Spring is Definitely Here

Yesterday

Today. You can't see the flowers anymore.

The trees are heavy with the wet spring snow.

We even lost branches. At least we didn't lose power like some people apparently did.

I love a Spring Snow. It's beautiful and never lasts for more than a day.

Signs of Spring

After the long hard winter I'm always happy for these first signs of spring.

Pretty purple crocuses.

And yellow and white ones.

And red tulips getting ready to bloom.

And noxious weeds poking out from under rocks.

Now That Spring is Here

I've contracted my yearly cold. I feel like ick. Ick on a stick. I don't know what that means but my brain has been pretty muddled for the past few days. It doesn't help that the weather is so nice I can't stay inside. And I thought about calling in sick to work, but that's no guarantee I'll feel better tomorrow, so I keep trudging to work.

Today Olaf made me buy some of that Emergen-C stuff at the store. Of course I bought the generic, it was $2 less. Here's my first official review, it's pretty nasty. But hopefully it'll do the trick and help the cold dissipate into the sunshine and breeze.

And to top it all off I've been sucked into a new book, World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War. That means when I go to bed early I just read until my regular bedtime. Technically I'm getting enough sleep, but not the extra hour I need to shake this crummy cold.

Here's hoping you are all enjoying Spring more than I am right now. Thank goodness Spring last for a few months around here, I hope to be relishing it next week.

Just Around the Corner

Spring is just around the corner! How do I know, you ask? The other night when we were coming home after dark we almost ran over some kid. A teenager type person. Then as I looked, I noticed other teenagers roaming the streets. Spring is officially here, the children are back outside in droves.

Also, the yearly battle between Baby and me has started.

"Mom, I'm gonna go play with Z" he hollers on his way outside without a coat since the temperature is above freezing.

"Hey, stay right on our Block/Corner. Don't roam, I want to be able to call you home without looking for you," I yell out the door at him.

An hour later or so when I go outside to call him home he doesn't answer my calls. I go inside and text my neighbor to send him home. She texts back that they are at my house. Ugh! I go outside and yell again for him without any luck. So I get in my car and head for the "Park." The "Park" is a collection of backyards without any fences. Most of the people have some type of play structure or trampoline which Baby and his friend play on til they are dragged home. 90% of the time they are at the "Park." As soon as they see my car pull into one of the house's driveway they scramble to get out of there and try to beat me home in an attempt to stay out of trouble.

Once we meet back at home I try to find out what part of "Stay on our Block/Corner" he didn't understand. Apparently, to Baby, our Corner/Block comprises the whole neighborhood, despite my definition of the term.

Thank goodness for the sun and blue sky we're seeing now that the inversion has gone the way of winter. Sometimes that's the only saving grace of Spring.

Spring is in the Air

It's Spring! Spring is here! The daffodils are blooming. (The year I went to Scotland the daffodils were in full bloom in JUNE!) The crocuses are all gone. The yard finally needs watering after a few dry days. The sky is blue and the temperatures are warm but not hot. All the remaining patches of permasnow have finally melted. (You know the black snow that has a hard time melting.) Summer blockbusters have hit the theaters. Go Star Trek! And all the roadside crews are busy cleaning up the winter garbage that is flat and icky after being piled under layers and layers of dirty snow along the road. If it hasn't disintegrated yet there's a good chance it won't anytime soon. Off to the landfill with you!

The other morning on my way to work under a beautifully blue sky I noticed a work crew ahead, leisurely picking up garbage. Then I saw the sign announcing the crew so no one would run over any of them. It said, "Sheriff's Inmate Cleanup Crew." And then the next sign a few more feet down the road said "Sheriff's Cleanup Crew" with a very blank spot where 'Inmate' had been yellowed out. It gave me a good laugh on my way to work and reminded me not to pick up hitchhikers wearing orange vests.