Responding to Rain

We're only a couple of days into the projected long rainstorm, but some spring wildflowers have already sprung up.  They're tiny, though, so you almost have to crawl around on hands and knees to spot them.  That's my specialty, wearing out the knees of pants.  The Spring Whitlow Grass, Draba verna, a member of the mustard family, Brassicaceae, has blossoms 1/4-inch or less across and its basal rosettes of leaves are almost always covered by the leaves of neighboring vegetation.  Dewdrops on grass are an aesthetically pleasing subject, and if you're lucky you might catch some insect drinking from these little reservoirs.  On this same day, while walking without my camera, I also saw the first Henbit Dead Nettle and Chickweed at this elevation.  I had seen them a couple of weeks ago in the lower canyon near Bear Creek, about 1,500 feet below Quincy.  So, spring is starting to move up the canyon.