The Daffodils of March (and a Few Other Blooms)

Oh, daffodils, how happy are your faces, and how bravely you endure rainy days and chilly, even freezing nights!

I am so glad to see the the sunny colors of daffodils, blooming by the hundreds in my March garden. Normally, early bloomers push up in January or February, but this year they waited into March; and at same time, the rest of the daffodils felt the warm sunshine and decided to bloom, too. So now we have this mass of daffodils, and I can't help but be pleased:

Little else is blooming, although buds are swelling slowly on the quince bushes:

And I must not forget the hellebores, for they were the first to emerge and bloom, just a couple weeks ago, despite our persistent wintry weather:Edgeworthia's wooly blooms are almost fully open, too:

Spring struggles to take hold. We have a day or two of sunny days with temps into the 70s, and everyone dances out to play in the garden. Then the weather turns cold and nasty again. A local weathermen recently said we may have snow the middle of March. Excuse me, this is the DEEP South, and that should not happen! (It does, once every quarter century or so.) I must remind myself that it is still winter, according to the calendar.

Not at all contented with the cheerful daffodils, winter is throwing buckets of cold rain at us again today. The daffodils may hang their heads to the ground. Some of them may give up and turn to mush, but I expect others will be waiting for the next warm day to lift their faces and declare that we are going to have a spring party, and winter is not invited!

On the Bright Side: Bluebird in the Snow

Yesterday was an icy cold, snowy day for many of us here in the Southeast.Today our temperatures are in the 20s after an overnight low of 9 F. Yesterday's snow caused hundreds of wrecks and incredible traffic snarls. What was predicted to be a dusting for us turned out to be a 2-inch snowfall. That doesn't sound impressive; but within an hour, layers of slippery ice and compacted snow covered the streets. Many thousands left their offices and tried to get home or tried to reach their children at schools, only to be faced with impassable roads.

My own brother finally got to his home in the wee hours of the morning today. He had to park his car and walk the last mile. He was fortunate. Others spent a miserable night in their cars waiting for help. Even helicopters were sent to rescue some whose cars were stranded on the interstate.

Northerners may wonder how such a small amount of snow can create such problems, but here in the Deep South we are ill equipped without snow plows or snow chains for our cars. Some have 4-wheel drive, but even those vehicles had difficulty with treacherously slippery roads and routes blocked by accidents. We do have some trucks prepared to dump sand on overpasses, but yesterday it was too little, too late.

On the bright side: I was fortunately at home with a blazing fire in the fireplace. I was delighted to capture several shots of a bluebird who was eating berries from a tree near my kitchen door. He was a ball of fluff as he, too, was trying to stay warm:

Snow doesn't happen every year here, so I had to document the event. I put on two pairs of socks, sweat pants over my jeans, two sweaters, a thick scarf, a toboggan, and a heavy, hooded coat with a fury lining. No gloves, because I can't manage my camera with gloves. I waddled outside, and I was glad for my cane for extra stability. (Due to nerve damage, I still have not weaned myself from the cane, six months after hip surgery.)

I know that snow scenes around my garden are not very impressive, compared to others farther north, but here are a few shots I took as I briefly braved the frigid air:

The creature on the lower left, above, is an ancient rubber lizard that long ago was a plaything for my children. For over fifteen years, he has lain on a big rock in the front garden. He looks ferocious, but he only eats the bad guys. You may also be interested in my post from a couple years ago,  A Snowy Monster and Other Things in My Garden.

Now, I must get out some cooler clothes, as we are supposed to be up in the 60's this Saturday. Little bluebird, warm weather is coming!