Honouring winter’s hardy ones

Here are a few young white birch trees prostrating to winter’s first thick coat of snow in my area. I suspect most these trees will straighten up once again, though it will be close to the summer solstice before this will occur

A few miles down the road and closer to the Bay of Fundy coast there appears to be no snow here yet, though the temps are cold enough and at the base of an elm tree stump one of winter’s only fresh fruiting mushroom (Flammulina velutipes) also known as Velvet Foot. This mushroom often appears anytime the temperature rises above the freezing mark for a few days.  Wishing you all much hardiness.