What's Going On?

SPRING? WINTER! SPRING?

The latter part of this past week brought balmy, shirt-sleeve weather to our part of the U.S.  My daffodils and forsythia bloomed, the day lilies began to send up new leaves, and all was looking well for the world. "About time!", I thought, and began to make plans for working in the flower beds.  Silly me! 

By mid-afternoon yesterday, a light rain was being pushed by a cold north wind at about 50 miles an hour (the gusts turned my umbrella completely inside out, took my breath away [so much that it scared me], and nearly blew me off my feet... really!) and then....

...it snowed last night!  

Not very much; the ground was not even completely covered, just clumps of snow here and there, when I got up this morning.  The temperature is rising, even as I type, and a quick look out the window just now shows that it's nearly all gone.  

We Arkies are wont to say "If you don't like the weather, just wait a few minutes; it will change."



BITS AND PIECES

* This past Saturday, which was a balmy day, my stamping partner and I hosted another successful Stamp Camp, our first of this year. I'm happy to report that a good time was had by all.

* I continue to enjoy my Kindle, and the free books I download from Amazon.  As I've previously commented on this blog, I am a (big) fan of mystery stories. My taste runs to the "cozy" mystery, although a well-constructed thriller also holds my attention.  One evening last week, I began to read Louisiana Longshot by Jana DeLeon.  Once I read the first page, I couldn't stop. This has to be one of the funniest stories I have ever read. If laughter is good medicine, I shouldn't be sick for quite some time! Highly recommended by yours truly, if you enjoy such things.

* My smart phone, a gift from my son-in-law in 2012, is behaving erratically. I've checked everything I know to check, and have had others more experienced than I try to resolve the problems I'm having -- to no avail. Perhaps it has a built-in self-destruct chip. :)  I fear a new phone is in my future.

I am slightly amazed at how much I have come to depend on this pocket-sized piece of technology -- being able to send and receive email when not at home on my computer; texting (never while driving, thank you); taking photos; checking the weather, etc., etc.  I've become so comfortable with it that I have been giving thought to doing away with my "land line."  Today, I'm not so sure!

* Today is St. Patrick's Day. Are you wearing green? Interesting information on the wearing of the green here.

That's it.

Tomorrow is also a day.

Spring Is All Around - And Eaglets

White daffodils, Kwanzan Flowering Cherry, wisteria, Japanese Painted Fern, pansy, Stars of Bethlehem, wild strawberry bloom, violets, Japanese Maple.

About half these photos were taken in Gardening Daughter's yard, the others at my place. My Japanese Maple tree has leafed out very nicely.  I was a bit worried about it after it suffered so much from last summer's heat.

The eaglets are hatching at Decorah, Iowa.  The first was out of it's shell early Saturday morning; another may have hatched since I last looked (I've been watching sporadically) and the third egg has a peep hole, already. It's exciting!

Tomorrow is also a day.

It's Coming, Really It Is!

But not for a while!

The weather forecasters are warning us that more white fluffy stuff is going to fall from the sky tonight and tomorrow -- the heaviest snowfall of the season to date. :::sigh:::

I (and half the population of the city) made a trip to the grocery store today to stock up on essentials and, in my case, bird seed.  Barring power failure, I'm set for the duration. 

One of my purchases this morning was a jar of crunchy peanut butter (store brand, and on sale).  I intend to mix some of that with a generous (yea, even copious) amount of bird seed and use it in place of the suet blocks that I have been using.  An advantage to the home-made mixture is that it can be 'blocked' or, while a bit more spreadable, stuffed into holes/cracks in trees to provide some nourishment for both birds and squirrels.

Gardening Daughter has already let me know that if the power goes out here, I am to report to her wood-heated house, pronto! I haven't yet figured out just how I would get there if it snows a lot, because her home is situated at the top of a hill. The street I would have to travel is uphill both ways.

I picked up a book from the library and I'm keeping my Kindle charged up, just in case.  We shall see what we shall see.

Tomorrow is also a day.

If Winter Comes...

Winter has hardly arrived.  It's not even 30 days into the season, and I am more than ready for SPRING. While I think snow (freshly fallen) can be very beautiful, it also brings damp, bone-chilling cold. I'm already tired of taking photos of snow and icicles, mostly because I don't know how to keep warm while I'm doing it!

In keeping with my desire for something Spring-y, I offer the following from my archives -- My first photo mosaic, which I tried for the first time today.  All photos are of plants from my garden or that of Gardening Daughter, with the exception of the yellow rose, which is growing in our church garden in memory of my eldest granddaughter who died three years ago, at age 29, in a tragic automobile accident.  We call it "Christie's Rose."

(

Yay! It won't be too long before this is an actuality.   I feel better already!

My day was as busy as I had anticipated. However, my year end financial reports were in balance and I got a few more church-related odds and ends finished. That always leaves me with a feeling of accomplishment, something that (unfortunately) doesn't happen every day. 

Sweetie Pie has yet another ear infection. Poor baby!  I do wish I knew what was causing this.  I'm doctoring her as best I know how, with antibiotic ear drops left over from the last time.    If she doesn't improve by tomorrow evening, it's off to the veterinarian -- again!

It's just about time for my nightly dose of Yorkshire humor.  Our local PBS station is running early episodes of Last of the Summer Wine.  These particular ones were filmed in 1973, the first year of the series.  I'm finding them not quite as humorous as the later episodes, but it's interesting to see how the characters have developed.

