What a winter we had this year!
Snow and more snow. Early snow. Late snow. Snow all the time in between. By mid-December we totaled more snow than the whole of the previous winter! Ice. Cold. Slippery roads. Clean the car off. Shop. Clean the car off again. More snow. Winter. Ugh!
Winter is my least favorite season. What an understatement that is! In fact, I detest winter. I wish I could stock up on food and hibernate, just like the bears. Now they've got some sense. Just sleep through the whole winter and wake up to warm temperatures, sunshine and flowers.
At least I live in an apartment so I don't have to shovel snow. Except when they plowed the car in and I had to dig my way out. Living in an apartment means I don't own a shovel. The one time I had to park outside the shelter this past winter, the snow was knee-deep by morning. All I had was my long-handled snow brush with a squeegee on one side. Take my word for it, it's not the ideal thing to move a few feet of snow. But it finally worked. Just. Enough that I could move the car into the only parking space left under the balcony overhang. Phew! I don't want to go through that again! Or a winter like that.
And then came the rain. Some weeks it forgot to stop. The fields looked more like lakes and rivers than a place to plant seeds. I don't know how much will grow this summer. I suppose for some crops it's good, but not for others. But I do see some fields with green things shooting up. Probably corn. I hope we have a good crop of corn this year. It's one of my favorites.
But this week! Sunshine and more sunshine. Wonderful! And the temperature for a couple of days felt more like summer than spring. That's OK by me. I love the heat. And the sun. Spring. It's great. Full of new life. Abundant with new growth. Finally I have been able to get out with my digital camera and take some photos of spring blossoms. For some reason, I haven't started early enough to get the spring flowers. It's always summer and fall before I start shooting. But this year is different. I've captured lilacs, spirea, tulips, forget-me-nots. A few things I don't know by name. And wisteria. I have needed a photo of wisteria for a book I have written, but I didn't even know if it grew in this area. This past Sunday, taking a friend home from church, I noticed some purple flowers along a fence. I was so excited that I shouted, "That's wisteria!" I must have startled my friend. And to think it is growing almost next door to my building. But I still need a picture of yucca in bloom. I found one last year, but I completely missed it. The flowers, I mean. I was a month too late. I arrived there in July only to discover they bloom in June. And I think I may not get it this year either. The old seed pods and stems were not cut down. I don't know if that affects the growth of new blooms or not. I'll just have to keep checking.
So, now I'm going to display some of my pictures. I hope they brighten up your day as much as they brighten up this page. And you can enjoy them even if you have allergies! Well, happy strolling through the tulips - and forget-me-nots - and wisteria!
Oh, and please leave a comment. That will brighten my day.
Snow and more snow. Early snow. Late snow. Snow all the time in between. By mid-December we totaled more snow than the whole of the previous winter! Ice. Cold. Slippery roads. Clean the car off. Shop. Clean the car off again. More snow. Winter. Ugh!
Winter is my least favorite season. What an understatement that is! In fact, I detest winter. I wish I could stock up on food and hibernate, just like the bears. Now they've got some sense. Just sleep through the whole winter and wake up to warm temperatures, sunshine and flowers.
At least I live in an apartment so I don't have to shovel snow. Except when they plowed the car in and I had to dig my way out. Living in an apartment means I don't own a shovel. The one time I had to park outside the shelter this past winter, the snow was knee-deep by morning. All I had was my long-handled snow brush with a squeegee on one side. Take my word for it, it's not the ideal thing to move a few feet of snow. But it finally worked. Just. Enough that I could move the car into the only parking space left under the balcony overhang. Phew! I don't want to go through that again! Or a winter like that.
And then came the rain. Some weeks it forgot to stop. The fields looked more like lakes and rivers than a place to plant seeds. I don't know how much will grow this summer. I suppose for some crops it's good, but not for others. But I do see some fields with green things shooting up. Probably corn. I hope we have a good crop of corn this year. It's one of my favorites.
But this week! Sunshine and more sunshine. Wonderful! And the temperature for a couple of days felt more like summer than spring. That's OK by me. I love the heat. And the sun. Spring. It's great. Full of new life. Abundant with new growth. Finally I have been able to get out with my digital camera and take some photos of spring blossoms. For some reason, I haven't started early enough to get the spring flowers. It's always summer and fall before I start shooting. But this year is different. I've captured lilacs, spirea, tulips, forget-me-nots. A few things I don't know by name. And wisteria. I have needed a photo of wisteria for a book I have written, but I didn't even know if it grew in this area. This past Sunday, taking a friend home from church, I noticed some purple flowers along a fence. I was so excited that I shouted, "That's wisteria!" I must have startled my friend. And to think it is growing almost next door to my building. But I still need a picture of yucca in bloom. I found one last year, but I completely missed it. The flowers, I mean. I was a month too late. I arrived there in July only to discover they bloom in June. And I think I may not get it this year either. The old seed pods and stems were not cut down. I don't know if that affects the growth of new blooms or not. I'll just have to keep checking.
So, now I'm going to display some of my pictures. I hope they brighten up your day as much as they brighten up this page. And you can enjoy them even if you have allergies! Well, happy strolling through the tulips - and forget-me-nots - and wisteria!
Oh, and please leave a comment. That will brighten my day.
