Hi, everyone!
The weather people on television keep saying this is the first “real” winter we’ve had in several years. By this time last year, my crocus friends were blooming!
We’ve had some days with above freezing temperatures and rain, so the snow is going away. Last week, there was still ice on the grass!
Yesterday, we had a sunny, warm day! Grandma took me to Highland Park to see if my groundhog friends were peeking out of their burrows! I wanted to see my flower and tree friends, too! We didn’t see any groundhogs at all. Most of the groundhog burrows were covered in undisturbed leaves. I saw one open burrow, but no groundhog enjoying the sunshine.
The gardeners have started pruning the trees, but all my tree and lilac friends are still asleep! The magnolias have fuzzy flower buds, but the lilacs and cherries have bare branches.
Grandma reminded me that the earliest blooms are always in the Poets Garden. We went in the back entrance and saw snowdrops and bittersweet right away!
The helleborus plants all had green leaves, but there weren’t any flowers yet. There was another bittersweet in bloom. I’m glad we went in the back way, because the path to the front entrance was still icy!
Grandma could tell I was disappointed not to see flowers, so we stopped at Lamberton Conservatory. I was surprised how many button quail were out on the walkways!
The turtles and tortoises were out, too! There were even signs about where they were allowed!
The seasonal room was in between the Christmas display and the Easter display, but there were still pretty flowers. I made friends with an amaryllis and saw my hibiscus friends. My croton friend doesn’t have blossoms, but I like the colors, anyway!
I said hello to my cactus friends in the desert room. The last flowers I saw were my yellow hibiscus friend and a purple oxalis plant, right before the exit.
We have sunshine again and 60 degrees F. today, but a cold front is moving in this evening. By the weekend we’re supposed to have more spring weather. I checked on my flower friends in our own yard. The snowdrops are about to bloom. The daylilies are poking out of the ground and so are a few daffodils.
Maybe next week all the snow will be gone and I’ll see my first crocus friend!
Love,
Lion-san
Ah spring! How eagerly we await her coming. Today is a lovely 69 degree day with a nice breeze. We went to Stewart’s for ice cream and now I have my window open. A pleasant breeze is coming in. Tonight is the California Dinner organized by someone who moved here from CA 2 or 3 years ago, our youngest resident. The table is set up for 21 people who have lived in CA for some time during their life. Included is a woman who is second or third generation native Californian. This is the third gathering of this group. It keeps getting bigger and bigger.