Signs of Spring

We are definitely seeing more indications that the season will soon turn. The snowdrops have been up for a couple of weeks -- I've been seeing them around town on my walks.

And in our own back garden, we were surprised to see this crocus beginning to bloom. There's only one so far, which is a little strange. I hope we didn't displace others with all our digging last summer. But they may yet appear. Time will tell.

On Saturday morning, Dave and I were amused by this pigeon, which repeatedly flew down to the lawn, grabbed a twig and carried it away somewhere over the house. I have no idea where it's building its nest -- it seemed to fly in a different direction every time, either because it's trying to deceive predators or its brain is very tiny. But it seemed to have a definite preference for our twigs. It came back at least a dozen times.

Our camellia's buds are still locked up tight, which is interesting, because I'm seeing other camellias in bloom around town. Maybe ours is a late-blooming variety, or maybe it's in a less protected location?

And finally, our amaryllis buds are sprouting, so it looks like they've all survived being transplanted for the move last summer, and then wintering in the garden shed. No indication yet whether we'll get flowers from all four of them.

It's too early to call winter over -- after all, we had snow just last week! -- but it's great to see some growth and life.