The Gardener's February (from Capek)

"But do you know what? The snowdrops are in flower; and hamamelis with yellow stars is in flower, and hellebore has fat buds; and when you look properly (but you must hold your breath) you will find buds and sprouts on almost everything; with a thousand tiny pulses life rises from the soil."

From the end of Karel Capek's February chapter in The Gardener's Year

So what if this winter there were snowdrops blooming in New York City in both December and January and even some hellebores that are past the fat bud stage and already blooming? We know that the earth today is not at all the same one, in many ways, that Capek lived on. Still, most of the hellebores haven't opened yet and not all the snowdrops have bloomed, and you probably should still consider holding your breath when looking at the winter buds on almost everything. You might miss something otherwise.

Hellebore foetidus buds putting on a little winter weight in the Washington Ave Woodland garden Jennifer tends at Brooklyn Botanic