MORE SPRING

Spring keeps popping into the spotlight, then letting Winter have the stage again.

Here are some poppies from the Botanical Gardens:

And this is my neighbor's snowball bush. Don't think I've seen another one this tall!

And here are a pair of the geese that wintered over. If you look really hard, you can see one little gosling between the momma on the left and the tree:

And here you can see another little gosling, leading the way.

There were several more babies but I was afraid to get too close. Momma and Papa eyed me suspiciously!

A couple of days later, we could only see two or three. I'm afraid something is getting them even though the parents seem very protective.

It was down to forty degrees last night and will be again tonight, then will warm up again. I keep getting out my sandals and then have to put them away. Sigh. Maybe soon I can get a pedicure.

BOTANICALGARDENS

The master bath is being remodeled and our contractor keeps shooing us off. "Gonna be loud," he warns before he starts to take out the tub. We hang around, wanting to see what he's doing. "Might wanna go out for a few hours," he hints. We gawk as he and his helper lug in tools. Finally, he says, "Maybe I should have got you movie tickets."

That sent us scurrying. No place to go so we decided on the botanical gardens. Here are my phone shots of some of the flowers in bloom there. Don't ask me what they are; I'm not a gardener.

I thought this was a tomato plant but closer inspection tells me no. Maybe some kind of pepper?

I love this arbor view. You can't see them very well, but there are three peaked arches going up the hill.

And of course my guy had his camera. Here he's chasing an elusive butterfly.

His pix turned out better than mine, but all in all, an enjoyable morning. Sad to go back to my neglected yard, though. Makes me want to hire a gardener.

GEORGIA BOTANICAL GARDEN

Now that we are settling in, my guy is looking for places to photograph. We went this past week to the nearby Botanical Garden. Just a few pix:

At the entrance were several clusters of gardens including this water garden:

We went inside to a gift shop, then went through this greenhouse area before entering the actual garden:

Then once we were outside, there were acres of flowers. Here is a statue--called Peace--from one of the small area gardens:

Walking on up the path, we came to this vista where we could look down on all the plants:

And turning around, could look up:

So this gives you an idea of the place. These are not-so-great pictures from my phone, but the garden is extensive and we stayed maybe an hour. My guy is eager to get back with his good camera and tripod and spend the day.

It appears there will be lots of photo opportunities in our new home.

FLOWER DRESS

Walking through the Village, I had to stop and gawk like a tourist.

The shop window had this dress on display. It's hard to see here, but it's nothing but purple and pink flower heads!

Yes, they sell all kinds of beach type clothes but really. Can you imagine anybody wearing this?

Someone took a lot of time making it! And really used their imagination!

UNKNOWN FLOWERS

I've asked this before but no one seems to know the answer. I guess I'll have to bestir myself and take some to the local garden club or something if no one recognizes these flowers.

These flowers are so thick, I thought this was a bush last year. But over the winter they died down to some flower stems. Nearly this entire space was bare. Below are a couple of closeups of the blossoms.

Anybody with any idea of what they are? I like them and sure would like to put a name to them!

FLOWERS IN MY YARD

My back yard is currently quite beautiful. No thanks to me and my guy. The people who lived here before us must have had green thumbs.

Anyway, we don't know what the flowers are. People come over and exclaim, "How lovely! What are those?"

I can say, "Jasmine or day lilies or azaleas or amaryllis or hydrangeas," because those are the only plants in our yard I know. For these two, I have to shrug. I thought maybe someone out there might recognize them so I'm posting pix here and on Facebook.

These are tall purple flowers that I see in different yards and places around the Village. They look kind of like morning glories but they aren't vines and their leaves are skinny:

This is a spreading bush, about five feet tall, with lavender flowers:

And here are some of the lavender flowers up close, tiny little flowers in clusters:

It'd be nice to know what they are.

BACK YARD

Our back yard is lovely. Miniscule but lovely. Whoever lived here before us planted very carefully, because all of a sudden it's burst into bloom.

Stepping out the back door and looking to the left, we have lovely yellow daylilies:

Then, slightly to the right, a fragrant jasmine:

Past the jasmine are roses and some purple flowery bushes:

And toward the end of the walk, one lone poinsettia:

And the cats are licking their chops over the birds they see out the sliding doors. They keep begging to go out, but I keep telling them they can't. But I think they're going to like it here anyway.

That's assuming we ever get settled.

FIRST DAY OF SPRING

It's official! Spring is here! But we've been suspecting it for some time now. Here are some random pix of the flowers and budding trees around the island for all the poor people suffering up north. I hope your snowstorms will soon be over!

WEATHER

We managed to walk again this morning. Not as long as usual but we're gradually getting over the crud.

The weather--on January 15th!--is wonderful. Mid seventies again today. This is why we moved down here!

These photos are of the church across from our complex that we go by when we walk. Notice the poinsettias in the foreground? Still lovely this long after Christmas. And behind them is a blooming hibiscus. It and the azaleas think spring has sprung! Are they gonna be in for a shock when the cold weather swoops down, maybe this weekend. Not looking forward to it.

N GA FLOWERS

So nice to look out at my neighbor's flowers. Living on the coast, sometimes we forget how pretty north Georgia is!