SPRING UPDATE

According to the calendar, the first day of Spring is only 11 days away. I'm sure that is fantastic news to the snow- and ice-bound of you. And for my fellow baseball fans, the regular season is now less than a month away. I can't wait.

All of which is prelude to an update on the flora outside my window.

The Redbud tree is full of buds that are, appropriately, red.

Actually I'd call the color sort of a magenta but a Magenta Bud tree just doesn't sound right. And I didn't name the darned thing anyway.

Beneath it, the Oregon Grape (which SWMBO had originally called a holly bush because of the leaves) is blooming with bright yellow blossoms.

Eventually those will turn into blue berries, though not blueberries.

The plant guides say they're edible but neither I nor my good friend Stephen, who lives in Oregon, have had the courage to try them. We shall designate them as decorative.

Other shrubs out front are beginning to bloom, too, so maybe Spring really is on the way.