It is such a blustery day. My helper in the garden was not able to come at all in March, in spite of trying and getting rained out. I think he might come today, though even if the rain stops, it’s so windy and cold, I do not want to go out there and join in the clean up and pruning and weeding. I will just stay in and do a few Greek lessons, and show you more pictures of the garden.
At right is a birthday card I received from my grandson. He’s doing an extensive series of these drawings of which this is only one family member, so I don’t think he was necessarily implying any resemblance. But I immediately felt that this motherly looking cat was a kindred spirit.
More birthday gifts illustrate this post, made by several of the younger, most practical and artistic grandchildren. The ones who live in California keep writing cards and letters wondering when they will next see me; these, combined with the departure of the Colorado clan after they had been available for hugs for a whole week, gave me the idea of making a quick trip north to see Pippin’s brood this weekend — but stop… breathe… It looks better to wait until after Pascha, and more easily accomplished. So I’m looking forward to that, though even then it will be a challenge to squeeze it in. Because of May travels.
In the front garden, more Yellows and Oranges are flowering to complement the purples and blues. The freesias have never smelled so divine; maybe it is the heavenly dampness in the air that carries their scent to my head such that I want to sit down on the wet sidewalk and swoon a while. In the lower right of the picture below you can see the new ceanothus covered with its Lenten purple. The green shag carpet is baby nigella, which I need to thin out severely as soon as the weather is favorable.
The hen hotpad above is the exception in the group — not made by a grandchild, but sent by my dear friend in Arizona ❤
The irises in the front, which are supposed to be tall, but have been short lately, are sending up tall stems with buds now, and they are beginning to open, just as the yellow California poppies are coming on. Now, if the rain will just stop, and the wind turn into a gentle spring breeze…
No one has played an April Fool’s joke on me today — I don’t think. How about you?
Gladsome Lights 
I did get taken in by a very clever April Fool’s day joke! If you scroll down in this post from my favorite local weather guru, you’ll find a section titled “Introducing Hype+”. It’s hilarious, and I believed it until I finally saw the subscription price: $4.01! What makes it so funny is that Space City Weather prides itself on its “no hype’ forecasts — and yet they still caught a few of us with their joke.
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That’s a good one ☺️
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You have celebrated a birthday! What lovely gifts you have received along with the love and joy of your family 🙂 Your garden looks so pretty too!
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Belated birthday wishes!!! Your rain has made your flowers even more lovely than ever. I have wanted to grow nigella for years but it took a gift from some bird the year before last, I think it was, and now it pops up in various places. I’m so pleased.
Orange Calif. poppies self-seed in my garden; this year I hope to find seeds for pale yellow ones like yours. They grow even in the gravel parking area!
No April Fools tricks here. Gone are the days when we used to try sticking fish on unsuspecting family members ( poissons d’avril). The grands are too old for such now 🙂
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What kind of fish were those?? Not real fish, I hope…?
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No, not real fish. lol The grands were in French Immersion and one of the French traditions was (is?) pinning a paper fish onto the back of an unsuspecting person. Actually, I attended a French school as well way back when and I remember doing that too. April Fools was always a fun day.
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Belated Birthday Greetings, Gretchen. Your garden is bright with flowers and so lovely. That iris is such a deep colour – really stunning.
April 1 passed by without any personal jokes although I enjoyed reading a few online.
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