 Nostalgia, DVDs, old movies, television, OTR, fandom, good news and bad, picks, pans, cute budgie stories, cute terrier stories, and anything else I can think of. Contact me at theyoungfamily (at) earthlink (dot) net . . . . . . . . . .
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» Wednesday, March 25, 2009
March Showers Bring...
 Well, we don't need April flowers! The flowering trees have been bursting here since the end of February: pink, lavender, white. Plus the yellow of the forsythia and of the daffodils. The Bradford pears have already leafed in most places, and now the other blossoming white trees are in full flower. The only tree left to bloom will be the dogwoods.Yesterday I caught the first signs of spring's annual plague: the yellow pine pollen dust. I'd been keeping an eye on the tassels on the pine trees at work and had been relieved to see them not yet bright yellow as they were last year. Alas, they are already producing dust, in a fine layer over my car, to be swept into a stiff line when I engaged the windshield wipers. I could better see them on a long line of pines when I exited from the freeway yesterday and the tassels were fat with pollen. I still have the windows open, but if the situation comes that the fans must be used in the windows, I will close them and turn on the A/C instead. I hate to do it, but the yellow scum gets on everything, turning the windowsills an ugly dirty golden color and caking whatever it can reach. Nasty stuff. They have been warning us of four straight days of rain for days now, so perhaps that will keep it under control. Besides, although the drought situation has improved, we still need the wet weather. Yo, cloud! Go hover over Lake Lanier! The rain hasn't prevented the TruGreen guy from coming by to mark the weeds for extermination and Willow has been in full-throated bark to challenge the interloper on her property. She takes her job seriously.  » Saturday, June 28, 2008
Veggietales
Well, almost. :-) We did go to the farmer's market on Marietta Square this morning, and decided to look around before buying the luscious tomatoes we saw on the first table. Well, by the time we got around (about 20 minutes), they were gone. Another stand had some less-likely looking tomatoes that would have ripened fine left on the windowsill—also gone. Live and learn. Next time we set the alarm for 8:30 and get there when they open at nine.
We did get one green pepper (neither of us can eat them without getting sick, but they give a nice flavor to chicken and pork cacciatore when cooked in the sauce), some really nice baseball-sized onions, a small jar of honey (we don't use that much, but our last jar was running out), a very small "ladyfinger" baklava for dessert tonight (we'll split it; just one taste was sweet enough), two organic chocolate cookies for another dessert, and a nice crusty loaf of French bread from a local bakery, which we used to make sandwiches with the Trader Joe's chicken salad when we got back home. There was a gentleman there selling rain barrels and for $25 he also installs them. I think we are going to take up that offer. There's a rain barrel kit at Lowe's which is the same type barrel, except black and you have to install it yourself (although they give you the whole kit). All we would have to buy with this guy's unit is a couple of concrete blocks to put it on, and his comes with two spigots, one at the bottom and one at the top. I really want the rain barrel now because someone was there selling Japanese maple saplings on behalf of the Boy Scouts. I really want a Japanese maple for our front yard. We can even name it "Tree San." :-) » Tuesday, March 13, 2007
Spring is Sprung
I can tell, since my joints ache, my nose runs, and my eyes itch. :-)
The Bradford pear trees are approaching "giant snowball" stage, and all the flowering plums, cherries, and other fruity combinations are abloom in varying shades of pink, violet, and white. Here and there a bright yellow patch of forsythia or daffodils announce the season, and the magnolias are also doing their thing in vivid purple-and-white. Next it will be the tassels on the pine trees and it will "snow" yellow and the dogwood blossoms will open up to glow pale white in the moonlight. Today's "almost record high" is supposed to be 81°F. Oh. Joy. Incidentally, I don't know if the earlier-observed DST is saving energy, but it has sure generated more traffic. Yesterday it took me 75 minutes to get home and it was only Monday. Everyone has exploded outdoors in their cars; I haven't seen traffic like that on Interstate North Parkway since last summer; the turn lane on Windy Ridge was backed up almost to the Weather Channel building and the right lane at Hargrove was backed up past the entrance to Heritage Pointe shopping center. And this is the least crowded of the ways I have to get home. In-credible. Just realized that since it is now pitch-dark again when I drive to work, I won't be able to watch my favorite patch of trees bloom. This is on the side of I-75 south near the I-285 split, a lovely little grove where the trees are all shades of the spring pink, violet, and white with additions of red from the redbud trees. I really hate driving to work in the dark. To me dark means I should still be asleep and I miss the morning sky telling me it's time to begin the day, and the beautiful colors of the sunrise. |
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