Yet a sense of dread pervades, thanks to the National Weather Service's warning of a winter storm set to strike Minnesota from Wednesday to Thursday. MPR meteorologist Paul Huttner is using terms like "horror movie" and "record snowfall"; one godless model projects 29 to 36 inches (!!!) of snow.

Do we deserve this comically crushing winter redux? Probably. Is it still a bummer? Absolutely.

So shift your attention to Citrus Heights, California, where Prince springs eternal... or at least for back-to-back years. Last April (weeks before another snowy gut-punch) artist Christine Stein revealed that her Prince tree suddenly began flowering, with viral results.

"It bloomed with all these flowers I had never seen before,” she told Sacramento news station KCRA. "I was like, ‘This is beautiful.’ My husband pointed out to me, ‘There’s flowers on your tree.’ And I was like, ‘I didn’t know it flowered!’"

On Sunday, those surprise flowers returned:

Not a whole lot to it, just Prince -- in painting/tree form -- blooming a majestic Afro. Nice. Spring-y. Pleasant. Warm. Life-affirming.

But back to matters unpleasant: We're about to get slammed by a frozen hammer, so enjoy the hell outta today. Of course Prince, in all his infinite and funky wisdom, saw this week's forecast coming: