Saturday was rainy but today we had a clear sky and temperatures in the 70’s. It was a perfect afternoon to spend outside.

We cut back some of the roses and pulled weeds out of the flower beds. Tricia and I tend to disagree about the attractiveness of the dead stalks of perennials and annuals. She doesn’t like to look at them. I think they are attractive in a stark sort of way and I like to leave them standing through the winter. To compromise we cut down the ones in the front on public view and left some in the back that I can appreciate.

The quince which opened its first blossoms just a couple weeks back now has many blooms and the bees are buzzing all around them. There are other signs of spring too. I have been playing with a new camera and I tried to catch the first buds of Aeschylus pavia as they start to open. Red buckeye, as it is popularly called, is an abundant small understory tree or shrub in east Texas which is known for it’s bright red flowers of early spring.