Spring blossoms

Once spring arrives, or once the snow is gone, whichever comes first, Molly and I find ourselves taking short walks around our property several times a day. 

I love wandering across the lawns and checking out growth in my various flower beds.

I just realized, for instance, that our daffodils are in bloom. As I was cutting a few to bring inside, Ken walked over and mentioned he hadn't noticed they were in bloom today. Sometimes we don't stop to enjoy the beauty around us. Our daffodils are usually the last ones in the neighborhood to burst into bloom. I'm not sure why. 

We also noticed that the jack-in-the pulpits, which arrived here when loads of loam were brought in for the lawns ten years ago, are beginning to blossom. I get a kick out of jack-in-the-pulpits. I have a group of three at the back of the house, and I've named them "Jack," "Jack, Jr.," and "Jack, Jr., Jr." 

The forsythia is blooming fully this spring. I remember years ago, we'd be lucky if our forsythia bloomed fully every other year or every two years. The past few years, though, it has looked pretty much as it does this spring. All the forsythia in this area of Maine seem to be especially abundant with blossoms. My forsythia bush is one I purchased as a "baby" at a local supermarket, for about $6.98. I'm pleased to see what it's turning into.

It looks as if this will be a great spring for lilacs, as long as a driving rain doesn't ruin the blossoms once they're open. I checked the lilac bushes yesterday and could see they are heavy with buds. Oh, the scent of lilac blossoms.

I hung out the hummingbird feeder two days ago. The little duffers will be returning any day from their winter digs in Mexico. I read recently that some hummers return via a straight flight across the Gulf of Mexico. Good heavens. Makes me tired just to think of it. The article said they have to "bulk up" before the flight because the journey requires so much energy. I can believe it.

Also, soon the Baltimore orioles will arrive. I love seeing that first oriole of spring. I put out the obligatory orange wedges, of course, but I've found orioles like my special suet cakes even better. There's nothing like an oriole's song in the early morning to lift your spirits.

Iced tea, anyone?

I've been struggling for days to figure out the announcer's words in the new Turkey Hill iced tea ad. I even put Ken onto it, saying, "Figure out what on earth he's saying after "Bottled cold...." I could've sworn he was saying a naughty word, but I couldn't figure out why or how that naughty word would fit into the ad.

In desperation today I finally went to You Tube and typed in "Turkey Hill iced tea ad." There it was, for me to view and hear.

As it turns out, the announcer is simply saying, "Bottled cold. SHIPPED cold. Sold cold."

Phew. What a relief. The ad now makes sense.

And with the weather we've had here over the weekend, a glass of cold iced tea sounds like just the ticket.

California again

I'm tired of looking at the rhino's butt in my last post, a butt that even a pair of industrial-strength Spanx couldn't rein in , so here are a few more pleasant photos of our recent trip to California. (I love my Spanx, by the way,  and feel unnaturally empowered when I wear them.)

The first is of the Old Point Loma Lighthouse at Cabrillo National Monument, near San Diego. As you can see, we were there on a picture-perfect day.

Next we have, for some reason known only to the dog's owner, a dog wearing a dress on Easter Sunday. This was taken in San Diego in Balboa Park. I could have spent days in Balboa Park. Maybe this dog wears a dress only on Easter Sunday, or maybe she wears one every Sunday, or maybe she wears one every day of the week. I'll never know. Maybe "she" is a "he" and he's a dog in drag. Whatever.

Here's another interesting dog: He is being strapped into a harness just before enjoying a parasailing adventure with his owner at the  LaJolla Cliffs. We had fun watching all the parasailers Easter afternoon, and this dog was one of the most interesting. Obviously Fido had done a lot of parasailing because he was very matter-of-fact about the entire experience. When he came back to earth and got unharnessed, he just trotted off as if every dog does some parasailing now and then. (Double click on the photo so you can see the dog more clearly.)

We spent one day driving the Pacific Coast Highway from Huntington Beach to Dana Point. As you can see, the flowers were in bloom and the sights were spectacular.

So that's a little more of our adventure for you. I, meanwhile, continue to recover from whatever malady I brought home with me from California. Recent stories of the swine flu epidemic are giving me cause to pause....    Oink.  

