April Showers

The landscape changes every day this time of year. I am amazed at how more leaves have really begun to pop this week. For awhile it felt like spring was unfolding so slowly. But now I feel like everything has sped up. And today the much needed April Showers are creating those iridescent neon greens that I love to see this time of year. Looking out at the pond this morning I saw beauty everywhere I looked. Several gold finches perched in the hydrangea tree outside my office window. It seemed as if they were just asking to be photographed Read more…

There and Back Again

As spring unfolds and the days lengthen and warm, we took time out to travel to visit some relatives in Iowa. Then we drove to Ames, Iowa where Jon and I both went to college. It was a quick trip There and Back Again in two long days. We were both thoroughly tired of riding in the car by the time we got home. But it was a great little trip. It was so good to spend time with my aunt and cousins. I was also happy to connect with a friend and roommate from college. We met for lunch Read more…

Earth Day at the Arb

Though the day started out bright and sunny this morning, by the time I got to the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum, thin clouds had appeared in the skies and the wind also arrived. Still I enjoyed Earth Day at the Arb and I revisited familiar places always trying to look with new eyes. Though we can already see some effects of climate change I keep believing that what each one of us does can make a difference. You cannot get through a single day without having an impact on the world around you. What you do makes a difference, and you Read more…

Good Day for Ducks

With all of the rain that fell yesterday, it was a Good Day for Ducks and for all of the green growing things in our world. Each day more green is appearing, trees and plants are coming to life. I’m beginning to hear the spring peepers in the pond at night and on sunny days the log at the edge of the pond is filled with sunning painted turtles. I love this time of year and the fact that I am able to watch the pond life unfold through our windows. A pair of wood ducks has claimed the wood Read more…

What do you see?

Everywhere I look I see a haze of green emerging on trees and bushes. It’s the time of year when I can’t stop looking and asking myself What do you see? Everything is changing quickly now, and with the rain predicted for tonight and tomorrow, I imagine that the changes may accelerate even more. More green, more leaves, more spring flowers! This morning I took a walk at Big Willow Park in Minnetonka. In the marsh I saw two red winged blackbirds perched on last last year’s cattails, singing their territorial songs. Such beauty in a commonly seen and heard Read more…