The redbuds are still blooming here, but soon to be replaced by green leaves. Despite cool days (though getting a bit warmer!) and (very) cold nights, spring is here!
My friend Jan and I went to our favorite flower/plant nursery and market to check out the plants and prices.
Alas, Harry the Heron hasn't shown up yet this spring, but I've had some other lovely sightings as the Ditch begins to awaken.
Slightly (emphasis on the "slightly") warmer weather and plenty of rain has helped the Ditch color to burst, and while it's still filling in, it's looking awfully good! (And yes, we dipped below freezing last night.)
Let the sun shine! It's been a lovely week here, warmish (not hot, which is perfect) and sunny. It's awfully nice to see the rain take a little break! Rick's flowering bush is out, so I know spring is really here!
By now, the Ditch is more "filled in" but when I took these photos a few days ago, it looked just as I love it -- that symphony of chartreuse and yellow-green, hanging like a soft scrim over branches and bushes.
This beautiful state of affairs only lasts a few days and I was grateful that those days were lovely ones, good for a walk!
Our schizophrenic weather brought to mind a character from an old children's television show I watched as a child, "The Howdy Doody Show." Princess Summerfall Winterspring was first played by actress Judy Tyler, then after her early death, by a marionette. The character was one of Howdy's dear friends.
Summerfall Winterspring. That's what March is like in Michigan. When the temperature hits 60, drive by any fraternity house near the campus that has a sun roof and you'll see loads of young men in shorts. As for the women, on their way to the bar on a Friday night, tube tops and short skirts are in vogue -- often with no coat or a skimpy jacket. It is summer to them.
The trees are past their peak, and by the as I post this, storm damage is being cleaned up and our world is covered in beautiful, deep green foliage. I've already seen new goose families. But I'm taking a look back as I catch up on "real life."
A couple weeks before the storm, Rick and his buddy Nino took off for a tandem bike hike into Ohio -- about 350 miles of riding on (mostly) lovely (albeit windy) spring days.
It's been a bit since I've taken you to the Ditch. For that matter, it's been a bit since I've taken myself there. Cold, gray, gloomy weather doesn't make for a fun walk. But when the sun comes out, even if it's cold, it's time to venture forth!
Alas, I've not seen Harry the Heron yet, though I've heard he is back. But there are plenty of Canada geese!
It has been a quiet week here at the homestead, with Rick on his bike hike. And sometimes, that quiet is good! I've enjoyed some walks and seeing how lovely it is now that spring seems to be setting in for real.
There's a lot of pink in those trees but the green is coming in quickly.
The house is full of flowers, some from the garden. . .
The Memorial Day weekend and the time leading up to it brought a couple of species of critters into our lives. First, it's time for new life down at the Ditch. When I saw a marvelous photo by our neighborhood nature photographer, I knew I'd better get down there before all the babies grew up! And I wasn't disappointed!
I took my first spring walk around the Ditch on April 13 and wasn't disappointed! My friend Harry the Heron is back!
But more on him later. There were loads of birds, though for whatever reason my Merlin app wasn't recording any of them. Not sure what that's about. My first sighting was a red-wing blackbird. (Merlin should have recognized him -- he was singing like crazy!)
Before I start this post, does anyone else who follows blogs with bloglovin' find that their site has been down for about a week? If I don't visit you, it's because even though I get their notifications, when I click on any link to visit you, it says their server is busy. Same when I visit the url for the site so I can't even complain! Just asking -- wondering if it is overall or just me!
Last week my friend Jan and I went to our favorite market to pick up Easter food. Their "fresh" selection beats any local grocery. On the way past the bird seed, garden implements and seeds, we glanced outside and saw some color in the greenhouse. And so we ventured forth, curious to see some color in what has been a very gray spring.
And we were blown away!
Spring is trying to break through here in mid-Michigan, although the weather is doing its best to provide the obligatory April showers. It brings out the critters, this happy cardinal...
The sun was so bright, the weather forecast so positive, that I couldn't resist stepping out the front door early in the morning to smell an early bit of spring. The daffodil shoots are tall enough now that I can see them from the kitchen window, bravely peeking from the dirt and the mulch, hoping it is safe enough to continue to shoot taller, without the possible enemies of snow, ice or squirrels to deter their growth.
What a crazy time this is! With spring finally showing its warmer side here in Michigan, I find myself feeling overloaded with things to do. Most of them are good things, which is a plus but sometimes I wonder how I'm keeping up with anything! It's seems I'm slow with replies, slow posting, slow with home things. Spring fever? Could be.
The goslings have arrived! I've yet to see the number I suspect are there (and they are keeping pretty far from shore, so I'm glad for zoom!) but they have popped.
And learning to swim!
I took a walk on MSU's campus and enjoyed a look at another part of campus -- spring blooms are waning a bit but still, nature is its best work of art. Meanwhile, I decided to do a bit of art of my own.
That small photo of Rick and our Littlest Grand at Easter is one of my favorites. There is a gentle poignance of a small boy -- not even three -- holding grandpa's hand. Best of all, it has no faces to it made a worthy painting subject! Monique's "Paris People" were such an inspiration!
Oh, spring. You go to bed one night and the next day it is everywhere -- spring green draping the branches of trees, magnolia blossoms open and welcoming, flowers everywhere.
Back in 1977 when my mom lay in her hospital bed, only a week or so from death on April 21, one of my cousins came to visit. She was an MSU graduate so after visiting mom, we went by her old dorm and walked on campus when the trees were in bloom. It was an early spring and added extra beauty to that day.
