Sights of Spring

Of course I have been playing with the new toy today, but it isn't the only thing I've done. I just finished my laundry -- on a Saturday, which will lend a certain fillip of extra joy to my Sunday -- and I ran the dishwasher and trimmed my nails and took some things down to the basement storage area and, since I had a book due back to the local library and the weather was decent, I took a walk to bring it back.

I've been saying since I moved here, almost six months ago, how much I looked forward to the weather being nice enough for this, because I am within walking distance of the downtown area and it's such a cute little downtown, in my new town. I only went to the library today, but I enjoyed the walk so much. You just see so much more detail at walking pace than you do driving.

For one thing, I saw violets everywhere.


Either it's a really good year for them, or I've been missing them in the past. Then there was this in the sidewalk, which of course I never saw driving by:


I just Googled it, and apparently they're a concrete company. Wild!

I turned down a side street to look at some interesting houses, and heard something rustling in the bushes. I turned around and guess who?


Can you see who she has in her mouth? It's a little easier to see in the next picture, though the focus isn't as clear since they were moving.


Apparently I caught them on moving day. I was so surprised to see them out in daylight! She wasn't very far away from me, and didn't seem bothered by me, though she was pretty quick to move away.

There were flowering trees that were pretty even against mostly cloudy skies:

And a lot of the tulips are over but some are still around, and what are these fuzzy things, I don't know:

Then there was this bush, so colorful, so rigorously pruned, very interesting:


Finally, Harold has commented that he'd been getting the short end of the stick here, photographically, and while I'm not about to count how many photos of each of them I've posted, I have a sneaking suspicion he may have a point. There's no denying that when I went to the Humane Society in Charlotte, nine years ago this summer, Pan was my first choice, and much as I love Harold, I sometimes think he can tell. So I give you some Harold porn to make up for the inequality a little bit. He's very pose-able when he's in the mood.