Can Spring be on the horizon?

Oh, what a difference a week can make at this time of year; the 14th and yesterday:

It was a glorious day today with hardly a cloud to be seen, blazing sun (57F) and dead calm. It begged for outdoor labors, and I fulfilled the call by continuing to eliminate the wild roses which had colonized the back corner of the walled garden. After about an hour and a half of very careful work with a pruner, but few remain for another day's work. Mr. Fuzzy is determined to tame the wilderness there and bring the space into a glory which it has never known.

Whilst struggling with the demon-thorned rose canes, I noticed the first augur of Spring: daffodils emerging from their long slumber through the cold darkness of winter. These pioneers are announcing the impending change of season in small clusters throughout the walled garden.

The temperatures  inverted on Wednesday and since then an inch of rain warmed by 56F air temperature that morning devastated the snow pack. Even on north facing slopes, only tiny traces still remain. The speed of melting was amazing and in combination with the warm rain, water was flowing in every low area. On leaving the farm Thursday, it was evident the large culvert under the driveway at the front of the farm was totally blocked, causing a lake to form and overflow the road. This was a dangerous situation because the ground was so soft the raised driveway could have given way to the water's pressure. After about twenty minutes of using a shovel to pull wet heavy clay from the pipe, the remaining plug was blown out by the water pressure. Since one before-and-after image has already been illustrated, another set seems appropriate:

With the much warmer and dry nights, the some of the felines have enjoyed spending the night i the great outdoors, hunting and scouting for interlopers. Here the night shift catches some well deserved day light shut eye:

What will the coming week bring in temperatures and weather? The National Weather Service is calling for another polar vortex to descend upon the farm with snow and night time lows in the low teens. Which reminds your author of something his Grandfather imparted to him circa 1965: "There are two sorts of fools, plain ordinary fools and those who believe the five day weather forecast." Time alone will reveal.