Spring!!! And all it's Fun!

Spring is all around us and has been now for months! Wayne commented just this morning as we were making coffee how it seems it has been Spring forever! And it really does. Now this may be also due to the fact that we never received a true Winter. That is, not like we have always known. Even while we lived in DC for years, winter always brought with it the cold and snow we had known growing up in rural Illinois. People panicked and schools were closed when that first snowflake would be seen falling from the sky in DC! The winters the snow would fall in Illinois of course brought cheers from all the children in hopes that the schools would be closed for days! Life slowed down and there was never a sense of panic as mothers had always known ahead to stock up for the times when the roads really would be closed due to snow. Here we start school days late for fog but snow is not seen unless you travel up into the mountains. This was welcoming to our family as we never really were a fan of the freezing cold and the snow that had to be shoveled early in the morning so that you could get out becasue of course there never really was enough snow to call off school it seemed. I spoke with a lady yesterday who said she could not believe what a horrible year it has been weather wise. The winter had been so cold and rainy, the spring had been cloudy and rainy and summer was seeming to never start! I smiled as I told her that we had just moved in the Fall from Illinois and were excited about what a wonderful winter it had been without the cold and snow! I guess there is always a differnet way to look at life. We get so used to what we know that change is not always welcomed. The fact is that all the rain and cooler temps have brought amazing sights to this area. There are constantly articles in papers nationwide about the flowers that have sprung up all over this part because of all the rain. Death Valley has had visitors from all over the world this Spring because it is covered with wildflowers! Some that have sat dormant for decades!! The yards, walkways, plazas, parks, etc. are almost unpassable because the roses have filled them all! These are not roses like I have ever seen! The roses are often times 6-8 inches across and many friends are saying they have exceded their usual size due to the cooler days and all the rain this winter has brought us. The fruit! Where can one even begin to explain not just the size but also the sweetness the rains have filled these fruits with this year! It takes sun to add to this and we really have had eprfect amounts of that as well! The strawberries! There are those that you can make a meal out of just one because they are just so huge! The cherries that are splitting on the trees! Not good for sales I am sure but there sweetness passes any we have ever had! The sweet peas that must truely be considered a fruit because they are filled with so much sugar this season! The market is filled with a bounty of sweets! The rain has brought not just plants and produce for us to marvel over but as many are exclaiming, the waterfalls flowing at Yosemite are more amazing then any most have seen in their lifetime. Even the New York Times was boasting about the splendor of the Waterfalls at Yosemite this week. We hope to pack the car and head there soon joined by the first of our many summer visitors! Our dear friend John joins us next week during his travels through California. We are anxiously awaiting his arrival! It has been fun to share our new home with those who have ventured this way. The summer looks as though it will be filled with many travelers and so we are stocking the house with ideas of places to see! We have promised ourselves that we would not take our new surroundings for granted as we are so often caught doing and hope that by having guests to share these many sights with, we will take the time to see, feel, and enjoy all there is to experience in our new home!