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0 of 3 Premium Clicks used this month SUBSCRIBE Print + Online Subscriber Activation | Register x Forgot Password | Need an Account? subscribe | newsletter | deals Classifieds Jobs Autos Real Estate FEATURED » Obituaries Photos Videos Blogs Business Business Services EXPLORE » Photos Videos Games TV Guide Business Calendar Branded Content Submit your news Blogs NEWS NOW Our View: The right choice ... Jeffrey Gillespie: Transitioning to better days ... Italian street fair in Adelante! walkway ... Our View: The right choice ... Jeffrey Gillespie: Transitioning to better days ... Italian street fair in Adelante! walkway ... LOCAL TAKE Do you have spring fever? Comment By John Darling For the Tidings DailyTidings.com By John Darling For the Tidings Posted Mar. 23, 2015 at 8:11 PM Updated Mar 23, 2015 at 8:32 PM By John Darling For the Tidings Posted Mar. 23, 2015 at 8:11 PM Updated Mar 23, 2015 at 8:32 PM » RELATED CONTENT What do you think? --> Have an opinion on this issue? Send a letter to the editor at www.dailytidings.com/sendletter. » Read more X What do you think? Have an opinion on this issue? Send a letter to the editor at www.dailytidings.com/sendletter . • Ashlanders respond to controversy raised by Indiana law • Should the Plaza get yet another makeover? • Have you filed your tax return yet? » Social News Nothing happens on the first day of spring. It’s just the half-way point between the longest and shortest day of the year. It arrives with marked budding of fruit trees, the annoying lengthening of grass and often a giddy, hopeful personal feeling that true love could be on its way — this, no doubt, a reflection of stuff budding all around us.  This spring in Ashland is a little different because the region, although it got normal rainfall, continued to be overly warm, so there is only fraction of the normal snowpack. This sets the stage for a continued drought and much wildfire and smoke — all of which can sap the buoyant feeling of “spring fever” this time of year. We asked Ashlanders a hodge-podge of springy questions: Do you have spring fever? Has spring lifted your spirits, getting you out on hiking-biking trails or into the garden? Are you fretting about our seeming extremes of climate, possibly linking them to climate change?  Cassandra Davis — Yes, definitely I’m out in the garden more. See my hands, still recovering from 15 hours in the dirt, planting flowers and vegetables. Spring fever is something I definitely have. I think about the lack of snowpack every day. I’m an avid skier, so it’s been very sad. I still hope we get more snow even if it’s spring. I definitely think it’s climate change and I’m very concerned. I try to be as low-impact as possible on the climate. On the fire season, I have a wait-and-see attitude.  Camille Leon — With spring, I’m doing a lot more running and biking. I feel good, glad that winter is ending and I can be outside more. There wasn’t much snow last year, either. It feels we’re getting more and more like California and that’s a real bummer. Skiing hasn’t been that great. I feel a little like it’s climate change. That makes sense, the effect it has on rain and snow. I’m doing a lot of backyard gardening.  Kate Morse (declined photo) — I garden the same year-around, so it’s no more than usual. Spring fever is the antsiness to get outdoors after being housebound all winter, so I don’t have that. The lack of snowpack makes me think it’s anthropogenic climate change and I think of people like Florida Governor Rick Scott, a climate change denier, who fires people for mentioning climate change. That’s like Russia in the '30s.  Terry Woolf — I felt the shift of spring last week, like shedding the old and embracing the new, which is yet to emerge and opening to it. It’s been amazing. Yoga is always good and I’m back into it. I’m nervous about not being able to water my garden this summer. I’m going to mulch it a lot, using compost from Plant Oregon, which they deliver.  Ross Pelton — I get excited when spring happens. Everything pops out and grows and I get euphoric. It’s easier to exercise when days are longer and a bit warmer. The lack of snowpack is a serious problem, potentially and a sign of climate change. I’m not sure what we can do about it. We’ll have to be very careful with fire and with water conservation in coming months. John Darling is an Ashland freelance writer. Reach him at [email protected]. By John Darling For the Tidings DailyTidings.com By John Darling For the Tidings Posted Mar. 23, 2015 at 8:11 PM Updated Mar 23, 2015 at 8:32 PM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Southern Oregon Directory Featured Businesses Loading... 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