No Spring has been as late as this since 1964. Temperatures hover between 0 and 5 degrees Celcius. Going outside requires a scarf, thick gloves and an overcoat. A few straggly snowdrops have appeared and a smattering of draggly crocuses. The daffodills have been tight buds for weeks now. No sign of the grape hyacinths. The ornamental cherry that often flowers in December shows just a faint haze of pinkness on the twig tips. Some days a few Great Tits visit the peanuts hanging from the May tree and we have had one nut attack from a newly awoken squirrel. The grass is yellow-green, but the moss is dying. There are faint white buds on the magnolias. A flame-of-the-forrest has wispy pink flowers, but no red bracts.
But, astonishingly, one camellia is smothered with bright red blooms; a gory gash against the shiny green; a defiant statement of scarlet promise.
We had a really mild winter here in the Great American Desert. The first day of spring, it snowed. It is supposed to snow again today. You are correct that Spring is late this year!
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