With love to the guy at the Los Angeles Zoo

...the one who sneezed all over me.

Ken and I went out to Orange County, CA recently for a week of sightseeing and reuniting with a friend of 40 years ago.

On day #2 we visited the Los Angeles Zoo. (Isn't that tiger a beauty? While I'm bothered that he's held in captivity, I'm grateful for the chance to see him up close and personal.)

As I was strolling along, minding my own business and scarfing down a bag of popcorn, a guy walking past me suddenly turned in my direction and sneezed all over me. I was disgusted but didn't give this much thought until two days later, when I developed a sore throat while in San Diego. The sore throat continued for the rest of our stay, not getting worse, not getting better.

During the flight home last Wednesday night, I went so far as to tell myself I was feeling much better and probably I'd experienced a little allergy while in California.

Wrong. (How about those flamingoes? I read recently that their color comes from eating shrimp. Those guys have downed a lot of shrimp.)

No sooner did our plane land at the Manchester, NH airport than I took a sudden, dramatic turn for the worse. I coughed from Manchester to Portland. I know Ken was wishing he could snuff me out and dispose of my body in a remote location.

But that wasn't the worst of it. By Thursday night my head was pounding, all of my teeth ached, my cough had grown very "congested-y," and I had misery written all over my face.

(Ostriches are rather funny looking, aren't they? They probably say the same thing about us.)

Today I'm finally feeling a tad better. Not a whole lot better, but a tad better. Maybe I'll pick up and put away the two suitcases in the middle of the living room floor. Maybe I'll tackle the pile of ironing. Maybe I'll go outside and enjoy the sunshine.

Meanwhile, this photo is for the guy at the L.A. Zoo, the one who sneezed all over me.

Early Easter

Miss V visited us yesterday, along with her handlers and her grand-handlers, for an early Easter dinner. Also, we celebrated, finally, two birthdays which we usually celebrate in January. (Endless Sunday snowstorms and other events kept postponing the birthday celebration.) And we celebrated one April birthday, so it was a day of many celebrations.

To start things off, Miss V settled in for some serious marble sorting. She mentioned later in the day, however, that she'd prefer to sort buttons the next time she visits. I'll remember that.

Once the marble sorting was completed, she and her nana decorated some Easter cupcakes. Nana did the serious frosting details while Miss V finished them with about 1/2 lb. of jelly beans per cupcake.

And finally, Miss V and her mother brought us a handmade Easter egg, complete with baby chick inside.

It was a good day, all 'round.

What to my wondering eyes should appear....

This morning I walked across our front lawn. That might not sound like much to you, especially if you live in a warmer climate than I, but here in Maine, walking across one's lawn on April 2 can mean only one thing: the snow is almost gone!

Inspired by that feat, I got out the rake and began clearing last fall's leaves from my flower beds. Lo and behold, I discovered primroses ,

hens and chicks,...and that golden leaf poking through the ground? It's rhubarb! Visions of a strawberry rhubarb pie immediately started dancing through my head.

On a less-happy note, it appears the girls have had a spat. This is what I found when I walked past them a little while ago.

I finished my Knitting Pure and Simple Neckdown Summer Cardigan a couple of days ago. It was quite fun to knit, and it came out jim-dandy, although I think I used the wrong stitch for binding off. I'm not going to ravel and bind off again, though. It'll be my dirty little secret. I used Lion Brand Cotton-ease yarn for this project, and it seems to be a very nice yarn. It's 50% cotton, 50% acrylic, which is what I was looking for. I tried knitting a sweater from 100% cotton yarn and ended up with a baggy, saggy creation which I promptly raveled in its entirety. So there.

Ruby's Got a Sister

I don't know her name yet, but she's definitely related to Ruby. I mean, look at their faces. From the same family, or what?

Ruby's sister is into ballet, judging from her tutu. Ruby strikes me as being a more practical girl, probably into baking and sewing, while her sister flounces around in her dance paraphernalia all day and waits for people to tell her how beautiful she is.

It's painfully apparent, even to me, that I'm avoiding my spring cleaning chores....