Brown thrashers and cardinals

Even if the weather doesn't seem like spring, and is unusual for late February, plants and animals mark and take notice of lengthening days.

The male cardinals are singing now, the robins are flocking, and a brown thrasher is pronouncing loudly (very early in the morning) that his territory consists of the hollies outside the kitchen door.  (We've had thrashers nesting there for years).

We've had snowdrops in flower, and daffodils trying to open.  And there are native trout lily and iris leaves emerging, too.

It's been too cold to poke around out in the front woodland border, but I imagine there are fiddleheads of Christmas fern ready to unfurl, too.  Their normally evergreen above-ground leaves are looking pretty battered right now.