Spring is Coming!

We're starting to get a bit of color in our yard. I love these flame-like tulips with the great striped foliage we have in a couple pots on our patio. Our pink-mini tulips are brightening up the place too. Sami's mom and I visited the Wooden Shoe Tulip Farm the spring before last and she bought a pot of these very cute tulips for us. Unfortunately the bulbs tried to bloom in our garage a couple weeks ago before we could get them in the ground, but they seem to be doing ok now. We didn't plant the iris, so it's a bit of a mystery. This one sprouted in a half empty pot.
Last weekend Sami and I worked on cleaning up the yard. We don't yet know what these vines are, but we pulled last year's growth from between our siding and pruned them back drastically. We also added new soil to the planter. Our little old lady next door neighbor Shirley says they are "beautiful purple flowers".

Our new neighbor also informed us that the trees near our patio are not prune trees as we thought, but a fig tree and a pear tree. She says it is too bad that they haven't been taken care of and the fruit is wormy - We're hoping she's a bit of a pessimist and that it will be ok. We'll just have to wait and see.

Shirley also had stories of roof leaks, fires and other disasters. She's owned the house next door since it was new in the 60's. She told Sami that he looked Irish. She also misunderstood his name and called him "Stubby".

My creeping rosemary is also in bloom. It doesn't grow very quickly so we don't usually use this one for cooking, but the flowers are really pretty. Our rhubarb plants are starting to grow too. We'll have some really nice pies later this spring. I tried to plant some bulbs between the pavers in the little wall in the backyard but I guess I'll have to figure out a new location for them. Some little critter decided that those bulbs just couldn't stay.