Spring has sprung!

Spring is officially here!  While we had hotter than normal temperatures last week, it is more seasonal now and the forecast for this week is for gentle rains almost every day.  I took most of these pictures a couple of days ago - our constant drizzle keeps me from taking my camera outside.  A lot is sprouting and greening up in our yard, but now we will need the sunshine that is promised to us this weekend to really brighten things up.

The Pasque is beginning to bloom

Ground cover is waking up

My Autumn Joy Sedum as well as Black Jack are poking out

Last year, I planted a pink Knock Out rose. . . I'm glad to see it is greening up

I was really happy to see the Pink Double Delight Coneflower I planted last year is sprouting

The lettuce I planted January 30th is doing nicely . . . in spite of spending a few weeks under the 11 inches of snow we got shortly after being planted

I have new Drumstick Alliums poking about 6 inches out of the ground, the Coral Bells are bushing out, daylilies and much more.  The Lilacs are leafing out, and Redbud trees have buds.  The Jade Crab also is budded out and will probably explode with color next week. And the cats will be happy to hear the Cat Nip is up :-)

Every Spring brings us a new year of surprises.  Last year, we had horrible floods on the Missouri River.  Last week, while our grandson was visiting us for the week, we went back to the Bob Kerrey Pedestrian Bridge that spans across the Missouri connecting Omaha, NE and Council Bluffs, IA.  The comparison photos show the magnitude of the flood waters.  I never knew so much sand/silt could be moved onto land with flood waters. While this is just in one area, there are farmers that will be recovering from the flood for many years to come.

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Peace Omaha

What the heck is right!  A walker in the sand and rocks forming a question mark.

The only thing that hadn't changed was the tall supports rising above.

Last Snow

My last post was titled First Snow, and I'm hoping by calling this one Last Snow, that it will be the end of the weather we had yesterday.  What a week it has been!  In spite of having a cold, I spent time outside cleaning out the flower beds, planting lettuce seed, and taking down my Winter decorations.  It looked kind of silly having ice skates, crafted snowmen, painted snow signs, and such in the yard while the flowers were beginning to sprout.

I still had berries for the birds

The ground cover had begun to turn green

The Daylilies were beginning to poke up through the dirt

The Daffodils were sprouting

The Iris were making their appearance

I planted lettuce in my wagon

And the cats were happy to hear the Catnip was growing once again

The tree tops in the evenings were so pretty as the sun set

And then Mother Nature pulled a nasty trick on us . . . as she's been known to do in Nebraska

It snowed . . . 

and it snowed, 

and it snowed . . . and then the power went out

We spent most of yesterday either at the cafe in the local grocery store, or huddled in blankets with candles burning at home . . . for 13 hours, as the temperature in the house went down and the temperature in the refrigerator went up.  After 11 inches of snow, we can now see the pavement!

The lettuce seeds are well insulated and will be watered naturally in the next few days

Such is life, in Nebraska . . .

First snow

There isn't a whole lot of color outside today.  We have our first snow - maybe 4 inches so far.  It was so nice earlier, with the quiet of snow.  The snow blowers are humming now, although it is still snowing.

The birds are visiting the bird feeders, and the squirrels are eating what is dropped.

Snow Goose?

Nobody home . . .

Is it Spring yet?