I can't even imagine being as patient as you all are. As soon as any bare ground appears I start my front and back yard 'walkabout' , eventually, several times a day looking for sprouts, or evergreen plants showing signs of new growth. The first peony pip is so exciting, I carry a notebook so I can write down the dates of when each emerges, then again when they bloom. Have been trying to also note when they stop blooming, Am much better about noting who is planted where so when, for instance, a lily pops up I know which lily to note in my database. In the end it doesn't make a fig's difference to my garden or what I buy, but it satisfies the OCD in my soul, so I cover two bases (love of growing things, compulsion to document to the gnat's a - - - just about anything) at once and I can indulge myself all winter on one of them. Like building a special report for my dahlias listing form, size bloom, ADS codes, plant height etc. The plant height and bloom size can vary from garden to garden so I make my own measurements. It is then interesting to note the difference when compared to the ADS info.