Crocuses!

Yes, folks, they're out! Although one cannot say for sure that spring is here, the yellow crocuses on the hillside below the Civil War monument are poking their heads out at last. They are the hardiest, it seems, and thus the earliest; their white and purple siblings should be joining them in a day or two.

But as not infrequently happens, we may yet have another snowstorm even while they are blooming. The white ones disappear against the background, of course, but the yellow and purple ones make a very pretty sight in the snow. And given the weird weather we've had so far this winter, I wouldn't be astonished to learn that Mother Nature had another surprise or two up her sleeve.

This year's appearance is on the late side. With all the frigid spells we've had recently, the flowers wisely did not take any chances and appear prematurely. How do they know, one wonders? If they were human, we might say that they feel it in their bones, but they're not, and they don't have any. Maybe it has something to do with the hardness of the ground, at a guess.

Sometimes they come out in late February; more often in the first week of March. This being the second week of March, they are definitely on the tardy side. But their presence is welcome nonetheless, as they portend more color and blooms ahead.

And, thanks to the wisdom of Congress, we now have an extra hour of daylight to enjoy them. One of the few intelligent moves that have been made in Washington of late. Now if they could just do something about fixing the Iraq situation....