Marching into Spring?

Happy St. Patrick's Day! Thanks for coming. Welcome. The photo above is one of the greenest in my collection, a promise of days to come and a great hiding place for leprechauns. When I got up this morning, the outside temperature was -1, the average low is 25. Winter seems to be strengthening. Since we're still enjoying persistent snow cover, I'm going to share with you the fact that, thanks to my wife's keen eye, I actually have my very own personal photos of snow fleas, right in the front yard of my house. You might recall that back in January I questioned the existence of these critters. I now have unphotoshopped proof. Those teeny, tiny little specks are snow fleas. (No, I did not sprinkle the pepper shaker on the snow.)

One of the local papers yesterday had an article about how this snow and (freezing) rain in March might help My Minnesota's drought and soil moisture come planting time [next month, doesn't seem possible]. Since the ground is still frozen, and it's my understanding that frozen ground means water runs off, not sinks in, I have my doubts. What I'd really like to see, and think we could use, is soft, bare ground being bathed in a gentle Spring rainfall. I'm looking forward (oh! how I'm looking forward) to trading snow fleas for dwarf trout lilies and rising trout in gently flowing streams. Until then, stop back soon. Reflections, raves and rants served daily.