The first signs

For the last two weeks the weather has been unseasonably warm even though immediately before that it was the complete opposite. With this warm weather we have had a lot of very heavy rain, in fact, I think we've had enough to last us for another month or so.
All of this has obviously been enough to kick start a lot of things into growth because they think that spring is here. This morning, despite the rain, I noticed fresh green buds popping their heads out on some hellebores, ready to burst into flower at the first opportunity, but they have been beaten into flowering by the mahonia bushes on the home store car park.
In the garden the crocuses and hyacinth bulbs are through the surface of the ground and the muscari is actually flowering already. There are a few polyanthus out but these have been struggling to flower even when the snow was covering them and the pansies in the pots are just recovering from being frozen too.
The squirrels are pairing up and the birds are beginning to tune up in the mornings, especially the robins who are starting to practice their songs for the mating season and declaring their territory.
The garden centre has just got in spring flowering bulbs in pots ready to be planted into containers and gardens, so even though we are still in January there are promising signs of lighter, brighter days to come.