Winter Has Fled (at last)?

Well, it looks like Old Man Winter finally has the worst of his claws out of the local weather. It's supposed to be rather chilly tonight, and we have had to actually close the windows, but I think we'll see no more sub-freezing temperatures and frozen precipitation for the rest of the season.

We went to Carole's mom's place and did some stuff to get the Casita ready for our next trip. Still a few weeks away, but it's good to get these things done in good time. I walked around the yard and took in the sights. Carole's dad, Frank, did a really nice job with landscaping the place when he was here. In the years since his passing we have moved out a few dead azaleas and cut down some dying dogwoods and replanted new shrubs and trees where we could. I noticed today that the grounds need some TLC, which we can give them in a couple of weeks--removing dead limbs, raking out some rough patches, and removing some invasive plants. But by and large, the yard is going to be gorgeous in a couple of more weeks when the azaleas burst out in full bloom and the dogwoods show off their white color.

Looking forward to the dogwoods and azaleas in full bloom behind the Casita.

Some of the azalea beds need some work.

The pink blossoms are preceding the white ones.

 And some macro shots of mainly wildflowers in the back yard: