Snowdrops as the Snow Melts

Is that a flower?! With not just above freezing temperatures but well into the 40's and 50's we have been getting a sweet taste of spring this second to last week of February. This flower is a Snowdrop. It has not bloomed completely and there are several more by the house poking through the tundra. Its seems kind of early yet, but seeing this Snowdrop peeking out of the thawing ground today was certainly pure delight and a cause for excitement that perhaps there may be an early spring after all (even if its supposed to be freezing cold again tomorrow).

Out in the backyard the garden is still completely covered in snow. *sighs* And from what I understand it may stay this way for at least another week or so as temperatures are expected to drop back to below freezing.

Here is the compost. There is actually a progression of compost piles I have going on- cycling through oldest to youngest. The one on the farthest left is the youngest, which is mostly from autumn refuse and all the kitchen scraps produced since. The middle one is the compost made from mostly over the summer weeds and grass clippings. And that nice dark mountainy looking thing on the right is the eldest compost pile from last spring. When spring really hits, this will be worked back into all of the beds of the garden. Last spring to nourish this spring.

One last observation on this 50 degree day. After inspecting the compost piles I peered down and noticed this track in the snow. When the snow is melting and its depths become shallow its easy for fresh animal tracks to appear quite crisp and easy to read. I'm greatly entertained by the variety of tracks that I can find in my own backyard and often feel like a sleuth when it comes to understanding whose been tromping around, what they are doing and where they go.

I've seen this track before and I'm fairly certain this is a cat print from the shape and straight line pattern it made... and using my finger as a gauge for size... am I the only one who thinks this is a pretty big looking cat paw?