First Signs of Spring

I've spotted a few red-winged blackbirds, the chipmunks have been sunning themselves on the front steps, and the snow has started to melt. Today, my husband noticed green shoots in the backyard. Last fall I planted bulbs. In an attempt to thwart our abundant burrowing creatures, I covered most of the bulbs with hardware cloth. Apparently my strategy worked because the ipheion were sprouting through the hardware cloth. Today, although the temperature is 21^oF and much of the yard is still under snow, I started gardening. I removed all of hardware cloth I could find. (Some is still buried under snow.) The ipheion are coming up like gangbusters, the anemones have pink shoots, and the chionodoxa are sprouting. I saw no signs yet of the scilla or the bluebells, but the snowdrops are blooming.