Groundhog day

Gray and overcast today, affording no opportunity for rodent shadow-spotting. The garden, too, is hibernating: ice has formed in the low-lying areas, the compost pile is frozen solid, and the beds are dishearteningly barren. Only a few signs of spring's promise could be discerned, for example, in these dogwood buds:



and ring of columbine leaves:



and a reminder of the past season in these yellow holly berries:



Hope that groundhog is right!