A wren, a ten petal anemoe, an Iris and a daffodil

                   January grey is here, 
                   Like a sexton by her grave; 
                   February bears the bier,
                   March with grief doth howl and rave...

~Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792–1822), "Dirge for  the Year"

We have had an "overnight guest" on our patio for about 2 weeks.  A wren comes in at dusk and leaves at break of day.  I have checked evening and mornings out of fascination.  I have never heard of this behavior.  It perches on the lip of the patio roof eave with its back to the night.It was gone one time and then came back.  There has been a lot of very loud calling by this tiny bird and a reply from who knows where.

Another (new thing)..... In 2014, I wrote about a mysterious flower that showed up in the gravel of our flagstone path.  Had never seen one on the place, nor in places where I have walked through wildflowers.  The other day, I went to get the mail and lo and behold, I spied a white flower.  Not as big as the one in the path, but I recognized it right away.  There are actually 2 plants.  

Ten Petal Anemone

The thing I love about gardening is that nature has its own timing.  No matter what it did last season, it will do what it wants to when it wants to.

I have a patch of old irises that I thinned out.  Never got around to fertilizing.  I have been seeing irises in bloom all over town and in other neighbor's yards, even in ditches.  Mine were not blooming.  I am not sure how many flowers there will eventually be, but this bud is so beautiful I won't mind if it is the only one.  It doesn't look "real" even when I touch it.  The colors are so delicate....

 Another late bloomer is a stand of spindly leafed daffodils.  One plant had bloomed a while ago and I didn't expect any more.  They are putting on a show even when the winds lay them flat.