March has a hint of spring

We go through each winter with the countdown to spring being a frequent musing.
The last few days saw lots of snow disappear and made the possibility of a reasonably easy walk possible. 
This seemed to be the day for other spring pursuits, as I finally started some seeds. We were given some Blue Poppies and Delphiniums last week at the ARHS meeting, so felt compelled to start them. There were also a few items from the ARHS Seed Exchange list I wanted to try. The old Planting Calendar got updated and ready for 2013 entries. This is a snippet of the page. This planting calendar has been the mainstay of my record keeping for many years. Each year I add a new page for the current entries. We have a similar file that is used for Rhododendron and Azalea plantings.

The day had some nice springy items in store, even though we know it will likely stay cold and perhaps snow again. The snowdrops waste no time popping up.

A similar phenomenon was happening in a spot in the Beech bed. Crocus shoots emerging even as snow lies adjacent.

The dogs were very keen on the walk, even if they had to mush through quite a bit of snow. The rhododendrons way back in the hollow were still pretty surrounded.

Grace made a lot of turns and needed a small break.

The purpose of the walk down those rather "slippery slopes" was to see if the witch hazel was in bloom. We were not disappointed. Loads of bloom and a lovely fragrance , which seems quite shocking this time of year.

The little blooms were beautiful against the bright sky.

Bill had a walk also and announced that it appeared there was not much apparent damage to small plants out back, and that the Tree Peonies looked very happy.
This pic is of an actual bud on our "Blue Heaven" rhodies. This will be the first year they bloom at the ripe old age of 12 years.

Other than knowing we will likely have a period of muddiness here and there, it is nice to see these definite signs of spring.