My winter hairstyle could improve with some professional help. Spring can mean a fresh beginning for all of us. You and me, I know what I'm going to do.

How about you?