Tomorrow is also a day.

I'm baaack! Yay!

After many trials and tribulations, my computer is not only cleaned but polished, as of about 2 hours ago.  I would have posted here a little sooner but, as fate would have it, our neighborhood experienced a power blackout!  Just call me "jinxed."

It will take me days (weeks, even) to try to make even a cursory exploration of the posts on my favorite blogs that have occurred during my lengthy absence, besides which I have to rebuild my favorite feeds, which will take some time.

So, dear blog friends, if you are reading this, please know that I haven't forgotten you, and will be around to visit you as soon as possible/practical.

Happy Spring!

Where Did Spring Go?

I spent the first part of this week working inside, in the church office on Monday, then keeping an eagle eye on my 4 year old granddaughter at her home on Tuesday and Wednesday while her mother was elsewhere. I had hoped to work in my trashy uh, beginning-to-be-overgrown, abandoned-looking must-soon-be-mowed-and-edged yard today and tomorrow, but...

...good grief! Where did Spring go? It's after 7 p.m. as I write this, and it's 86 degrees outside -- in the shade! When I engage in physical exertion, which working in the yard certainly entails, I tend to melt into a puddle, i.e., sweat like a horse! My northern European genes don't like the heat -- not one bit!

I can see right now that I'll have to be in the yard at first light tomorrow or I'm going to have to rent some goats!

Image: Wikipedia

Being a Pessimist...

...is not necessarily a bad thing. I suspect that I've been a pessimist all my life, even as a child.

I try not to be dismal in my pessimism, nor infective, and I tolerate, yea, even love, my optimistic friends. However, as a pessimist, I am hardly ever disappointed. Also, when I discover that things didn't turn out to be as bad as I expected, I experience many joyous moments.

A JOYOUS thing is this snippet garnered a few minutes ago from the local ABC television station (KATV) web site:

"Chilly across Arkansas this morning, but for most of us the sub-freezing temperatures did not occur. The reason...winds remained high overnight and kept the coldest of the air from settling down to the surface. "

Yes, the winds remained high. Each time last night that I stirred in my bed to the point of semi-consciousness I could hear my windchimes, and the turbine vents on my roof, one of which has a slight squeak as it turns. Music to my ears!

The sun is shining. It may be only 42 degrees outside, with a wind chill of 36, but it's beautiful, and my patch of Stars of Bethlehem is still bravely standing!

Spring? and An Anniversary of Sorts

Star of Bethlehem

Ornithogalum umbellatum

Lily family (Liliaceae)

I show the above photo as a reminder to me that Spring was here, if only temporarily. The temperatures are supposed to drop below freezing tonight, and the lovely flower, a photo of which was taken in my back yard two days ago, may be brown mush tomorrow. Only the passage of the night will show if the the weatherman is correct. We've had strong winds today, but until around 6 p.m. there was a lot of sunshine. Then the clouds moved in. Both clouds and wind are to go away overnight, allowing the cold front to drop in here and do its dastardly deed. Our church children will probably have a chilly Easter Egg hunt on Sunday, too. This weather is supposed to hang around for a while.

If I've calculated correctly, today is my one-year blogging anniversary. Also, if correct, I've posted 177 times (this one included), giving me a somewhat dismal record of posting on only 48% of the intervening 365 days. Ah, well. The other 52% of the days were spent doing something else: reading other folks blogs, reading books, working at church, taking care of dogs, cats, and grandchildren (not necessarily in that order), and leading a quite ordinary life.

When I started blogging, my main intention was to record some of my remembrances while I still had the memory to do so. I've done a bit of that, yes, but much of what I want to record is as of yet unwritten. Some of my dredged up memories are a bit hard to deal with, and I'm not sure they will ever be recorded, at least in a blog.

I've participated in theme posting to some extent, although I've let some of that go by the wayside of late. I've become very much interested in photography this past year, have acquired a new digital camera and some nice lenses, and am taking a lot of pleasure in trying to improve my skills in that area. I've learned a lot, in theory at least, from some excellent photographer/bloggers (too many to mention here, but they are listed in my side bar) and it gives me great enjoyment to read their blogs and look their photos. Thanks to you all!

One of the greatest pleasures of being a member of the blog community, however, is the contact I've made with other bloggers around the world: England, Europe, South America, Australia, Japan, India, Africa, and many, many places in the United States. Thanks to the Internet, it's a small world, after all.

Off now, to get a blanket for the bed. I may have some hot cocoa before I turn in, too. Surely, real Spring can't be too far away.

ABC Wednesday - "G"

"G" Is for New Growth

(all photos may be enlarged by clicking on them)

New growth on the moss at the base of a tree in my back yard.

New growth on the rose bush

New growth on the Peach Tree

New growth on the sweet Pussy Willow

With all this new growth, can Spring be far behind?

ABC Wednesday was created by Mrs. Nesbitt. Please visit the ABC Wednesday site to view others' interpretations of this week's letter, "G."

ABC Wednesday - "E"

"E" is for Emerging

It takes only a few days of moderate temperatures for daffodils to start pushing their way up through the still cold ground and the layer of leaves which have sheltered them from the most bitter cold. It won't be long until bright yellow blossoms are nodding their heads in the breeze and silently whispering "Come on, Spring!"

ABC Wednesday was created by Mrs. Nesbitt. Please visit the ABC Wednesday site to view others' interpretations of this week's letter, "E."