Beauty in the yard.

I do love spring. This is the time we see the daylillies and liriope form fresh, lush greenery, prior to the summer sun scorching it away. Bradford pears, cherry trees and crabapple trees burst into bloom. The delicate daffodils say hello and the tulips give their colorful show. My yard doesn't have all those things, it is of course a work in youthful progress. But I can highlight a couple of things here. With the cold weather finally breaking, Rudy boy finally leaves his garage bed and enjoys the warm sun. That's the best part of this mild weather for an old dog.

This is a new addition to what will eventually be our serenity garden...otherwise known as Weem's resting place. The two arbovitas were transplanted from the EJ office as they just weren't thriving. They're just as lopsided here as they were there, but we're hoping the sun will eventually pull them upright. The bench, candytuft and daylillies are thanks to my mom who recently gave up her huge flower garden.

This is what we affectionately call the 'Maybe' tree. She was gift from one my best friends. She is supposed to be a dogwood and she is Maybe Chinese. I'm teaching her English as soon as she gets big enough to talk. Frankly, I'm amazed that she's coming back after the winter. I give her credit for being a fighter. The weeping crabapple is making a show of her little self. We can't wait till she grows big. She's got one season under her belt in our yard.

Oh, this is just gross. Thanks to Lillybelle for this particular little artifact. In the last couple of months, we've had legs, heads, tails, spines and some unrecognizable parts adorning our yard. Lilly smells like dead stuff most of the time. I'll be glad when she's done finding carcasses for the year. Surely the boys will stop shooting at some point... I mean deer season has been out for some time. Little Colorado is shaping up nicely for another spring. We are expecting a little more growth from our maples and river birches, although not much since the soil in our yard is pretty unsustaining. I feel lucky that anything grows. We had hoped to add a couple fruit trees this year. We shall see if that happens. I'd love to know how my readers' yards are faring so far this spring. I take great interest in people's landscaping projects. I personally am not very good at landscaping, but I try to find inspiration in some of the lawns I see. If anyone has suggestions or great ideas, I'd love to hear them!