Despite being so high up in the mountains, the fresh spring air had made it, even here. Cooling gusts of wind swept over the group, not so cold for it to be frigid. Song birds, rodents and other smaller animals were starting to creep out of hiding and some of the slush was melting away to reveal grass, roots and litter.In one such patch, some small flowers had started to bloom, red, green and yellow splashing against the stark white of the snow. A little further from there, another bush had managed to break free of the ice and one single wild rose was stubbornly growing, a herald for the new season.
