Happy Birthday, Nash

Today was Nash's 2nd birthday party. What a fun day!

Preparing for a stroll through the Henry Vilas Zoo in Madison...

Nash had a great vantage point from on top of his papa's shoulders.

Sally the camel had two humps... Sarah is only wearing one hump.

Nash loved the Herpatorium. They had puppets and crayon rubbings and, of course, animals! He liked the tamarins and snakes and iguanas. As for the puppets, the hedgehog was the biggest hit.

Could I be a polar bear?

Penguin hats in front of the penguin pond.

Birthday, time! Brad and Sarah made this cute monkey brownie dessert.

After the party, we went to the playground. I chased Nash around the slides.

Linc took a short nap while his brother ran around.

...but he woke up in time for a few minutes on the playground.

Today was a great day. All the kids enjoyed the party, including the big kids like me!

Gorgeous weather

Finally, a nice day! It was wonderful to get outside and enjoy the day. It's too early to work the soil, so I cleaned the gutters instead. I removed about a dozen 5-gallon pails worth of muck. Yum. It's no wonder I had ice dams this winter.

It's bulb season. These are tulips next to the back door. This bed would look a lot better without the ugly black tube in the background.

I think these are liatris. Or maybe iris. They're sprouting in my new east flower bed. I can't wait to find out what they are!

I did have plastic labels telling me what I planted here. Unfortunately, they've all heaved out of the ground and are strewn about. So much for that idea.

Looks like I didn't do a very good job clearing this bed last fall. This picture shows lots of daffodils with a few fans of iris mixed in.

You'll also notice the tire tracks on the top of the picture. Those are courtesy of the tree trimmers and/or the crew that put up the cell phone antenna. Nice going, guys. Ah well, I can't complain too much. Afterall, the garden isn't exactly on my property.

Signs of spring

Yes, yes, I know. I've been an absent blogger. My only excuse is that in winter I have nothing to talk about. Well, it's springtime, and I've got plenty to be excited about now. I took these pictures last weekend.

The squirrels are awake and running all over the place. This enterprising squirrel was fishing something out of my downspout. Cute little fella. I hope the hawk discovers he is delicious.

I hope he gets stuck. Then he can't eat my bulbs.

There are also several cardinals in the neighborhood. This one was singing for his mate.