Just a Lazy Weekend in the 'Hood

Glorious sunshine. Warmer temperatures. Nesting birds. Spring is here!

Love that a zoom can get me closer to Kate's nested robin!

My neighborhood is looking good! Lots of blossoms and flowering trees, daffodils and some tulips, grass that needs mowing. Yes, I think spring is here to stay.

Sweetie and Tippy, the neighbor's dogs, are barking up a storm -- they've just been let out and the day is happy for them. Tippy looks like the dog-Lizzie -- the same markings and the same inclination to chase things (and not bring them back). The difference is that Tippy is none to fond of people not her own, so I give her a wide berth and don't stick my hand over the fence, though I'm dying to bury my face in her soft fur. Sweetie is the barker, but a happy one. All she wants is to be loved and pet so yes, the hand goes over the fence with happiness!

You caption this one!

 And Lizzie? Well, her one track mind follows the food -- unless, of course, it is watching the birds or in sleep mode. She's had her taste of spring on the leash -- not aerobic, but good for grins on a nice day.

My Garden Warrior came last week and did quite a number on getting the yard ready for the season. Two loads of mulch and a full truck load of yard waste when all was said and done. The daffs are up, the tulips nearly in bloom and I'm seeing the hostas and lilies of the valley begin to sprout up from the ground. I have a lot of shade here and things seem slower than down the street at Chez Rick. What that basically means is that lilies of the valley will last longer as mine will kick in as his depart.

Mark, the Garden Warrior

My WKAR projects wrapped up and I've one more final report to finish and submit and that one will be relatively easy. The other one took longer than I thought but I have to say when I mailed the packet in that I was pretty impressed with the quantity and quality of the work done on the project. I feel I can say that without boasting because the design work, the web work, the social media was done in large part by others. I just did some writing and editing. Our cancer panel of physicians was excellent and I'm attaching a link here to their presentation and Q&A for those who might be interested. It is universal info, not local, so it may be of interest to some.

Four very talented men: Costume designer Daniel Hobbs, lighting designer Shannon Schweitzer, director Deric McNish and dramaturg Daniel Smith.

The looser schedule means more fun time. One of the things I particularly enjoyed was taking a short (two session) class related to the musical "Hair." Our university theatre was doing the show so we had a pre-show class with the dramaturg and several actors. That put things into historical context (and quite the history it was!), then we saw the production last weekend. The final class included the dramaturg, director, lighting and costume designers. Fascinating to get their perspective on building the show from the very beginning -- what went into their costume, set and lighting designs, how the director worked with the actors. Now I wish I could see the play again!

Meanwhile, the Ditch is in its full glory. And yes, Harry is back. We'll take a springtime walk there next time!

A birthday outing in Grand Rapids, tea with a friend, a calendar filling up with things like book club and fundraising gala meetings and more lunches. This re-connection to the world is making me almost giddy with happiness.

And yes, books have been read. A Sarah Caudwell mystery ("The Sirens Sang a Song of Murder"), another Maggie Hope mystery ("The Prime Minister's Secret Agent"), A so-so and disappointing Peter Mayle caper book ("Chasing Cezanne') and "Without Reservations," a wonderful travel memoir by Alice Steinbach. Time for art? Of course! My art journal is slowly filling up!

gouache, papers, napkin bits, gesso.

And of course "Wolf Hall" and "Call the Midwife" I've also watched "The Voice" for the first time because a local guy is now in the top six -- Joshua Davis. If you are following the series and want to see him in an earlier performance with his group "Steppin' In It" from WKAR's BackStage Pass, take a look!

Just big smiles around here these days. Long awaited, big happy smiles!