Thursday, April 26 - Massachusetts

Good evening intrepid followers! Spring has not really shown at her best this year. Certainly not like last year at this time!

New England does not always grant us a "real" Spring. That 6 or 8 weeks between the last of Winter's icy thaw and Summer's heat & humidity when you can throw open the windows to mild breezes. Sigh. That is the price one pays for living in and loving New England.

It will be May in a few days, yet the weather still fluctuates. Teases with a day or two of temps around 60, then plunges back into the 40s. Indoor heat off / on. Snow tires still on my 'Stang. I have lived here too long to jump the gun :) I did put my snow boots away, however. I am fairly confident it will not snow again this year! Icy rain is still not out of the question however...

Winter's grasp overextended itself this year. Making up, I suppose, for such a mild February (not complaining about that!). My flowers are late to bloom this year. The hardy green leaves of tulips and early irises have pushed through, but my daffodils are the only blooms thus far. But so pretty and happy!

Daffodils!

So happy!

I want more daffodils for next year, as well as some crocuses & grape hyacinths, which bloom even earlier. I can hardly wait for the tulips this year!

I also have a very pretty and sturdy half-barrel planter in my yard which I did not do anything with last year. It produced a fine crop of weeds :)

Crocuses

Grape Hyacinths

I was busy moving in and dealing with all those boxes!! (I believe I was frantically trying to find silverware at this time last year!) Settled this year, I am looking ahead and forward to changing that. Waffled back and forth between lavender (which I love!) and strawberry plants (which I also love!). Lavender won out as strawberries send out underground "runners", from which more plants grow. Simply put, they need more room. I will put the strawberries in elsewhere.

I have a spot picked out for them already! I am also planning on a small butterfly / hummingbird garden. It is frowned upon here in my Park to erect bird feeders as they have, and do, attract unwanted large animals. Bears mostly. (Yeah, I live in that kind of area.)  Hummingbird feeders are small, however, and as they do not contain seed will be OK.

Lavender

Strawberries!

In the meantime, things go on. I have been fairly busy. My house had a small interruption with the interior painting, but all is back on track now and will hopefully be complete in the next 2 or 3 weeks. Finally! The green walls that were driving me insane (ha ha) are quickly disappearing.

I have been painting as well, and that soothes my soul :) I came across a quote today that rather sums up how I feel right now:

"Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes. Art is knowing which ones to keep."

Scott Adams