Hi, everyone!
We’ve had a week of warm weather now and it’s made a big difference in how everything outside looks! After just a couple of days, the new daffodils were starting to bloom and the red tulips were in full bloom. I saw my first violet of the year, too!
When we went to the bay, lots of my wildflower friends were coming up. I saw trillium and trout lilies and May apples!
Green day actually took a couple of days, but now the leaves are open on all the trees. I really like seeing the leaves and flowers that I helped prune or plant! The apple trees are leafing out and the daffodil patch Grandma and I planted last fall gets prettier every day! The trillium in Fairport are in bloom, too!
On Monday, Grandma and I gave the Fairport azaleas their first feeding for the year. Then we noticed a new hole in the bark of the crab apple tree nearby. Yesterday, the hole was even bigger! We couldn’t figure out what animal might be chewing on the tree.
Grandma said we would try to solve the mystery after we went on some adventures! First, we went to Highland Park to see what was blooming. The Lilac Festival starts two days from now! The cherry trees along Reservoir Avenue are in bloom and they are very pretty! Some of my tulip friends are blooming, but many of them still just have green buds. They’ll probably wait to bloom until closer to the end of the festival.
The magnolia blossoms that were budded last week are blooming now! The upper walk along the lilac hillside is at peak prettiness with blooming trees.
When Grandma and I walked down to the lilac plantings on the hillside, there were only a few with partly opened buds. If we get more warm weather, most of the lilacs will be blossoming at the end of the ten day festival, but not the beginning. I’ll have to come back then to see all my lilac blossom friends. I did see one of my groundhog friends, peeking out of my favorite burrow among the lilac bush roots. Grandma even got a picture of the two of us together!
Grandma took me across the street so we could see the festival preparations. Guess what? The new log structure IS a playground, just as I hoped! The workers were using a chain saw to hollow out a tree. I know there’s some animal that can make big holes in trees like our crab apple without any power tools! The playground has steps and ladders and balance logs that are just my size! I wonder if the branches on the tepee are alive and expected to grow into green walls?
The food vendors are already getting set up for the festival. Some of the food sounds yummy, but I’m not sure I’d like a deep-fried Oreo cookie! I stopped to see the round pansy bed I helped plant last week, then I crossed back to the north side of the park on the lilac-colored crosswalk. I don’t think anybody will need to pay attention to the icy pavement warning sign during the festival!
Grandma and I made a loop of the lilac plantings to get back to the car. That gave us a chance to see more blossoming trees on the upper walk by the reservoir! There are lots of pretty blossoms and flowers in Highland Park, just not lilacs quite yet.
After we went to Highland Park, we had two more adventures! First, we stopped by the house James’ and Thomas’ family want to buy. Grandpa drove by the house on Monday and said the trees were in blossom there, too! Grandma identified the trees from their blossoms as a weeping cherry, a magnolia and two colors of dogwood. I made another lilac friend, too!
The map shows a little park very close to the street where James’ and Thomas’ family hope to live. Grandma had never been there, so we stopped to explore. Griffith Park is a wooded area with a nice meadow in the middle. Grandma read on the internet that the area used to be the pumping station for a well that supplied water to the local area. Once the town connected to the county water supply, the area was turned into a park. There are some trails through the woods and we saw a wild turkey!
When we got home from our adventure, Grandpa told us to look at the crab apple tree. The animal making holes in the trunk is a big bird — a pileated woodpecker! I wish he’d go help the workers at Highland Park hollow out the tree for the playground and leave our crab apple alone!
Love,
Lion-san
I found your groundhog friend in your photo. We have one of his relatives living in our backyard!
We call it “salad day.” Wasn’t it luscious?
LaVache