Warmer still today, and with the snow just about gone, it's now possible to scan the newly uncovered ground for more signs of emerging plant life. I'd spotted the first leaves of the garden primroses unfurling their crinkly foliage several weeks ago, when it looked like winter weather was never going to arrive and we would go from meteorological autumn directly into some form of spring. Primroses are always early and they're exceedingly hardy, so they didn't seem to mind the fact that they'd guess wrong about February and wound up being buried under a white blanket. (In truth, no harm there, since the snow cover protected the plants from the cold.) With the exposed wet earth and leaf litter soaking up the warm sun, the primroses are taking advantage of an unexpected warm-spell situation—although, in this time of climate change, who knows want to expect any longer?—and readying a crop of flower buds. The blue blossoms always show first; the yellow ones are more conservative and often wait to arrive until the vernal equinox declares that it's relatively safe to bloom.