At the end of February, I looked up one morning to discover the horrible winter of 2015 had deposited a dreaded ice dam over a gutter at the back of my house.

I had heard of ice dams but had never seen one. And yet I knew right away what it was, when I saw a good three quarters of a foot of solid ice across the top of the gutter, ready to block and divert any water heading that way into the wall of the house.

I briefly entertained an alarmed response, like replying to advertisements I'd seen all winter, contractors at the ready with heaters or torches.

I instead opted for the usual - hope for the best - and let a wary eyeball drift up to the ice dam from my cereal bowl every morning.

And last week, with the arrival of the start of the great melt, my spring optimism paid off and the dam magically disappeared.

I know that, with the St. Patrick's Day Parade taking off in New London today, there is going to be a lot of appropriate celebration of the melting away of the winter of 2015.

Not only will the green beer of March be flowing freely this afternoon, but tomorrow is the season opener in New London of Fred's Shanty, the clam shack on Pequot Avenue that, as the sign says, has been famous here since 1972.

Once Fred's is open, can the yellow-jacket season be far away?

As a terrible winter transitions to a welcome spring, there are a lot of things around here that we might notice missing, other than ice dams and sidewalk-blocking drifts.

Right in New London, for instance, still missing is police Chief Margaret Ackley, who for all we know spent the cold winter of her paid leave on warmer shores. I suspect we will see summer bees around here again before we see the chief back in her office.

The chief's old pal, Mayor Daryl Finizio, is still with us this spring, campaigning, although the other Mayor Finizio, the one who said he wouldn't run again, for the good of the city, is long gone.

Missing as of last week is the old Goldy's restaurant on Colman Street, a demolition that triggered a surprising amount of nostalgia, given that no one seemed to eat there anymore.

It made me think of some of the old New London restaurant favorites, the 95 House, Ye Olde Tavern and Hughie's. But spring is supposed to be about looking forward, not nostalgia, and today's New London offers a pretty vibrant restaurant scene.

The guardian angel of New London's Union Station, sadly, went missing this winter, the person who has protected it since it was threatened by urban renewal more than 40 years ago.

We can hope that the new owner, head of the National Coast Guard Museum, will begin an exciting new chapter for the station, as the grass around here begins to green up, and prove to be as good a steward for the city's architectural treasure.

One prominent face that careful readers of news of the region must notice missing is Edward Haberek, first selectman of Stonington. His resignation and relocation seemed to make the winter quieter around here, not just colder.

The long winter of 2014-15 brought into focus some bright new faces in the General Assembly from eastern Connecticut, which veered toward the GOP in the last election.

I don't miss many of the losers from the fall election, from either side of the aisle. Voters did a pretty good job, before settling in for the long winter.

Also missing for much of the cold winter of 2015 was state Sen. Andrew Maynard, D-Stonington, who seemed to disappear after turning up for the oath of office at the start of the new session of the General Assembly.

Here's hoping the onset of spring weather brings a recovering senator back soon to his lawmaking responsibilities.

And here's hoping that onset comes fast, starting with the wearing of the green in New London today.

This is the opinion of David Collins

d.collins@theday.com

Twitter: DavidCollinsct