Bursting

Our balmy summer-like spring weather persists. If I sound a tad less enthusiastic about this trend than I was a week ago it's because the experts are forecasting high temps in the mid 30's by next week. We had morning rain mixed with a little distant thunder and hit an easy 70 degrees by noon. With such a wide flux in temperature we could easily lose a season's worth of those great NYS apples and cherries in one night, not to mention all of the delicate flowering plants coming up in my own yard. Commence finger crossing...

We're in the tenth week of the semester and I'm just starting to believe that the light at the end of the tunnel is not the train headed straight for me but instead the end! I'm even getting to check a few things off my list for good (well at least for now). In the next week or two I'll help prepare my last student recital, coach my final quartet seminar and attend the last faculty meeting (or not). Academic advising is done - check! I wonder if my students realize I'm just as anxious for summer to begin as they are.

In the garden the lilacs are just about to sprout out. I thought I could almost smell them today.

Roses have leafed out and the bleeding heart, blue squill and columbine are up, up, up. I saw my first Johnny-Jump-Up yesterday but it was way too small to photograph without wallowing on my belly in the mud - I decided to pass on that one, you'll have to trust me on this.

Rhubarb is up and is leafing out.

Franklin, our ever faithful miracle cat is begging for his daily constitutionals with a new enthusiasm since it's been sunny. He's venturing farther and farther out into the yard and is starting to get a little curious about what's on the other side of the vegetable garden fence. He has the happiest of happy tails of any cat I've ever known.
The best thing about these photos is that I took them today at 7pm tonight. Hooray for DST!