Out of the Frying Pan

Some blossoms remain

We've had some cool weather in the mountains, but not yet so cold that the last of the wildflowers are gone. Many birds have gone, which makes me wonder if winter will arrive early.

Good news from the lake

So the good news from the lake is that the pelicans are making a belated appearance. Sunday evening we saw two in the sky; today I saw two zooming around overhead and two in the water. Last year they showed up on March 21 and there were plenty more by now. I wonder if they've not heard that there will be no mass meetings on the lake this year.

The bad news is that the warm weather has brought out mobs of mosquitoes, mosquitoes that are the size of hummingbirds. Some birds are back, but not enough to balance things out.

Spring, unsprung

This morning's email brought me a gorgeous photo of snowdrops from a friend who gardens in Salem, Oregon. I spent about 46 years of my life in the Pacific Northwest, where such displays are getting well under way now. See above for a current display from my garden.

But yesterday we found one undeniable sign that the wheel of the year is rolling inexorably to springtime: the first redw!ngs. This photo is from last year; the new arrivals are far too shy to pose.