Spring's first flower

When we walked the dogs this afternoon, under a lovely blue sky and warm sun, we followed sidewalks that only a week or two ago were impassable due to high snow banks. There are still some patches of snow, but they are shrinking rapidly in the spring sunshine. And lo and behold, there are flowers appearing - a row of yellow croci sheltered beside a house up the street, and purple buds pushing their way through our neighbour's front flower bed. Our bulbs are slower to appear, but there in the back yard, a patch of violas is pushing through the dry autumn leaves. This little blossom is tiny and perfect - it is our first spring flower of 2014!