Betsy Saltsman places her order at the Shake Shoppe on Third Street as the sun sets over Ironton Friday evening – chocolate and vanilla swirl on a cone.

Saturday, March 25, 2000

Betsy Saltsman places her order at the Shake Shoppe on Third Street as the sun sets over Ironton Friday evening – chocolate and vanilla swirl on a cone.

"We just ate and it was like so warm," Miss Saltsman said. "So we decided to have ice cream."

In a minute, her friend, Megan Price, has some ice cream, too.

"Oh yeah, we definitely have spring fever," Miss Price said, dipping a spoon into the frozen treat.

"And my birthday’s in the spring, so I love it," she added. "I’m always in a good mood in the spring because it’s so pretty out."

Of course, with temperatures soaring into the 70s, it might feel more like summer fever has hit.

But what’s the difference?

It’s warming up outside and that makes Lawrence Countians young and old think of taking long walks in the sun, playing frisbee at the park, watching ducks play in ponds or, in the case of Tyler Dickess at Rock Hill Elementary No. 2, riding a four-wheeler.

"I like spring because you get to ride almost all the time," he said.

Most kids quit riding at bedtime, but Dickess just smiles at that thought,

"You can ride it in the dark, too."

Kaylyn Haas can’t wait until spring break, which is slightly less than a month away.

"You don’t have to go to school and you get to play outside," Miss Haas said.

"I have fun in school but it’s just not like outside."

Kyle Evans knows how his young Rock Hill classmate feels.

"I don’t like to be inside," he said. "It’s too hot, and no fun."

He’s pretty good at sports, too, he said.

"I play basketball and football and stuff," Evans said.

And Friday, Evans will attend the first meeting of the year for the Dog Fork Haymakers 4-H Club – a true sign of a Lawrence County country spring.

Stephanie Myers and Katie Grant love classes at Rock Hill Elementary No. 2, they said.

Yet, when warm sunny breezes blow past their classrooms, they keep at least one eye on the window.

"I like to just walk around because it looks really nice outside," Miss Myers said.

"I like to ride my bike," Miss Grant adds with a grin. "We have concrete where the garage used to be."

For moms and dads at home, the passing of March 21 almost always means spring planting fever.

Except, you can’t get your hopes up too much when the warm temperatures hit early, said David Roberts of Roberts Greenhouse in South Point.

"Oh, we get calls every day," Roberts said. "People are wanting to plant. When you get days like this, it’s hard not to want to plant something."

But the cold temperatures can return and ruin the faithful’s attempts at spring gardening.

"People are looking for stuff they really can’t set out right now," Roberts said.

Pansies are another story, though.

They’re doing well right now.

Go ahead and get everything ready, though, if the spring fever is just too much for you, Roberts added.

Just be careful and watch out for Jack Frost, he said.