Anemone hepatica var. asiatica

Many plants are flowering now; spring has snuck up on me. Among them are these tiny woodland flowers, hepaticas. Hepatica used to be the genus but they have recently been included in the large genus Anemone. These were wild collected in Korea and this is the common form of the species. There are countless horticultural selections a number of which are available in the US. They are delicately spectacular and quite costly.

I went out to take a quick look at things....

                       From the top:  Helleborus thibetanus, Adonis amurensis Primula sibthorpii

 ....because we're going to get between 5 and 18 inches of snow starting tomorrow night. At least that's what I hear. It's one of those systems that will form as it happens. I'm a simple man and it's easier for me to watch a big front sweep in from the west than it is to visualize the interaction of invisible meteorological elements and the resultant storm. We haven't had 2 inches of snow total in the past two years so many people are hungering for this. I generally say I hate snow but this one's okay with me. Of course I don't really hate it; it's beautiful and I'm not a hater anyway. I just don't like dealing with snow and since this one will be melted by the end of the weekend, bring it on!