It happened this morning...I was headed out to my car on a sunny but very chilly Friday when a flash of yellow caught my eye in the mostly brown winter landscape. A solitary daffodil bud is opening up, poking through a heap of dead leaves at the edge of the woods along my driveway.

It's from a clump of bulbs I rescued last spring, hastily transplanted in full bloom to save them from the backhoe about to bury them under a ton or more of gravel at a nearby construction site.

I wasn't sure whether the bulbs would survive. Did I get enough of the root ball? Would the new site be too dry and rocky? Only time would tell. But one thing I knew for sure - if I didn't take the time and plant the bulbs, they had no chance at all.

Spring comes early in the southern mountains of North Carolina, much earlier than in the Midwest where I grew up. But even here it's been an unusually severe winter...kind of like the bleak forecasts we've been hearing about the economic climate over the last few months.

However there's one thing I've learned over the years - no matter what you're facing, this too shall pass. Harsh winters yield to the warmth of spring. Tough times are a part of life. You do the best you can, keep planting those seeds of success. And little by little, as time goes on the signs of new growth will appear.

Today I saw my first daffodil...

Looking for your dream getaway in the mountains of Murphy, North Carolina? Visit the country homes and land website to see all the latest listings. Enjoy a preview of our scenic mountains in the YouTube video Murphy Mountain Nights