This week has been really good - warmer, sunny days with still cold nights. We were able to get into garden and look around at all the pruning that will require attention come spring. There are a few daffodils budding and the bluebell leaves are poking through. Camellias are blooming again despite some flowers being damaged by the recent snow/ice. Yesterday afternoon it reached 60F so we took down and packed away the faux Christmas tree in the gazebo, it had few decorations remaining other than white lights. Will miss the twinkling fairy lights at night but still have the year round string of larger lights around the interior.
Yesterday the City arrived at long last to vacuum up the mounds of fallen leaves, mostly oaks, from along the streets and here in our cul-de-sac, it looks so much better now.
The summertime Boston ferns still hang in their baskets on the front porch. Though dried and frazzled, their rusty bronze fronds in the sunlight look quite beautiful, and of course we hope the wrens, as always, use them for sleeping on these chilly nights. That's why we never take them down until the new green ones arrive in late spring!
Carolina wren - Front porch
Do you have big plans for the weekend? Being St. Valentine's Day on Monday perhaps you are going to eat out. Despite so many restaurants in our vicinity we really don't enjoy eating out when celebrations are in full swing. Too busy, often noisy, slower service, and of course often hard to get reservations. We're all for supporting local businesses, especially restaurants who have gone through two very rough years, so instead we are eating out tonight at a local Greek taverna.
This will follow an afternoon at the movies to see Kenneth Branagh's new version of Dame Agatha Christie's 'Death on the Nile' opening today. This will be only our second movie theatre visit during the pandemic and we had to reserve seats. Watching something on a big screen - our TV is small - will be a treat, and having someone else cook my meal, serve it to me, and do the all clean up will be more than enough of a Valentine gift for me. . . . with perhaps a tiny bunch of pretty rosebuds tossed in later. Shhhhh!!!!!!
Movie review next week perhaps. Enjoy your weekend wherever you are and whatever you do.
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What a lovely thought, to have your meal cooked by someone else!
ReplyDeleteDearest Mary,
ReplyDeleteSo thoughtful of leaving your Boston ferns up for the cute Carolina wrens to sleep in!
Pieter just went at it again after we ate our warm meal for the day, cutting the underbrush and things start looking really neat again.
Daffodils, our selection of highly fragrant heirloom varieties are blooming and adding their charm to our kitchen table.
The Japanese magnolia was already blooming before we left to Florida on the 29th and some of its early blossoms did turn brown due to that weekend's deeper frost... Hate to see that but still looks nice.
Now we can discover almost daily some new blossoms and soon the garden will look friendly again.
If only the grass turns green again! That is SUCH a contrast to the Old World where the meadows remain green all winter, even during snow and deep(er) frost.
But we enjoyed 10 days of blooms and lots of green while in Florida! Such a nice winter break.
Hugs,
Mariette
We agree with you on the idea of going out to eat while celebrations are in full swing. Your plans sound perfect! Enjoy the movie (it has to be good, with Kenneth Branagh's direction and Agathie Christie's story, right??) and a tasty Greek meal.
ReplyDeleteThat sounds like a nice weekend ahead. We don‘t really do Valentines, but will spend the weekend together anyway 🥰
ReplyDeleteWhen I read the headline of your post in my dashboard, I expected something entirely different, like you were thinking about moving house or so.
My elderly labrador dog died a year before covid. But by the time I had enough energy to search for a new labrador puppy, the pandemic closed down the registered breeders or raised the price of each puppy to that of a family car. So this Sunday I am going to have lunch in the local park with the grandchildren to find a perfect puppy somewhere in this state :) The weather in Melbourne is very hot, but there will be sun umbrellas over the tables.
ReplyDeleteHappy Valentines Day to you and Bob on Monday💕 A delicious Greek meal out this evening and Dame Agatha Christie's 'Death on the Nile' sounds a perfect way to spend the evening.
ReplyDeleteWe went to M & S very early this morning and purchased their Valentines Day Supper for two, so I just have to heat it up. There are so many components to the meal that we couldnt possibly eat it all in one go. I think that it will last us about 4 days along with the included bottle of fizz.
We don't go out on holidays either. Enjoy your movie and meal!
ReplyDeleteDear Mary, Flowers and Birds. Just right for a Saturday morning.
ReplyDeleteI can't imagine temps in the 60's right now...must feel so good! Oh, how I long for those warm spring days! We are at a wind chill of 5 degrees right now. We will get a brief "warm up" on Tues with a high of 39 and 48 on Wed - which will probably set a record for Feb here in IL. We're usually in the midst of a deep freeze right now. Of course, temps will drop again after Wed but I'll take those two brief days of warmer weather.
ReplyDeleteNo big plans here for the weekend or Valentine's Day. We don't like to go out to eat on holidays either. In fact, Brian is working his 12 hour shift on Monday, so he won't even be home til after 7 PM.
I'd like to see that Agatha Christie movie and I know B would, too - he's a fan of her books. We haven't been in a movie theater since the pandemic, but really not so much because of that. We're just not big fans of going to see movies in the theater. We might make an exception for this one. Enjoy!
Now that sounds like a movie I would like watching.
ReplyDeleteI always love seeing your wrens.
I think I would have a hard time taking down the twinkly lights.
There are a few lights still inside my house that will come down on the first day of spring.