…an onion, sitting on my counter. I cut it open and there are two sprouts starting up inside. If I left it for a few more weeks, those green sprouts would have emerged from the bulb and reached up toward the light from the window. I seldom notice sprouting onions other times of the year, I think the onion ‘knows’.
Earlier today, in spite of snow on the ground and a winter storm moving in, there were about 20-30 robins outside, digging in the mulch around my pine trees (which didn’t have any snow under them). ROBINS in FEBRUARY! I’m hoping they have the inside scoop with Mother Nature and know something I don’t, as it’s a bit early to get them in this part of the country (south central PA).
Snow drops and crocus are up in bloom.
Our Camilia is starting to bloom - a bit early.
Ah, it’s tough living in Canada. (this is why Canadians all want to retire on the west coast)
I saw a Bluebonnet bloom
We’ve had some unusually warm days for January here in Georgia. I saw a rat snake in my back yard last week.
A tulip is coming up in my backyard and there are grape hyacinths out front, but out here in NM the city folks say it’s spring when the prairie dogs come out and the country folks say it’s spring when the skunks come out.
Meanwhile here the first autumnal signs are appearing: cooler nights and the smell of decaying leaves.
I hate to rain on you poetry, but …
They don’t. For years I’ve stored my onions in a wine cellar; a fully-enclosed dark fridge-sized box with the interior maintained at a steady 58F. And only opened for a few seconds every couple of days. The wine cellar itself was in an interior room in my house, heated & cooled year round and only lit sporadically by artificial light.
After a month in there they sprout. Doesn’t matter what the season is. Snowy January or blistering August. (This having been in St. Louis MO.)
What they “know” is that they’re responsible for procreating the species & spouting is how they git 'er done.
there’s a foot of snow outside which fell yesterday and last night, and I’ve got a sprouted bulb of garlic on my counter.
Two days after New Year’s Day, I had multiple seed catalogs in my mailbox.
I haven’t seen any robins here (NE Indiana) yet, but my dark-eyed juncos are back. I usually see them a couple of weeks before the robins show up, and this does seem early for them to be back. There’s a pair picking around in the snow under my bird feeder right now. 
Yeah, that massive snowstorm last night (well, all day yesterday really) just screams spring to me!
I feel your pain but just to let you know, I feel the Earth tilting back towards the sun. I feel sorry for our southern-hemisphere buddy’s. My prayers are with them. 
I have daffodils with an inch of green showing above the ground. The grape hyacinths foliage is even further along!
Our robins came back a couple of weeks ago, massively early. They usually show up about Feb 13th or later.
My camellia has 18 buds on it and they are very close to opening.
Also I had to strip down to my tank top today while walking dogs this afternoon. It is way too warm for early February.
My chickens started laying eggs again.
For those who aren’t familiar with chickens, they stop laying eggs as the days get shorter. Mine quit sometime in November.
You can get them to lay all winter if you provide artificial light, but it gets so damned cold here I prefer to let them have a winter break.
The willow out front is budding. I hope Mother Nature delivers a swift and brutal smackdown with several feet of snow.
I’ve skied once this season. :mad:
The ‘Snap-Crackle-Pop’ of rock-salt as it melts ice after an icestorm! It so reminds me of the warm days, meant for short-sleeved shirts, yet to come… 
Robins actually don’t necessarily migrate, at least not to keep warm. They do form largish flocks that go where the food is. And they change their foraging behavior which is why you’ll generally find them in the woods in winter rather than in the yards (where the insects are unavailable under frozen ground). If you keep your eyes open, though, you’ll probably see robins all winter. We’ve got plenty of them around here in eastern MA and it’s not looking any too springlike in these here parts.