Hanami Alert!

[sensei]

Last night in Cephiro we had a terrific downpour with a lot of wind, and it rained off and on most of today, but with very balmy temperatures. When I went to the grocery this afternoon, it was starting to clear up, and cherry trees and Japanese magnolias were just beginning to bloom all over my neighborhood.



Anyone else? I expect some of you have seen hanami already but the rest of you can look forward to it pretty soon now, blizzard warnings notwithstanding.

[RoboFlonne]

Hanami!!!!

Here's one of my Orchids that's blooming!

[Moop]

After spending a good chunk of the day trying to dig our driveway and paths out from under fourteen inches of the white stuff, "warnings" doesn't seem like an altogether strong enough word. Still, it's great to be reminded that those floral harbingers of spring really do exist as more than just vague and pleasant memories...even if it's somewhere else.

[sensei]

Another surprise: when checked the sunny side of my house, I found that I had a hardy camellia that was breaking into bloom. I always assumed that these were hothouse plants, and it's a real surprise to see one pushing the season like this.

Here's a crocus that popped up in an odd spot in front:



And here's our camellia:



Closer view:

[RoboFlonne]

Very nice Camellia!!!



I've got some pretty dafodils! don't have pictures though...

[Makoli]

i like spring but i just dont like the fact that my alergys start when things start blooming.

[sensei]

Peepers were raising a tremendous din this evening in the marshy area behind the local Wal-Mart. That means spring is irreversibly sprung, since frogs don't start making tadpoles unless God has given them her personal assurance that their puddles won't freeze solid from now on out.

The peepers started in February one year when I was in Virginia. People shook their heads and said they were going to freeze their tadpoles' tails. But the peepers were right. They always are.

Enjoy!