Baby, It’s Spring Outside
May 4, 2025
I know, it’s been Spring for a long time now. But this is the part of Spring when our front yard is alight in lavender and yellow flowers and…. and….. WOW! They are just so pretty.
Yes, they are that yellow!! And yes, that climbing vine is that voluptuously covered in lavender blossoms.
(And yes, we still have our Harris/Walz sign up.)
Season of Tall Fat Flowers
April 27, 2025
These are going nuts in Central Park right now:
There are at least a dozen of them in the rose garden. Here’s a close up:
Ours appears not to be growing this year.. will have to investigate that.
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It was a memorial bench kind of day.
A bench on Spafford Lake was dedicated to Maril Stratton who died last May (a ceremony I tried to attend but messed up on the location and missed it). Maril was somebody I first came across during my media working days, and then ran into again in recent years as she was a fierce advocate for voter registration and voting rights and marched, protested and sent gazillions of postcards in that advocacy. I liked and admired her a lot.
Today was the two year anniversary of David’s death and Maria organized a small gathering at the Compassion Bench, now its own memorial bench. There was no program, per se, but it was nice to gather with others who knew and cared about David. Tomorrow is the first day of what is expected to be a 10-week trial.
April 1st Garden
April 1, 2025
This is where the garden is, as of April 1:
The redbud’s in full bloom, and a bunch of bulbs have come up (not the first, but a good batch)…
The chard’s going gangbusters…
With more on this side, plus some dill, parsley, chives and onions…
And we’ve moved strawberries over here, making it a dedicated strawberry box with borders, to keep the berries from infiltrating everything else… (that’s mint in the planter to the right)…
Just a Fantastic Spring Day
March 25, 2025
Ah, Monday. Ah, home again. Ah Putah Creek.
Spafford Lake is pretty much done, after a long year-ish of excavation and renovation. Miss the Zelcova.
And some posies:
Always look up.
Our tulip tree is nearing its end for the season.. but wow, what a great month!
Here Come the Daffs
March 17, 2025
I’ve been in the cold, cold midwest, for nine days, and tomorrow I head to warm Southern California. And in the meantime, Spring done sprung in Davis. We planted probably about 50 new bulbs last fall, so the mound should be sporting a lot of color this season. Here’s the start:
I’ll keep y’all posted as other stuff comes in.
Little Puffer Bellies All in a Row
March 3, 2025
I wished I’d gotten more pictures of the sky today. Today is exactly why spring is such a gem of a season… the air was tinged with warmth and was so clean and so clear. The sky was impossibly blue and dotted with those perfectly white puffer bellies.
(I know that the song about puffer bellies refers to trains, but I’m assigning the term to clouds here because it’s my blog and I’m allowed.)
Sour grass has exploded yellow all over our neighborhood, including in our yard, and trees are blossoming with their own puff balls of white and pink. Some are sprouting wee leaves of green — all dewy and fresh.
Here’s the one picture I got today.. our own backyard birch against that champ of a blue sky, with a couple fuzzy puffer bellies aloft.
Pinks are Popping
March 1, 2025
The redbuds are getting their game on down at the Arb. Today was my first shorts day of the year. I love air on legs after a long winter. Temps hit 70 today!
It’s Spring Now
February 25, 2025
Orchard at corner of F and Rd 29. Shot through the windshield, so it’s got that blueish tint (I was stopped, but cars were coming and I didn’t have room to pull to side and get out).
But.. the orchards are popping. It is so pretty out there.
Bulbs are Bulbing
February 24, 2025
A few days ago, I noticed a speck of purply blue on the mound.. and sure enough, the first bulbs are coming out (not counting the narcissus that started blooming before Christmas). Mary planted dozens, and maybe dozens more, in the fall.. excited to see how many come up. We have a regular crop that’s been regularly blooming for a few years now. If the plan holds, we’ll have a riot of continuous color for the next couple of months.
Not an Early Spring
January 18, 2025
Every year, around the arb, there are these four trees that burst into bloom in January, and every year I say, wow, isn’t it a bit early for spring?? Today walking around the creek with Lisa, Claire and Scouters, we came upon those four trees and wouldn’t you know, they were in full bloom! January 18.
Claire looked them up. They are Japanese Apricots and are known for blooming in late winter… expected to bloom in late winter. For us in Davis, that is January. So, well done, Japanese Apricots!
It was cold!! 36 degrees when we started the walk, 52 degrees when we ended it.
Life of Wry 