One of the surest signs that spring is getting serious in southern Wisconsin is not a robin, a daffodil or even the first lawnmower of the season. It is that moment when somebody cruising a back road near New Glarus spots a green spear poking up from the ditch and says, “There it is.”

Most people do not really notice roadside asparagus until later, when it grows tall, airy and fern-like and starts to stand out against the rest of the green. But the first spears will be starting to rise soon, and the people who know where to look will begin scanning field edges, fence rows and country ditches all over again.