Spring Is Turning Out To Be Harsher Than Winter!

 Saturday 3/23/24

This cartoon is appropriate and mirrors the situation in my garden perfectly:

The first day of spring has come and gone and this is what my garden looks like this morning.

The daffodils will be okay, but I'm afraid the crocus are done for. Luckily there are some groupings of crocus that have not flowered yet. Behind these daffodils is the one clump of tulips I have. They were planted 30 yrs ago and amaze me by flowering each year (when they are able to avoid the deer). I have high hopes for them this year and have sprayed them with Deer Away since they emerged.

I went to the Flower and Garden Show yesterday to give my soul a lift and look at the gardens that local companies put on display. I was left underwhelmed. In years past, the displays were themed, creative and inspiring. As with most companies, they have devolved into sales pitches and left the creativity out. Nevertheless, I basked in the flowers, the ideas that presented themselves, and a bit of inspiration where I could find it. 

The colors of the gerbera's were hopeful!

Stick art to inspire me.

One of many water features.

I'm not sure why this sand sculpture was included, but it added a bit of whimsey. My guess
is that the sand artist will be adding to it as the weekend long show continues.

My friends Dale and Dan occasionally work for the florist who displayed this pretty piece.

I'd love a water feature like this in my yard.

I'm breaking my rule of not driving in snow to drop off both my and Annette's no longer needed electronics at my county's recycling event. It has changed over to mostly rain, so I should be okay. It will test my new tires that had to be purchased in order for my car to pass inspection. How I let them get bald is not a surprise - just too much other stuff going on. This evening I'm meeting Susan for a concert in Cohoes, so hopefully this storm will be over by then.  

I've started the process of getting the outside of my house updated and improved. A new garage door will be done first as I'm getting an estimate for that Monday. Then builder Ken comes the first week in April to brainstorm and estimate a revamping of my back yard/deck situation and hopefully install a hot tub. I have high hopes for an outdoor oasis with plenty of shade to protect my cancer prone skin. Mom's estate is being disbursed so I'm going to upgrade my living space thanks to her and Dad's hard work, frugality, and persistence.

Update: Back from electronic recycling event and saw this is more of an ice storm. There are many broken and downed trees, the interstate was closed down so I needed to take an alternate route to avoid the detour traffic. The roads were not slippery though, so I stopped at the grocery store on the way home to stock up on protein for next weeks healing session.