In the Northwest my first hint of spring was usually the smell of the skunk cabbage. And the wild flowering current was always a welcome bright pink in the woods. Forsythia in the yards.

Down here in Texas some things have been trying to bloom for weeks. The saucer magnolias have been going full blast--but the ice probably nailed them pretty hard. For bragging rights, I mowed the back yard today and used the weed whacker around my little brick hearth where I barbecue. I set up the coals and singed some chicken out there this evening (it's finishing off in the oven now, to eliminate any raw bits).

I'll tell those robins they're welcome to stick around eating the bugs in my lawn until you have some ready for then, Gnu. Around here, when the lawn is mowed, the table is set as far as the birds are concerned. They come at the sound of the mower and stay a few yards behind, looking for wounded or exposed insects.

SRS