Yesterday I showed you things that were not yet blooming, so today I will show you what I saw that was blooming. This magnolia was superb! Grab a seat on the bench and drink it in!

These sweet little lavender-blue flowers that were dwarfed by the large tree they were growing under. I thought the light was interesting (and tricky) in this photo; part shade, part sun.

Gee, surprise, surprise — a daffodil. It was the only one of its kind blooming and it was just outside of the designated flower bed like it had escaped confinement. You go daff!

Mayapple. Love its freckled face!

 I took myself off to Skylands yesterday for a check on how things were coming along. Things are not quite in gear yet for Spring, but almost. This weeping cherry is almost there. I imagine a few more days and it will burst forth in a froth of pink blossoms.

Buds were popping everywhere!

I did the entire three miles (both loops) yesterday and it got so warm that I had to shed my jacket about 3/4 of the way through. I did see Mr. Pileated Woodpecker again in the same spot as I took photos of him the last time, but no pics this time. He just flew right over my head and into the woods, all the while doing his laughing call. It's a nice walk because the terrain is varied. It's mostly level with a few hills thrown in for good measure.

I keep checking the FaceBook page for Branch Brook park every day and the cherry trees down there are coming along but they are slow too. Maybe tomorrow I'll head down there anyway even if they aren't quite in full bloom. If I wait much longer I probably won't get down there to capture the spectacle since we have some rainy days moving in at the end of the week.

P.S. I got impatient for the camera store to get my lens in so I ordered it from Amazon instead. I hate not supporting local business, but when I called them they had no idea when the lenses were shipping. It's a Tamron 18-270mm. It was the only lens I took to Skylands yesterday to give it a try. It's lighter than my other zoom lenses and it was nice to not have to carry multiple lenses or to switch them out.

Last night as I opened the door to let the dogs outside for a final visit to yard, I heard them. Finally, our spring peepers singing in their froggy chorus!  What a  welcome and lovely sound that was. I did hear peepers at Duck Pond while on my walk at Skylands the other day but only for a minute as I first walked up to the pond and then they became silent. I opened the window when I went to bed so I could hear them and be "peeped" to sleep.

Through my open window this morning I was awakened by the repetitive robin and numerous woodpeckers drilling away on the trees. There was so much drilling going on that it sounded like a construction site! My goodness, I think Spring might just be around the corner! The warm temperatures that we are expecting over the next few days might just encourage the trees to pop.

(Photo: Cardinal at Skylands that was singing such a pretty song for me.)

 Now for rent in Skylands

Botanical Gardens!

This 4.5 bedroom penthouse apartment with expansive views

in the "high" rent district is now available

for the spring nesting season.

Unfurnished.

Please bring your own twigs and

any other necessary nesting materials.

Price: 50 worms for the season

Linked to Rurality Blog hop #10

I think Spring is finally on the way. As I type the little Carolina wren is singing away outside my window. I just adore those little birds and their sweet varied songs. I can see buds about to pop on the maple trees and the day lilies have broken ground. The daffodils have lots of flower buds coming. Soon it will all burst wide open and I'll be glad for that.

Our three-day weekend went pretty well. On Friday we did some errand running around. Some errands were successful (like our trip to DSW for new shoes) and others weren't as successful as I had hoped (Unique Photo for this new lens which was out of stock). As soon as I made the final decision to actually buy it and spend my reserved "Mom" money they run out due to a super new sale price. Next week!

We took the dogs for a walk, Rick took down the old cabana canopy frame in preparation for the new one and gave Mia a much needed bath.

We branched out for dinner and tried cooking skate for the first time and it was amazingly good. 

On Saturday we took Mia out for a spin. It was nice enough to have the top down once the day warmed up. We drove down to Branch Book Park in Bloomfield (a suburb of Newark) to check on the progress of the cherry trees, and also because I wanted to know the route so I could drive myself when the time comes. Last year this time the cherries were just about done, but this year they haven't even started yet. We saw a couple of trees that had popped, but most had not. I plan to spend a lot of time wandering around the park with my camera (and my new lens!) just taking in all the blossoms and getting some much needed cherry therapy or "cherrapy". Here's what they looked like last year.

When we got home Rick experimented with the new cook book I got him the other day. America's Test Kitchen's D.I.Y. cookbook: Can It, Cure It, Churn It, Brew It: 100+ Foolproof kitchen projects for the adventurous home cook. He made ketchup! It was very tasty and much better than the prepared stuff. Healthier too! It made the house smell so good.

We used it on our homemade onion rings that accompanied our grilled steaks. Here are the rings before frying. Yum!

Easter was spent doing much not of anything. The weather was cloudy and windy and by afternoon the rain had started in. We bathed Alex, who was sorely in need of a bath, and blew him dry dog-show style in the morning. We just stayed around the house and watched TV, read and I knit some (still working on Rick's slippers, almost done) and cooked our free Easter ham. We also had gratin dauphinois and roasted carrots, parsnips and onions as sides. Delicious! Now we'll be eating on ham for the rest of the week: in quiche, split pea soup and so on. We'll also be having Sloppy Joes this week and using Rick's ketchup in them to see how it works when used in a recipe. 

So that's it folks, the weekend that was. I think I covered most of the highlights. I hope however you spent your holiday weekend was equally as enjoyable as ours.

(Top Photo explanation: I was intrigued by capturing the play of light on the fencing around the pool late in the afternoon as we grilled our steaks. The wrought iron chair on the opposite side of the fence was casting a shadow.)