I am so backlogged with all of the things I have been wanting to share with you. I guess spring has sprung, at least for me.
On Wednesday afternoon, Punch, Judy and I went to our local park to fly the kites they received in their Easter baskets.
The wind was not very cooperative. It came in gusts and even at the best of times was not strong enough to get the kites very high into the sky.
Punch's kite proved to be particularly tricky. It flew better in the heavy winds we had on Sunday. Wednesday, his kite would spin in lovely tricky circles and then dive straight for the ground. Perhaps we need to work on the tail to give it more stability.
Judy's kite, on the other hand, being more of a traditional diamond shaped kite, flew pretty well.
After we had exhausted our patience with trying to tame the wind, we went for a little nature walk. Even though the weather has definitely been warmer, ranging from about 45 to 60 -- yesterday was 61 degrees--the world hasn't really started turning green yet. The overall tonal quality of the trees is still a drabby winter brown-grey, but you can see signs of spring beginning to push their way to the surface.
Despite its skeletal quality, there is still beauty to be found in the remains of last year's bounty. Aren't these dried Queen Anne's Lace beautiful? They remind me of the ghosts of last year's spent fireworks.
Can you believe these dainty flower skeletons survived all of that snow and ice we had this past winter? Nature is amazing.
I did find this one lone tree blooming gloriously.
I have no idea what kind of tree it is, but its catkins are so delicate.
You could hear the bees riotously dancing all over it.
There are other buds beginning to push their way into the world.
I have been looking everyday for the return of the leaves and this branch represents the most advanced specimen I have found up here in our mountains.
Down in the marshy area near the creek, we found these weird plants.
I am convinced it is a variety of carnivorous pitcher plant. They look like aliens among all of the winter refuse, almost like something that should be covered. But each plant has its place in the eco-system and this, I am sure, is a very unique specimen.
After we finished our nature walk, we headed for the swings (notice that overall tonal quality I was speaking of? ...I am tired of grey). We are a swinging family...well, by that I mean, we love to swing on the swings at the park.
Who can resist having the wind flying through your hair? We call it swing therapy because when you are feeling down, nothing helps to free your spirit more than flying through the air on a swing. It feels like nothing can touch you.
On our way back to the car, I found this.
I thought it was pretty cool, but you can be sure I made sure it was empty before getting too close to it. I have a healthy fear of stinging insects.
I thought I would just leave you with this image today...I thought it quite funny.
I think somebody else must have thought it was funny too otherwise they would have called it something else.
Please note: My Pink Saturday installment will be available at 7:00am Eastern time, please stop back.
