Springtime on Comm. Ave.

I couldn't believe my eyes as I walked along the sunny side of Commonwealth Avenue this cold, gray afternoon:

Last year, I first spotted snowdrops on March 9, and here they are already — springtime in January. The rhododendrons are budding, too. 

Do the flowers know something we don't? Will Bostonians have warm spring weather in March for a change, instead of having to wait until May or thereabouts? I guess we'll have to be a bit more patient than these flowers.