Early Spring? 03/07/20

I'm a flower freak.  Trees and shrubs, their branches heavy with millions of blossoms, are decorating our fair city now, albeit a bit early in the year.  I think so, anyway.  The wall calendar hasn't proclaimed the vernal equinox yet, but the air has a soft spring-like quality to it.  Spring is the season of changeable weather ... March sneaking in like a lamb and roaring out like a lion ... warm and sunny and spreading Vitamin D one day; the next you're shivering in your socks watching rain drops soak into the parched soil.  This describes our past week exactly.  

Our February was dry-dry-dry, all 29 days, and dry into March ... till today when clouds rolled in and slowly dripped, ever so gently ... perfect for thirsty plants and roots.  Forecasters say we'll have a rain possibility every day for the upcoming week.  Great.  And those rain drops may knock flower petals from the shrubs and trees.  So be it.  I've enjoyed what I've seen so far.  I'm sure there'll be more.  After all, April showers bring May flowers.

Above is one of two forsythias we planted in large pots last year.  Forsythias are an early bloomer, adding color to blah winter landscapes.  Both of ours are in full bloom, with daffy-dills behind.  Love the brilliant yellow!

I moved daffodil bulbs last year,

and this year I'm rewarded by their cheerful morning greeting. 

We took a drive yesterday while the sun shone, on a street known for its beauty.  I spotted this white, fragrant flowering vine climbing a fence, but I don't know what it is.  If I did, I'd plant some myself!  The deer ate the green, thin and floppy leaves of my grape hyacinths, so the next day I sprayed Deer-be-gone, which means this year I get to enjoy their tiny cobalt-blue grape-like clusters, top right.  (big smile)  Forsythia on lower right.

Not long ago, a friend gave me a couple of tangy Meyer lemons, which called out for Jimmy's favorite lemon icebox pie!  I made it this morning.  When I tried to turn on the mixer to whip up meringue, I had trouble flipping the switch to "high."  Showing it to Jimmy, he said, "No wonder, it's broken."  The black handle below (Bakelite?) had cracked near the top where the switch is.  Well, I said, it's not that old, it shouldn't break.  He laughed.

Below, I "bought" the mixer when I lived in SoCal many years ago using Blue Chip Stamps, which were given out by various supermarkets at the time.  Do NOT ask me why I saved:  a) the box, or b) the stamp receipt dated 1969!  As many times as I've moved around the country since 1969, I think I kept the box because it was easier to transport the mixer without it getting lost.  I dunno.  That's my story; I'm stickin' to it.  Jimmy glued the handle together with black Gorilla tape and made it look as good as new!  It should last another 51 years.  Hope so.  😄 

Oh, the glorious Bradford Pear trees with tons o' white snowball-like clumps!

Imagine rows of 20-ft trees aglow like this.

Not my yard.  Not yet.  But oh-so-pretty.

And seeing streets lined with flowering Plum trees massed with their peachy-pink flowers, makes your heart sing.  Eyeballs a-poppin' -- wonderful spring fashion!

On a different note:  Jimmy and I, along with our traveling buddies, Bernice and Ibby, have a stellar, ambitious month-long jaunt planned for April/May in Portugal, Morocco and Norway.  These last couple of weeks we've been hoping, fingers and toes crossed, that the novel Coronavirus wouldn't impact our trip, but today we received a cancellation (a lodge in Norway).  I'm not sure what we'll do, or if other cancellations will follow.  tbc  Stay well, fellow travelers.