SURPRISE!

AN INCH OR TWO OF SNOW

SPRING CROCUSES ARE BLOOMING...

...IN SHADES OF BLUE, WIHTE AND YELLOW

Saturday, 9:00 AM.  27 degrees F, wind light and variable. The sky is overcast, the humidity is 86% and the barometer is steady, now at 30.18".  We awoke to a surprise this morning...everything white again under an inch or two of fresh snow.
   Crocuses are blooming on the south side of the house.  They are growing in the poorest soil, and are often driven over and barely survive the winter's snow plowing.  Every spring I think they must surely be gone, but every spring they pop up and bloom, as tough and pretty as ever.
   There are a number of species and varieties of crocus, in the Iris family.  There are autumn crocus, winter crocus, spring crocus...and one variety grown  exclusively for the production of the spice, saffron.  The latter has been grown for thousands of years, and its species is no longer  found in the wild, or has mutated over centuries to be vastly different genetically from its progenitor.
   Saffron is derived from the pollen-laden anthers of the crocus flower, and has been prized as a spice, medicinal herb, and yellow dye since ancient times, when it was extensively grown and traded across the ancient world.  It is still so grown and used today.
   The crocus is native to mountainous regions of eastern Europe and to the islands of the Mediterranean,  and is grown in gardens in temperate regions around the world, where it is usually the first flower of spring.