My sweet DH crawled around the woods to pick me some daffodils!

from my bike ride last Friday

Dogwoods are in full bloom. Our neighborhood is lovely. Everything seems more vivid this year for some reason.

April showers...

From our Sunday hike.

With all the rain we've had, combined with the start of the snow melt, the creeks are running high:

Grandson on hike with dad, few years back!

Happy birthday Igmd_gaz! Hope you have a wonderful and enjoyable day!

Been working up in the garden for the last few weeks. Weeds never sleep.

A picture of the Rotunda at the University of Virginia.

and the main library building where I work.

Used as an opportunity to brag on the Men's Basketball team that just won the National Championship last night (for the first time in school history)

I've been trying to work in the yard also, but I have to wait until I get the stitches removed from my chest where I had basal cells removed. That will happen on Thursday. With a bit of luck, some of my chili plants will survive! It looks like you are growing artichokes.

Happy birthday, lgmd-gaz!! I hope you had a wonderful day!

Maire cate, I haven't heard of a new Grandmother shower before. That is so sweet and so nice of your friends!

Roy4me, is that Hearst Castle?

Lars, wishing you a speedy recovery and hope you are out in the garden soon!

Another sign at the American Sign Museum.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU! lgmd-gaz!

Yes, it is Hearst Castle.

Some pics I took last fall at a pond near us in MN.

Lars - Wish you a fast recovery. The rain has finally slowed down and getting sunny weather here in the Santa Cruz area. Yes, those are artichokes. We are close to Castroville, "Artichoke Center of the World" or so they claim.

I typically grow Aquilegia vulgaris. I decided to grow a more iconic spurred flower.

My first bloom from A. caerulea 'Krystal'

caflowerluver, I love Santa Cruz and tried to get a job there when I had been in San Francisco for less than a year.

My housemate in Venice (whom I had lived with in San Francisco) grew artichokes and our back yard, and they ended up taking up quite a bit of space. I did love the artichokes, however, and I also love artichoke stems. Often by the time they reach the store, the stems have been removed. Better for me to buy them at farmers' markets.

Okay bob_cville, you don't have to rub it in...LOL! That was really quite a game wasn't it! Who would have ever thought that the two that ended up in the final game were two teams who had never made it to the Final Four before. Congrats to both teams.

Exactly. From a quick search, UVa was founded in 1819. It took 200 years to win its first basketball National Championship (only somewhat of a stretch with the years). Okay, you can subtract 70 years, Naismith didn't invent basketball until the 1890s.

Spoken by someone (me) who follows two teams that have each won more than once.