It seems ironic that a week ago these tough little snowdrops were buried in…snow! They’ve obviously been up for a little while but I only noticed them this morning. The mess on the other side of the driveway is distracting and draws my eyes away from the pretty things starting to poke their little heads out of the leaf litter.
All that aside, although the winners for early flowers always go to the Hellebores and the Viburnum…although one could argue that they are excessively late rather than early….the snowdrops are always the ones that make me feel like the season is changing. The daffodils and crocuses usually follow close on their heels.
I suppose the other reason that it feels like spring is just around the corner is that the birds are talking as I walk to work in the mornings now. Where just few weeks ago the most I’d hear in the darkness were the owls and often an eagle waking up, I now listen to the flickers, the varied thrushes, and the towhees calling through the forest. It makes the mornings feel lighter somehow.
