Harbinger

On Wednesday, Valentine's Day, it snowed here for the first time all winter. "Snow" isn't quite the right word; little pieces of ice fell out of the sky all day long. It didn't stick to the trees, it bounced right off the roof, and it landed on the ground in a 3-5" layer of crust. When shoveled, it came up in pieces - we talked about using it to build an igloo - but instead of building an igloo, we went to the supermarket. There, they were selling daffodils for $4 for a bunch of 20. I almost never buy flowers - it seems too ephemeral a luxury for me, even though they last longer than a nice bottle of wine or a good piece of cheese. But at $4 for 20, even I couldn't resist. Someday it will be spring, and the daffodils will bloom in the garden. Until then, these will have to do.