While I am in the process of working on a few more Las Vegas entries, I thought I’d share this photo of my favorite tree in town. I think this is a weeping cherry, and a very old one at that. It takes up the entire front yard with its enormous girth. Its owners have a sense of humor too, as they decorate the tree on each holiday with the appropriate trappings for that particular holiday.

I remember last year when we moved here it was over the Easter weekend, and the tree was in full bloom with Easter eggs dangling from its branches. This year Easter came early and the tree was not yet in bloom. For whatever reason they chose not to decorate it for Easter this year. The last ornaments that hung from it were shamrocks. I have vowed to take a photo of it every time they decorate it from now on. Maybe that will be the 4th of July?

The only blooming trees we have are the shad trees in the woods. They are plentiful around our area, and the first trees to come out. The wooded hills are dotted with splashes of white.

Another tree at the egde of the woods [as yet unidentified], appears to be going to bloom, but it might be just leaves. Hard to tell, but it looks like a blossom coming to me.

The skunk cabbage (at least that’s what I call it) is starting to take over the ground in the woods where it’s boggy. Soon the large ferns will be up and the whole area will turn into a lush jungle.

We’ve had a little rain each day over the past week and our grass is getting greener and greener. Soon Johnny will need to be put back into service. The grass seed that I strew about 3 weeks ago on the spots where the dogs have worried the ground bare, is now sprouting and growing like crazy. Our woods are taking on a green fuzziness, and it changes on a daily basis. Soon our neighbor’s house will be obscured behind a solid curtain of green and we won’t be able to see our back gate anymore. It happens so gradually over time that you can’t really say when it happened.

I welcome the wooded privacy wholeheartedly, even if it means I can’t see the birds in the trees anymore, or if the bears are there. At first it will seem strange to be so closed in, but we will soon be used to it. Just like we adjusted when the trees became bare, leaving us feeling naked and exposed to the world.

The changing of the seasons is such a wonderful thing. It keeps us from becoming stale and stagnant and pushes us forth to do different things than we have been doing over the past months. Instead of sitting by a cozy fire in the evening and watching TV, we’ll be sitting out on our deck or having dinner down by the pool. I’ll be swimming laps in the morning instead of sitting here writing drivel for you to read. My neighbor Kim has already commissioned me for morning walks. I hope to learn how to play tennis as well. Ahh, I can’t wait! I look forward to throwing off the inactivity and sluggishness of winter and embracing the new season!