You take a walk after dinner and it's not dark yet. Your winter coat seems downright suffocating.

The temperature might hit 60 on Monday.

Dare we say it? Spring is still 23 days away, but that subtle awakening already has begun, the one that whispers in our ear: open the windows, stretch your legs, wear something pink.

Ask the weatherman.

"This weekend will be a spring preview,'' said Eric Horst, Millersville University meteorologist.

Saturday and Sunday will be sunny, with temperatures in the low 50s Saturday, the upper 50s Sunday and maybe even 60 on Monday.

That marks the first time we've seen those numbers since an unusual warm spell in early January.

Rain will likely fall here Monday night and temperatures may drift back into the 40s by mid-week.

Horst said winter's not down for the count yet, but the signs of spring are unmistakable.

"The days are longer, the sun is higher,'' he said.

Ask the tundra swans.

They started arriving at the Middle Creek Wildlife Management Area in Clay Township within the past two weeks, along with the the snow geese.

About 1,200 tundra swans and 85,000 snow geese were honking and flapping and swirling around Middle Creek's immense lake at last count.

"They're anxious to start pushing north,'' said Jim Binder, Middle Creek's manager. "They go north with the thaw.'' Birds are stimulated by the length of long, winter nights. When the darkness wanes, cardinals start to sing, woodpeckers start to thrum and tundra swans start to wing toward Alaska and the Yukon.

"To me, when I see big numbers arriving here, I know a change is coming,'' Binder said. "That change is spring.'' Track coaches feel the change coming, too.

Their runners started wearing shorts this week during training sessions, as the temperatures flirted with the 40s.

"This weekend, it becomes T-shirts and shorts and the beautiful lovely warmth,'' said Art Morris, the head boy's coach at Conestoga Valley, sounding almost wistful.

And don't underestimate the power of warm sunshine -- on a 16-year-old boy or a 51-year-old track coach.

"It lifts my spirits immensely,'' said Hempfield's head boy's coach Jeff Bradley. "You want to get out and run. It just makes you feel energetic and ready to go.'' And maybe buy something in baby blue, while you're at it.

Short-sleeved shirts are moving fast at the Wal-Mart in Ephrata Township right now.

"Pale pink, baby blue, light lavender, pale stripes,'' said ladieswear manager Beth Martin, ticking off the popular colors.

"When the weather broke last weekend, people didn't want to wear their winter coat anymore,'' she added. "They're buying lightweight jackets.'' Also shorts. Even bathing suits.

"Everyone is sick of winter,'' Martin said. "They want to put their winter clothes away.'' Martin laughed. Even she was bitten by the bug.

"I did buy a pink T-shirt,'' she said. "I think it makes the color glow on your face.'' blog comments powered by Disqus