What Are the Sure Signs of Spring In WNY?

We celebrate spring and summer in Western New York.  We have to because those seasons seem to be so short.  Winters can be long and hard and we look forward to spring.  It's around the middle of February that we start looking for any indication that spring really is on the way.

What are those signs we look for?  Could be the sighting of a robin, melting snow, longer daylight hours, blooming flowers, buds on the trees.  For me it's when Dairy Queen opens for the season.  Some of them stay open all winter, but the majority shut down in late October.  When those Dairy Queens open up again it means that spring is here.

That's what I was wondering about.  And I asked that question of hockey fans at a recent Buffalo Sabres game.  What's a sure sign of spring in Western New York?