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| My cousin, Sue, in 1977, in mid-April on MSU's campus |
There have been other early springs. Last year was not one of them. When Rick and I went walking on the MSU campus on Mother's Day in mid-May, the flowering trees had only just bloomed and the trillium was plentiful. (I wrote about that HERE.)
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| Rick at the reflecting pool, mid-May, 2020. |
This year -- even earlier than that visit from my cousin Susan fourty-four years ago -- things seemed to pop overnight. I may have missed some of the best of it, but it was still pretty good! Yesterday I took a long walk on the university campus and while the trees were still in bloom, I think I missed the trillium. And the redbuds are nearly done.
When we walked last year, we may have seen five others on a somewhat cool and gloomy Mother's Day. It was the early days of Covid and while we were allowed to be out for walks, few were. Yesterday I saw small groups picnicking on the grassy areas, riding bicycles with their families or simply walking, most all masked. Some were admiring the statues on campus, dating back to the WPA. You can take a WPA art tour of MSU's campus sites online HERE. This is fittingly by the music building.
I'm rather fond of the magnolia. Last year-- mid-May -- the magnolia had just burst into full bloom, below.
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| Mid-May 2020 |
This year (below), they were still in bloom -- but there were more than a few petals on the ground.
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| Mid-April 2021 |
Beaumont Tower is one of the campus' landmarks. It it had a logo other than that Sparty logo you see in sports, this would be it.
And in the spring, the old part of campus, with its beautiful lanterns, is really special.
This is a Saucer Magnolia. Isn't it beautiful?
You really couldn't beat the beauty of this one!
This tree, a Merrill Magnolia, smelled so fragrant it almost took your breath away.
Our temperatures had dropped from our very warm days earlier in the week and we'd had quite a rain the day before. Even so, the sky was blue and looking through the petals reminded me of an Impressionist painting.
Michigan State is not without its faults. You don't see that so much as a student, but when you work for an institution for 32 years, you see how the sausage gets made. The cover-ups during the Larry Nasser scandal are a good example of how the U tries to protect its own and its reputation at all costs and that's just one example.
But we have new president who seems to be very on task and has worked hard to rehabilitate the university. He is also an epidemiologist and they've done a remarkable job trying to both provide good educations to students while keeping them safe.
He's lucky to work and live on one of the loveliest campuses in the world. Above is the President's Home on the campus. Many choose not to live there, using it only for receptions, but I'm told he has decided to do so.
Beal Garden is a botanical garden with an array of odd plants and plenty of them. (This is the one I wrote about last year).
Many plants were up and this one was especially showy.
It also has a lovely reflecting pool and it was a perfect day for it, with moody skies that changed from blue to gray and back again.
The koi were loving it.
And it was a fun spot to try shadow puppets! (I couldn't resist, though I didn't want to get too close to the edge!)
The squirrels were out in full force. I must have counted dozens.
This one I caught in mid-air, leaping through the area where the trillium grown. It's a bit of a fuzzy photo but it's hard to hit a moving target!
The colors were beautiful -- glorious pinks....
....and the last of the daffodils. The tulips are now beginning to burst.
The gardens have interseting art. Note the gates at the top of the stairs leading out of the garden.
The stair rails are sculpted with metal pine cones.
When you look at the gate as a whole, you can see the stylized metal trees (and to me, until you look close, a bit of a hot mess...)
...but when you take a closer look at the gate itself, a splendid array of "foliage" is revealed.
I'm thinking maybe, just maybe, I can get things planted outdoors a little early. I wish I had a planting shed that looked like this instead of just a garage!
Ah, well. Can't have everything! And I am so grateful that what I do have is a glorious spring.
Bye for now!
Sharing with: Tuesday Turn About / Let's Keep in Touch / Share Your Style / Pink Saturday
When you live in the north and the colors you see for several months of the year are white, gray and dark branches against an often gray-white sky, there is nothing more pleasing to me than to welcome the colors of spring, whether they are in festive decor or outdoors! (Not that the house wasn't colorful enough with all those bunnies!)
So when I saw this post, I became inspired to paint my own eggs! (I wish I could remember which of my regular bloggers leaked to this post. Apologies -- if it was you, tell me and I'll link in!)
There really are no rules. I got the eggs a few years ago at Michael's. You want a smooth egg, not the shiny plastic ones that come apart to stuff for kids. If you get those, you'll need a coat of paint over them and who needs to spend the extra time? Then, using watercolor (which dries quickly) or the paints of your choice, even markers, just free form your favorite blooms or patterns!
Easy peasy and pretty, too. (You could also add a hanger for an egg tree!)
There are more colors than those on the eggs. My first trip to the nursery brought me face to face with these pansies that I couldn't leave behind!
And these, too!
Tulips have been a frequent companion as well.
Of course, the floral color isn't limited to "store-bought." My dwarf iris were the first to come up this spring!
Those were followed by crocus popping up in the most unexpected spots.
And then there were the mini-daffs!
Every year after buying bulb gardens, I plant them in the garden in the fall and they bring about such joy when they bloom!
All that bright, cheery yellow! What's not to love?
Even the birds were showing their colors!
But the best part about this spring is that I'm collecting long overdue hugs!
The visit of friends was short -- but since we were all vaccinated, we could be together mask-free!
So, find our favorite bloom, your favorite flowering tree, your happiest Easter bunny or brightest smile!
It's spring!
Sharing with: Pink Saturday / Tuesday TurnAbout / Love Your Creativity / Let's Keep in Touch / Share Your Style
