Spring Seems to be Coming

The earliest flowers are now out. As soon as the snow inched off, the buttercup yellow winter aconite burst through, only a few centimeters high. I have some 20 blooming in my flower beds.
They are too small to gather into a bouquet though. There are also some "snowdrops" lifting their heads. They don't show up against the snow but against the exposed brown soil.

While I have cheated some, I have dainty lemon yellow forsythia blooming in the house. Yes, I forced them. I cut some branches off my large bush and they have performed. I cut some more branches today, perhaps we'll have them for Easter Sunday.

I also see signs of buds forming on my old orchid cactus. It is more than 30 years old and looks quite weatherbeaten with sun scalded leaves and nicks out of other leaves; yet the blooms are glorious: about 6 inches across, brilliant white with pale yellow outer petals. They are perfumed as well.

Renewal is in the air. Not surprisingly as it is Easter. I don't think that it is a coincidence. The early leaders of the Christian church were well aware of symbolism.