Pink Lady Slipper / Update
The pink lady slipper presence in the woods beside our house is very slim this year. I could only find 6 or 7, whereas in previous years there have been hundreds. I’m glad a few were waiting on our return from Nepal.
I was given good news from my local ophthalmologist on Tuesday. Dr Pratap’s work was successful; both tears are fixed and the floaters are beginning to resolve. Thanks to those of you who reached out with your sympathy and concern.
Wishing you all a wonderful weekend.
2017 Smith College Bulb Show
Cristine and I always look forward to the Smith College Bulb Show. Always in mid March, it is a lovely reminder that Spring is not far off.
There are always a ton of very exotic tulips.
It ends tomorrow, so if you live in the Valley and want to see it, get moving!
Paperwhites
Just before Christmas I bought the last four paperwhite bulbs at Hadley Garden Center. As they were the last ones, they looked a bit ratty. Since we were gone most of January, Cris didn’t put them into the jar of rocks until just after we got home. The first flowers came out today. A full foot of snow outside but lovely to have these beauties in the house.
I spoke to my friend John Wilson in Stratford-upon-Avon late last week and he said the daffodils are already coming up over there. I guess we’ll have to wait at least 6 more weeks before we see any here.
Have a great weekend, everyone.
Howth
We have been spending most of our time in busy cities on this trip, so we decided to take the DART train to Howth yesterday and spend some time on the coastal path.
This is a lovely seaside fishing village, and since it was Sunday it was a bit crowded, but we really wanted to walk, so it was worth it.
As we walked through the carpark at the beginning of the path, we saw a guy in a superman costume get out of a taxi. We didn’t think much about it at the time since it was a few days before Halloween. We started our walk, and some minutes later looked down to a little island just off the coast and saw him jump off a diving platform. He is in mid-flight in this photo but it is a bit difficult to see him. Look for the red spot on the left. Wild.
It was a lovely day. Not too hot, not too cool.
Ireland is really green, and like Cornwall has a really interesting variety of plants.
I can never keep these things straight, but I think this is gorse. So lovely.
There were amazing views throughout the walk. In the foreground is an entire field of ferns that are just starting to turn brown.
At one point the coast path crossed an enormous golf course. We were instructed to stay quiet. We obliged, and we did see some golfers teeing off. It would have been a lovely day to play 18.
But by far the coolest part of the walk was when we went through the Bog of Frogs. It was boggy, but not noticeably froggy.
We walked well over 10 miles, and it was spectacular. It was great to get a pint and some fish and chips once back in Howth.
As we waited for the train to Dublin, a Carphone Warehouse advert kept scrolling through this sign at the station.
Once back in Dublin, we stopped at Mary’s Bar and Hardware for a whiskey. They really love JFK here. And the whiskey was nice.
Pink Lady’s Slipper / Red Eft
There are hundreds of pink lady’s slippers around the house. We are very lucky.
Red efts were out today as well, as it is a rainy, humid day. These guys are tiny.
Lettuces
Amazing, beautiful lettuces at today’s farmer’s market. Apparently there is a bumper crop this year. Everything around here is flowering to beat the band. The mountain laurels are just about to pop and the lady slippers are all around us in the the woods.
Tulips
The university has planted a ton of tulips in anticipation of a flood of people visiting for commencement. Most of them are planted in regular beds, but these guys are interspersed with clumps of grass just outside of the recreation center. Nice.
It’s Growing
Here it is from a different angle. It is growing nicely. I wonder if it will flower.
Water Plant
We had a lovely walk in the woods this morning. The trees are just starting to show new growth, and I was pleased to see that some of these water plants (identification anyone?) are starting to appear in the small streams. This one is right near a spot where Olive likes to lie in the water and rub her back on the moss covered rocks.
This is from a few days ago. It might be time for a bath.
Crocus
We are supposed to have snow this weekend along with very cold temperatures. I didn’t want to lose these guys to the weather before I got the chance to take some pictures. Nature!
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