Friday miscellany: Spring has sprung

Winter can be dreary, but my corner of Pennsylvania has absolutely redeemed itself in the last few days. Everything is blooming — the trees are dripping with blossoms. I have been taking way too many pictures of the magnolia in the front yard (as has the real estate agent who will be listing our house!) and I have been sitting in the yard staring at this gratuitous fecundity whenever possible. Plum trees! Bradford pears (with their delicate sprays of white flowers), with the forsythia still going and the daffodils still cheerfully upright.

The good news is that the new yard has a lot of potential too. It’s in rough shape but there are positive signs — a few plum trees, a dwarf cherry in the overgrown “secret garden” that is in full snowball blossom, and two large weeping cherries that the people doing tree work told us might not be long for this world, but for now at least are still lovely. Restoring this all to good health will be a project for the next decade or so. Because trees do grow. I was looking at old listing photos from our current house and many of the ornamental trees look a lot smaller. Ten years will do that.

The children have grown and changed a lot in ten years too! We pulled out the 18-month summer clothes for the toddler. I have seen these outfits on three boys already. So cute to see them again. The 6-year-old is in his final weeks at the school where he’s been for the last three years. I walked to get him yesterday and we walked home together. He plucked a dozen dandelions along the way.

He and I went to Hawk Mountain Sanctuary on Monday, when he was off of school. We hiked the River of Rocks trail. He was scampering over boulders. As a 40-something adult my ankles and knees were a bit less taken with this activity, so I had him find me rocks that were nice seats, so I could sit and watch him. We have tickets to a U-pick tulip farm in New Jersey next week when he also has some days off for parent-teacher conferences.

Tomorrow, April 10, will be the 100th day of the year. This means it is also the 100-day mark for my “rituals.” Every day since January 1st I have written in my free writing file, I have read a chapter of War and Peace, and I have done some strength/resistance training. I have grown quite fond of these rituals. My free writing file is a lot of garbage right now but it’s helping me figure out some ideas for the next novel.

We have a full weekend coming up of baseball, softball, and soccer (unless the Sunday activities get rained out). I need to find another puzzle, though, because I finished my Floret Farm 500-piece one. I already did the other side of this one last year, and I finished my 1000-piece hummingbird one over spring break, so we shall see what’s next. I think I do have a few more old ones in the storage closet downstairs…

Have a lovely weekend!

2 thoughts on “Friday miscellany: Spring has sprung

  1. Going to a u-pick tulip place sounds so fun. I don’t think we have that in Norway. Love your tree photo.

  2. i don’t think i can think of anything more delightful than a u-pick tulip farm!! enjoy
    the tulips i planted in the fall are still just leafy green up here but i am hopeful that they will brighten my may days.

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