Signs of spring: Potholes, pond canoeing, shirtless in-line skating guitar guy

Goodbye winter, with your bitter winds and mounds of snow.

It's the time of year when salivating carnivores dust off their barbecues, when crocuses begin to bud.

Whether it be a shirtless man strumming a guitar while in-line skating around Whyte Avenue, or crater-sized ruts in the road, there are a few certain signs that spring has sprung in Edmonton.

How about a couple canoeing in a mud puddle?

Radio-Canada's Gaetan Lamarre and his partner, Carolyn Gibson, decided to make the most of the floods and portaged their way across the grounds of Strathcona High School in south Edmonton this past weekend.

Their misadventure inspired Edmonton AM to ask listeners for their favourite harbingers of the season during Monday's show.

Spring is synonymous with longer, milder days. Dew drops, fresh rain and red-breasted robins.

And sure, some idyllic signs of spring, such as geese and swaying pussy willows, made the list.

However, from what listeners had to say, spring in Edmonton is decidedly less bucolic.

For many Edmontonians, the first signs of spring were muck and mud, the sudden onslaught of allergy symptoms, or the acrid smell of a neighbour's garbage fire.

Dog droppings emerging from the snow and a certain kind of mud stain described as a "dust crust" also made the list.

What are your sure signs of spring? Let us know in the comments section below.