First flower of spring near death scene

 

I can't identify this flower. Can you? Please leave comment.

The last of the snow patches are melted and so Doc and I can get around on our trails again. Yesterday evening we found a spot where three deer died. Two of the death scenes were right beside each other and while birds had scavenged the carcasses and other predators had scattered hair and bones all around there were also intact rib cages. This indicates these animals starved to death and were not killed by wolves. Wolves actually eat all the bones except the femurs and the skulls. I could also see a third pile of deer hair about 20 yards away, likely another starvation victim.

The deep spring snows that we seem to be getting all the time now are to blame, I would think. April is now a month to dread. It brings several storms of snows that might each leave a foot of heavy slush. For animals that barely made it through the long winter, it's the final straw.

Just a few yards from the death scenes I found these tiny flowers, the first of the season here. They are about three inches high, are purplish in colour, have hairy stems and no obvious leaves. They are a mystery to me. I cannot find them in any of my books.

What a fitting example of nature: death and life born anew.