Don't drink the water

All around the blooming heather,
Will ye go, lassie, go?
(all together now)


Tulips, coming up early


Fothergilla. Not attacked by gypsy moths. Yet.

Spring is finally here and I can't wait to get out into the yard. I planted some crocuses last fall and they are finally starting to bloom. My roses all survived the winter, even the climber that was still budding in November. The heather bloomed off and on all winter, but the latest flowers are bright and springy.

All of our new landscaping from last spring overwintered, and I'm looking forward to seeing how the dogwood looks this year. My biggest anticipation will be to see the hawthorne in the spring. If I remember correctly, it's going to be a mass of white flowers.

I am now sorely tempted to get a forsythia or 2 to add to the yard. They're all over the neighborhood and the color makes me happy. Not to mention, my parents have never seen one in person, so it would be nice to have them see one at our house when they come visit.

I'm taking S out for a walk tomorrow, so I'm going to try and get some pictures of our yard so you can see how amazing spring in the Poconos can be.

I knew spring was coming when the "Nor'easter" we were getting last week consisted of rain and 40 to 50 degree temperatures. "Nor'easter" to me always means snow.

Then we got a warm spell. It's been at or near 70 for days.

The barberries are budding right outside the window.

I saw my first robin yesterday.

And all the neighborhood kids are out playing basketball and enjoying the sunshine.

Welcome spring!

I was really fine with winter. Really. Even with all the snow, and being sick, I was fine with it. We hadn't had good snowfall in a while. I kind of liked it.

But a package came today. I bought some yarn from a gal who was destashing. And I got the most gorgeous skeins of bright spring green and a pink that's almost coral.

I have a vision in my head of what I want to make. A sweater, maybe a baby/kid sweater. Kind of a fair isle, or something with a floral motif up near the neckline. Mostly white, but with the pink and the green as great spring accents.

I haven't found exactly what I want yet on ravelry. But I haven't gone through my books yet either. I have been printing everything that might work. J thinks I'm going to break the printer at this point.

So bring on spring. I can't wait to have a project ready for it.

On our first day in Newport, we decided to just walk around and get a feel for the place. J went to Newport years ago, but it was time to see what was new since his last trip.

If you've never been (or even if you have), there were basically 2 main drags we spent time on: Thames Street, which runs along the waterfront, and Bellevue Ave., which is close to our apartment and leads to all the old mansions that make Newport famous. Here are some pictures of our day:


At the beinning of our walk. I think I see the ocean!


The Newport Museum of Art


The original Naval Academy


The Isaac Bell House, one of the mansions that's open for the summer to tour. Not quite open yet, but we got to learn about it during our visit.



Spring is coming to Newport!

It's going to be a good growing season!