Today begins a warm up in Chicago. I don't think Old Man WInter's back is completely broken, but he will be sent running this week.

Temps are expected to hit 30s for the first time in nearly a month. The 8" of snow on our roofdeck is already melted.

The plants seem fine. I was worried about them, but the tulips, thyme, sedum, and hen&chicks look okay. Even some of the saffron crocus leaves seem to have made it.

If temps continue to moderate and we reach 40s by the weekend as expected, I'm looking for snowdrops and crocuses to start popping.

PROLOGUE March 21, 2007

I was wrong, Wrong, WRONG!

Temps did not moderate til much later.

It takes a few warm days to see the effects of cold-kill. The spring crocus on the roofdeck still have not emerged. The tulips in the serviceberry pot were burned badly by the cold snap. But they fared better than the dead "Little Princess" tulips in the basket-of-gold pot. The saffron crocus is dead too.