Hi, everyone!
We haven’t had a lot of warm, sunny days this month, so we got Gradual Green instead of Green Day this year! The trees are finally leafing out now!
The new plantings of daffodils Grandma and I did last fall all bloomed, but the ones from a year ago didn’t! I helped Grandma fertilize them so they will all bloom better next year! We did have two dry days in a row to get that done the beginning of last week. Grandpa got out the chain saw to prune the big limbs of dead wood on the apple trees. Grandma waited to do that work until we could see which parts of the trees were going to leaf out and which ones weren’t. I think my anemone friends must like the cooler wet weather, because they have lots of blooms this year!
Last Wednesday was sunny, but cold again! Grandma made me wear my hoodie to visit Highland Park. The Lilac Festival was starting on Friday, and I wanted to see what was blooming before all the crowds came! The cherry trees on Reservoir Avenue were still very pretty and the tulip beds were in full bloom. I liked the way the different colors of tulips were arranged, but I think a few of my tulip friends weren’t where they were supposed to be!
The early-blooming azalea near the Poet’s Garden was very pretty and the magnolias were coming into full bloom. It didn’t look like many of the lilacs would be blooming for the start of the Lilac Festival. The pansy bed didn’t have many blossoms, either. It’s nice that there’s always something in bloom at Highland Park in the spring, even if it’s not the lilacs for the start of their namesake festival! Grandma says it will be nice to go see them after all the crowds are gone!
Most of the festival entertainment and food gets set up across the street from the lilacs and magnolias. The crosswalk across Highland Avenue to get between the two parts of the park is painted lilac purple! There are lots of special food treats and a tent for entertainment. The playground made from downed trees is there, too!
I took time to visit my white trillium friends in the Poet’s Garden before Grandma and I went home. Then I found my white trillium friends in Grandma’s back yard were blooming, too!
Last Friday Grandma and Grandpa took me out to the bay to stay overnight. The water in the bay is now over the end of our deck, and the wind was pushing the waves right at us! Grandpa has moved everything he can higher in the boat house because of the rising water. There’s a big tree trunk that floated in! We went to the Point to watch sunset, but it was so cold and windy that we stayed in Grandpa’s car and didn’t walk out to the lighthouse.
Grandma declared Saturday was Special Grandson Day for Thomas! He came over for lunch and Grandma served English muffin gummy pizza! Thomas and I played with the Lego pirate ship while Grandma made lunch. Then Grandma and Grandpa and I took Thomas to the Strong Museum. The day was sunny and a little bit warmer, so not as many children were at the Strong as we’ve seen before. Thomas went to the pirate ship in Storybook land first, then he played in the Giant’s playroom and climbed on the Beanstalk. After that he built castles that fell down when the Giant’s footsteps shook the earth!
After Thomas finished in Storybook land, we went upstairs to the Toy Hall of Fame. We stopped to work the big mechanical marble run. Then Grandpa showed Thomas how to get pictures of himself into the bubble images. Thomas wanted to play Space Invaders, so we went to the video game area next. Then it was downstairs to the Space Warp climber and a final ride on the carousel before we left. It was a fun afternoon!
Today is Mothers Day. It’s cold and rainy again, so I don’t think many mothers are going to be strolling around the Lilac Festival to celebrate their special day! Uncle David’s family and Uncle Steven’s family both sent Grandma lovely Mothers Day flowers, and we’re going to Uncle Steven’s for dinner.
Last year, the pileated woodpecker gave our crabapple tree a see-through trunk! This year, the woodpecker added a few more holes. Despite this, our crabapple tree is blooming! Isn’t it pretty? Grandma says the crabapple is setting a good example for us!
Love,
Lion-san
The daffodils are pretty. Maybe the reason why last years aren’t didn’t bloom this year is they had more competition from other plants. We liked the tulips too and the pansy bed at the Lilac Festival. There is some yellow on that red tulip. That was nice you all had a Special Grandson Day with Thomas. The water at the bay is really high. The crabapple tree is really pretty with all the blossoms on it.
The lady at the garden store said that the ivy was competing with the daffodils we planted last year. That’s why Grandma and I gave them Rapid Gro. We couldn’t use granular bulb fertilizer because that has to be worked into to soil, and that’s hard to do in the ivy patch!