Morris A. Grant of Somerville gripped his cane tightly as the sun shone on a bus stop's glass awning in Central Square last Saturday. He took a deep breath, leaning back as his No. 47 bus arrived and zoomed off without him on board.

"On days like today," the 68-year-old retired factory worker said, nodding. "I have all the time in the world."

As last week's "heat wave" pushed temperatures into the 60s, residents took to the outdoors in force, swarming the squares and jamming the recreational paths in Cambridge.

With the calendar proclaiming the official start of spring, locals are rejoicing, saying their lives, jobs and daily activities are made easier and more pleasant by the seasonal transition. Even considering the clouds and showers of early this week, Cantabrigians are praising the sunny season.

Grant, a veteran of World War II, was en route to visit his brother in Boston, and said the winter weather prevents him from making the trip from December through February.

"I just can't get outside with all the wind and cold temperatures," Grant said, taking off his cap and dabbing his brow with a handkerchief.

"I don't get around very well," he said, waving his cane in the air. "I'd rather stay by the heater than try to go out in that cold stuff."

During winter, Grant said he has to rely on neighbors and family members to run errands and do shopping because he doesn't want to risk his health by going outside.

"If you slip on some ice and break a hip, you're done," he said.

Last week's warmth brought a crooked grin to Grant's face as he sketched out his plans for the coming months. But all that was on hold momentarily, as he soaked up the sunshine that drew him outdoors for the longest period of time in months.

"The gods of spring are being very good to me today," he said.

Jean O'Keefe, 44, did not have the time to bask in the sun as she herded her three children into her station wagon after a half-day of shopping in the Square. Though she didn't have time to enjoy it, she heaped praise on the warm weather, crediting it with making her job as a full time mother much easier.

"I'd love to be able to go for a walk or do yard work," O'Keefe lamented, popping the trunk and packing it full of the day's purchases. "This kind of weather makes me yearn for that extra hour of leisure."

"But in the middle of winter, being a mommy is unbelievably hard. You have to bundle up three little bodies, get them away from the snowbanks and be prepared for the whining and the complaints," she said.

"But once spring comes, it is such a breeze," O'Keefe said, estimating the warmer weather frees up half an hour of her day.