because I looked at my garden journal entry for this day last year. As I type this, it is snowing and there's couple inches of accumulation on the ground. Last year on this date it was sunny and 73 degrees. All my Hellebores were blooming, the Scilla and Daffodils were also in bloom. All the Snowdrops were done blooming and the Crocuses had nearly finished. It is very unusual for there not to have been at least one day in the 70s by this point in Chicagoland.
Because I'm not a sadist, I have chosen not to post a photo of how the garden looks today. Instead, here is a photo from yesterday showing a rare, unprecedented event at Squirrelhaven:
the Winter Aconites blooming with the Giant Snowdrop (Galanthus elwesii). This is what I had in mind when I planted this area. Sadly, most of the Aconites have disappeared. I blame the squirrels.