One of the most reliable signs that we've finally turned a corner towards real spring... not just calendar spring... is the appearance of a pretty little wildflower known either as Virginia Rockbreaker or Early Saxifrage. Whatever common name you use, Micranthes virginiensis, which, confusingly, may also be called Saxifrage virginiensis—blame it on DNA analysis studies—is not a botanical superhero, in that it is not capable of shattering boulders. It is, true to its other moniker, a pretty early bloomer, and it does seem to put its roots right into solid rock. That, of course, is an illusion, since what it's really doing is growing in small soil-filled pockets in slabs of granite, and, in the past couple of days, the Rockbreaker rosettes have put forth lots of bloom spikes that, today, have started to blossom. The local bees are ecstatic. The local naturalists and flower photographers are quite happy as well.