Spring Has Arrived

 March is an amazing time, especially in Mississippi. Maybe everyone thinks that about where they live. I say it every year. Following a whole year of Covid-19 involving quarantining, cancelling, sadness, avoiding, anxiety, depression, I was even more eager for a better outlook, not only in my own attitude, but in our country and world! So Spring is time to celebrate several things. First, that we have vaccines to help fight the pandemic that has claimed more than half a million people in America. Flowers and trees have put on amazing colors; temperatures are inviting us outdoors; we are beginning to feel safer about being around people. And I agree with those famous Barbra Streisand words, "people who need people are the luckiest people in the world.

Here's what springtime looks like in my yard. The camellia is called Pink Perfection, and every bloom looks perfect. These are Coral Bell azaleas, a small variety that is my favorite--always a dependable bloomer that holds up well. Along with the beauty, we have to endure the pollen. It lasts many days and from many varieties of trees, causing unsightly yellow dust or wet yellow mud. We watch the pollen count and depend on antihistamines and allergy pills.

Hydrangeas are to the left, with leaves coming fast

This is my across the street neighbor's Bradford Pear tree
at the end of my driveway--a beautiful scene I enjoy

Pine pollen after the rain. There is lots more pollen to fall

Two friends came from out of town to take me to lunch one day this week, making me feel really special with tulips from one of their yards. I think of tulips as rather magical and difficult to grow, so I treasured the thought that she would cut them for me! 

This happy event was marred by a very traumatic, frightening, and frustrating other event. When we returned from lunch in her car I could not find my keys (my house, my car, Linda's house). (Luckily I had a backup to get in the house.) So for two miserable days I searched for my set of keys that I KNEW were in my house. Imagine my joy when my friend found my keys in her car seat two days later. Apparently I had taken them from my purse as we left my house but put them in my pocket when we went in her car. This was totally exhausting and entirely too much drama.