Last week we finally did something we’ve wanted to do since moving into our house. Replace the tired PVC white picket fencing that didn’t “go” with the house with an upscale aluminum fence. Here is a look at the old fence.

Okay, granted it wasn’t that bad, but it needed power washing frequently because it turned green from the lovely mold that grows in a wetter climate such as ours. It was also kind of falling apart. What really made us decide was the the back gate that you can see in the top photo just simply fell off its hinges (breaking said hinges) about a month ago. Some of the rails had pulled completely out of the sockets due to ground swell. It was not a pretty sight.

And here is the new fence. It just disappears! And each gate can be locked with a key for added security!

We like the new openess of it a lot and think it really dresses up the house and gives it the fence it deserved to begin with. We will sacrifice a little privacy for the pool area but not much.

When we get back from our Central America trip we will continue the Before and After by replacing our tired guest bath with its Pepto-Bismol (which I like to call Pepto-Abysmal) colored tub and surround, sinks and toilet and if you saw it you would understand. Trust me. Soon you will see for yourselves. I am so excited but my sister says she will miss its pinkness. Not me. No way.

And just for grins I am including a photo taken today (all others were taken last week) so you can see the progress our trees are making! That too is very exciting!

To be continued in a few weeks ...

Spring is taking its sweet time this year. Everything is lagging behind thanks to our cooler than normal rainy weather. The trees are just afraid to leaf out! Some progress is being made however.

The daffodils were pretty as usual but are fading a bit now.

The forsythia is really lovely this year. You may remember that last year we had our large front hedge of forsythia taken out. I miss it, but Rick says he doesn’t. Now we just have three pretty bushes scattered throughout the yards.

I cut some branches and brought them inside to light up my day. Sam likes them too!

I wish the lilac would hurry up and bloom! It’s looked like this for two weeks now. If it waits until we are gone on our trip late next week I’ll be really disappointed! This shot was taken with the forsythia bush behind.

The periwinkle is blooming nicely in the front yard.

A row of hostas have broken ground and are growing daily.

We’ve had plenty of birds visiting the feeder. Normally we don’t have purple finches but right now we have several pairs. I think they are prettier than the house finch. You can tell the difference by their coloring which is more a rosy pink than the red of the house finch, the streaking and their slightly different body shape and size.

Lots of these cute little chipping sparrows too. Doesn’t he look like he’s wearing a toupee on his head?

Of course we have lots of bright yellow gold finches. I love these little birds!

The white-throated sparrows don’t come to the feeder but they do come to the front where I spread seed on the ground for the squirrels and chippies. They have a distinctive yellow streak by their eye, and a lovely easy to identify song.

At times there are so many different bird songs riding on the air that it’s hard to hear yourself think! I am not complaining though! I love them all.

And here is Alex just because I think he’s so darned cute. He was laying on the front porch while Rick washed Mia yesterday and found this tiny little stick that he’s holding between his paws.

More rain expected today but at least this week we’re supposed to have temperatures in the 70’s. That just might lure the trees into really popping those leaves!

Bird Addendum added late afternoon: My first rose-breasted grosbeak arrived this morning! I hope to get a better photo of him if he sticks around long enough. They usually just pass through. I think it looks like it has a bleeding heart on its chest. Beautiful birds, but then again, grosbeaks are one of my all-time favorite bird families.

And a house finch for comparison to Mr. Purple Finch.

I needed a color boost yesterday so I stopped by the local garden center, Eden Farms, to see what was being featured. Not as much as in previous years at this time, but still very pretty. Here is what I found to interest me color-wise.

Flats and flats of happy faced pansies.

Somehow the color combination of orange and purple works in nature.

Forsythia bushes just bursting with blooms waiting to be planted.

Lovely ranunculus!

Grape-hued hyacinth.

A few friendly dragons placed here and there. (I guess dragons can’t spell properly ... )

Tulips.

Cheery daffodils.

Blooms placed just about everywhere! I loved this old-style steel lawn furniture.

Bright and colorful tomato cages. These would certainly jazz up your garden!

And these colorful watering cans arranged very color-artistically.

Have I helped to boost your spirit with color today? It certainly is helping me this morning as I gaze out into a gray, somewhat rainy day. But hey, April showers are okay since they are supposed to bring May flowers, right? Bring on the flowers!

Saturday was finally warm and sunny enough to get Mia out to stretch her legs. Top down, windows down, wind in our hair.

(Note: I think this photo is kind of funny. Since I was wearing my sunglasses at the time of taking the photo, the camera focused on the writing on the side mirror instead of on me like I had intended so I am blurred out. See my new hat?)

We decided to do a big loop: up to the lovely town of Warwick through Greenwood Lake and then come back down through our favorite little back road to Upper Greenwood Lake with a side trip to the Warwick Valley Winery.

At least some people who live on the road that goes past the winery have a sense of humor. I love this sign!

The road is so tiny and narrow that going much faster than that would be suicide anyway.

The winery is smack in the middle of what is called the black dirt region near Pine Island, New York which is famous for growing onions. Follow the link to learn more about it. The dirt really is black!

We were surprised to see the parking lot full of cars and nearly every picnic table was taken up with people enjoying the sunshine. We are always trying to find a nice place to have lunch when we take Mia out and for some reason we always forget about the winery. Too bad we had lunch at our little local diner down the hill before starting our drive because the food coming out of the cafe at the winery looked delicious—especially the pizzas! Next time!

We ordered a glass of Black Dirt Blush and sat down at a picnic table outside to people watch and soak up the sun. We think a dog had claimed our table sometime in the not too distant past. Do you agree?

We sat and sipped our wine, the sun warm against our backs, and watched as people ate, drank their recently purchased bottles of wine and spread blankets on the newly greening grass while little children from various families banded together to play.

The wine was such a pretty color in the sun! I know I keep going on about the sun, but we haven’t seen it much. (Fun side note: Rick has his yearly physical a week ago and all was fine except his blood work showed a slight Vitamin D deficiency! Dr. said he thinks more sun is needed.)

I thought the recycle “bin” for the empty wine bottles was interesting.

Such an enjoyable couple of hours! It was so nice to finally get out and take advantage of a beautiful spring day.

There are promises of Spring all around.

In the budding of the maple trees.

In the robins that are too numerous to count in our yard. Their monotonous songs saturate the early morning hours.

In the chicken-scratch dance of the Fox Sparrow, first sighted this weekend.

In the budding forsythia.

In the as-yet-unopened daffodil.

And the hope and expectation that rides on the very first lilac buds this bush has ever offered, which started as a tiny twig from my Mom’s lilac bush from her yard. I just wish she were here to see it bloom.

Spring is coming. Slowly, ever so slowly,  but surely.