We made it through March, 2018

In like a lion, out like a lamb certainly holds true for us this year.  Turns out that "March Madness" here in NorCal meant the fourth wettest March on record!  One of the snowiest at our house, too.  All of this is good if your area is prone to drought conditions -- the Sierra snowpack is way above where it was at the end of February, and the reservoirs are nicely filled.  After the last snow quit, the temps rose dramatically and within days our snow was down to one small pile.  60° weather will melt that stuff fast!

By the 28th, the days were fine enough to get back to our usual walks.  If we didn't want to sink into mud, we had to watch which areas we picked ... much of the canal trail was okay.  There, we saw small rivers flowing where we usually see none, and water leaching from hillsides that are normally dry.

For example, above and below:  Cascades appear in areas that are ordinarily dry.

But, if Forsythia blooms (below), spring must be here!

One rotten tree alongside the trail finally gave up the ghost and crashed to the ground, below left.  I guess ants had made a home inside the core and when the tree keeled over, the ants scrambled every-which-a-way, but they were especially apparent on the fallen trunk (below right).  Hundreds of 'em crawling all over the wood ... gave me the creeps. 

Part of the trail is a dedicated Woodpecker preserve.  The guy you see above (Pileated Woodpecker) hammers at trees with a force that can be heard a half mile away!  The picture is a bit foggy because I had to zoom in to the max, and the "peckerwood" was still at quite a distance.

Ferns line parts of the canal, and this time of year,

their green is a standout against the bank.  (no dust)

* * * * *

Lucky me, Matt and Everly came (with dogs, Maggie and Sophie) for a visit on the last day in March, a fine, sunny and warm day.  (Jen worked the night before and was sleeping.)  It's always a joy when she comes a-callin'.

We spent most of the afternoon outdoors, much of it on the deck.  Doncha love that "Pink Floyd" shirt?  Everly liked my bowl of Primroses.  She touched each color plus the leaves, and then she began to pluck the petals.  I grabbed up a whole flower that hit the deck, and, breathing in, put it under my nose.  "Mmmm," I said.  When I stuck the flower beneath her nose, she did the same thing, but instead of breathing in, I believe she "sniffed out."  We shifted gears then so I'd have at least a few blooms left, and, next thing I saw, Maggie (the black and white dog) was eating all the petals scattered on the deck.

Lunch time for one-year-old Everly.  Blueberries, yogurt and some kind of green stuff.  She picked out each blueberry, but the yogurt got in the way, and the green stuff sort of blended in, and pretty soon we had a royal mess!  I should've put an apron around her.  She favored eating with her left hand ....  I stripped off her long pants and washed them in the sink and hung them on the line to dry.  Her hands got a thorough washing, too.  (the pants were dry in no time)  

I don't have many proper toys (like from the store) for her to play with.  The gourd made a fine rattling noise when she shook it; a white shoehorn, a pink, bendable wascally wabbit, a small California Brown Bear, etc., all were "playthings" she could place in the basket, take 'em out, and repeat.

She needed shoes (as would I) to stand on this bare dirt.

She liked playing in the dirt.

Funny girl making silly mouth noises!

She loves her "Da,"

and the feeling is mutual. 💕

The giant Incense Cedar right close to my Western Triliums in the back yard was taken down to the ground last October.  I wondered if they'd survived or had been trampled to death, and I sure was happy when I saw them pop up in February.  But, as soon as they emerged, they were covered in snow.  Really buried.  Several times ... much of March, in fact.  Would they still be alive when the snow was finally gone?  Ah, well, they must be a hardy species!  They're a little stunted this year, but you see they survived it all.

Out like a lamb.  We survived our wet March, too.