Brilliant Sunshine on my Snow

We may not be able to play in the dirt yet, but the brilliant sun is bringing people outside to walk around outside today. Here are some pictures of the yard this morning. Not one inch of lawn is showing. For the recent commenter that thought my lawn in mid-April 2007 looked poorly-maintained, this is because of the snow and snow mold. If you were completely covered in snow for 6 months of the year, you might look poorly too, come springtime!
Spirea shrub in the foreground, looking across the yard to the frozen lake:

Burlap-wrapped cedar shrub:

The road in front of our house. It was hard getting around town with the truck today, since the Subaru was out of town with RLM. I find that these near-zero temperatures create difficult snow and ice conditions. It's actually easier to drive in -20 or -30 C.

You can compare the yard with the same view from this time last year. The photo from March 29, 2007 is posted in the left column of the blog. Conclusion: we haven't had as much melting as last year at this time.

Spicy globe basil in the basement under lights: