Spring has sprung--and with magical flowers, even!

The other morning as I was driving and enjoying all the new spring flowers popping up and out, when I noticed some different looking "flowers" just up the hill from my house. Do you see them? The tiny, little white flowers? It was a bit foggy which added to the scene. I called my husband (the one with the camera) begging him to go up the road and try to capture some of these very different flowers before the weather and lighting changed.

He was so kind to accomodate me and so, now, I have them to share with you! Care to guess, if you don't already know, what they are?

Well, you most surely know what kind of "flowers" they are--and there were so many of them--looking quite magical in the early morning, foggy light. Yes, spiderweb flowers! Aren't they enchanting? Cute? I found them fascinating--so many of them in this little space. There must have been quite a few little spiders spinning their little hearts out all night long to produce so many of these!

I was very pleased with this one close-up, probably because I love the brown leaves with all their vein detail. I guess the pine straw is okay, but the little green plants and grass contrast nicely with the fallen leaves. (If you've never had to rake pine straw, well, you just can't appreciate how greatful I am we aren't ankel deep in the stuff any longer! It's miserable to rake.) We only have one pine tree left in our yard and a monsterous one at that--even though all our neighbors have many which border our property. So the pine straw here is at a minimum.

Oh, by the way, our peach tree, poor thing! It is so confused. We planted this tree (not pictured, dang it) in 2002. In February 2003 it began bluming. Yes, I said February--early February. My husband and I religiously went out and covered the poor tender tree each night before the temperature would drop into the 20's. Once we forgot and I knew the tree was doomed. Actually, it produced several peaches--not too large but 2 or 3 dozen. Tastey, too!

Each year since, however, it begins to bloom earlier and earlier. AND it NEVER lost all its leaves. Like, when did peach trees become evergreens? I tell you this tree is confused. (And we no longer suffer it to be covered. If it wants to bloom in 15 degree weather, well, that's its business, you know.) This time, for reasons beyond my scope of understanding, it began blooming in December. Seriously. I am not lying!

My son and I were in the car about to back out onto the road, and I looked really closely and asked, "Son? Do you see what I see?" "Uhhhhh, what DO you see?" "Look at the peach tree? Are those blooms?" "Where?" "Come on. Look closely. Don't you see a few?" Then I began pointing them out and, sure enough, he saw two or three, also! December. And it was blooming! And it bloomed, and continued to bloom. Last week I saw a few blooms left along with new sprays of little green peach leaves! And this last fall is the FIRST time it EVER lost all its leaves. EVER. I don't understand. I tell you this poor little tree has issues!

Anyway, I checked closely last week--it's already making tiny, little, fuzzy, green peaches. True, they're only the size of a . . . of a . . . ummmmm . . . well . . . hmmmmm, I guess you could say, tiny peach? Smaller than the tip of my baby, pinky finger. But they are very cute and if all of them were to "make", the poor little tree will be so weighed down it'll probably break in pieces. We'll remove some of the fruit before it ever gets to that stage--IF it gets to that stage where we'll need to do so. We've had to do it before!

One of our little plum trees is blooming, too! And the azelaes--two or three of those are blooming. Don't you just love Spring?!?!?!? One of our near neighbors has a huge plum tree in their front yard in full bloom! And other neighbors have redbuds. (I do miss my redbud. Waaaah.) And there's quince blooming. And I've seen tulips and daffodills and jonquills. It is just beautiful. I do love Spring! Happy Spring to everyone--and looking forward to a lovely Easter!