Spring is here! Birds and bees are frolicking. Cuddly woodland creatures are putting on elaborate musical numbers and — oh, it was all a dream. There are no birds, no bees and all woodland creatures in this area are probably dead or hibernating. There is only snow, lots and lots of snow.

And yet spring sports are starting up, seemingly oblivious to the dreaded wintry mix that never seems to stop falling. For most athletes, this is all just part of living in a cold-weather climate. You know, the “magic” of having four real seasons.

For others, though, the transition can be tough. Freshman Jon Lin of the men’s track and field team is one example. Lin grew up in Taipei, Taiwan, where, he says, the thermometer doesn’t dip below 40. When the mercury started its woeful descent this past fall, Lin took some time to adjust.

“It’d be late fall, and I was dressed in shorts and a T-shirt,” he said.

Chilling. It’s a good thing his teammates were there to lend Lin a helping hand, right?

“No, they just made fun of me,” he said.

Ooh, burn. Or frostbite. Whatever. The point is, the sudden climate change means Lin has to prepare differently on race days. In high school, Lin raced in the Philippines, where the temperature would go into the triple digits.

“Running in the heat feels a lot better,” he said. “You don’t have to warm up.”

In the cold, Lin said, sprinters have to make sure their bodies are warm so they don’t pull a muscle. Lin also discovered it helps to dress in layers.

But while Lin barely got a taste of the cold, let alone snow, in Taiwan, sophomore Alden Hall from the women’s crew team at least had a slight idea what freezing temperatures feel like. Hailing from Macon, Ga., Hall is used to balmy summers and nearly nonexistent winters.

“It’s much warmer than Ithaca,” she said. “I never got in my car in the morning and saw it in the 20s.”

And yet, Jack Frost hasn’t forced Hall to bury herself in her bed. In fact, she’s the type of person who hates staying inside and will actually go out for a run in the cold.

“I didn’t have the cold and the snow growing up,” she said. “It’s fun for me, as opposed to people who’ve had snow all their lives.”

Turns out Ithaca’s first snow day in 13 years Feb. 14 was Hall’s very first. Her friends even had to tell her how to dress to play in the snow and that only certain snow is good for snow balls. How adorable.

The rest of us, however, are still wondering why we didn’t go to school in Miami.