Mellow, gorgeous day

Yes, it is really nice outside today.  I love days like this - just warm enough and brilliantly sunny and things beginning to put out their first Spring growth and show that they are still living, coming awake from their Winter sleep.  And I'm enjoying it for all it's worth, considering that it's supposed to rain tomorrow and then drop down to 20 degrees tomorrow night.   Winter's definitely not through with us yet.  It's hard to believe today though.

I took this picture today of my flowering quince with the neighbor's Bradford pear in the background.  All the Bradfords are blooming right now, and it's all going to take a hit when it freezes tomorrow night.  I uncovered the remains of the two outside aloe vera so they could get some sun today.  I hope I remember to cover them back up tomorrow because both of them have one little central plant that's looking nice and healthy, surrounded by the dead and dying areas of the rest of the plant.  A part of each of them may survive after all.  I would love to move the rest of them back outside, but I don't dare with this temperature roller coaster we've been on. 

The  flowering quince are bee magnets.  They're swarming with honeybees this afternoon, kind of like the mint does when it blooms.  I wonder if the previous owners knew how much honeybees were attracted to the things they planted, or it's just a fortunate side effect.        

When I was wandering around outside this morning I discovered that all three of the little peach trees I planted in the ground last year are beginning to leaf out.  Even the smallest one.  I was sure that little tree was buried under dirt when the guys dug those massive holes to fix my foundation last Fall.  Honestly, I don't know how they missed it.  But it's leafing out strongly from right down near the ground, so I'll be interested to see how it grows this year.  The other two seem to be doing fine also, even the one that was more yellow than green last year when I planted it.

My roses are all beginning to leaf out also.  And I have three little pink hyacinths blooming out front.  Spring is definitely coming, even if Winter refuses to let go completely yet.  I'm so, so grateful not to live up north though.  They've had (are still having) a brutal, brutal winter.

I've made arrangements for my lawn service people to replace the shrubbery killed by the foundation work.  The quote they gave me included the work, plus 5 burford holly shrubs, 5 indian hawthorne and 3 nandina.  I'm glad I decided to have them do it because it would have been interesting for me to determine what type of holly I needed to match what's already there, and I had NO idea what those other small plants were called (nandina).  Anyway, the guys are supposed to replace the dead shrubs with the new ones on Monday.  

I had to call the lawn people because I've discovered someone is messing with my mail. The Saturday before President's Day (Monday holiday) I didn't get any mail.  That can happen but it's really unusual.  Usually I at least get a load of junk mail.  I checked it again on Sunday, just because I checked it late Saturday and thought maybe I didn't see the mail in the back of the box, but no, there was no mail in there.  On Monday as I was leaving for work, I forgot it was a P.O. holiday and went to put an outgoing piece of mail in the box (the signed contract for the shrubbery work).  There in the box was my mail from Saturday! So I took it and left the outgoing.  During the day I remembered no mail delivery, but left the outgoing piece in the box, figuring they would get it on Tuesday.  Tuesday morning I went to add another 2 pieces of mail to the outgoing, and the original piece was gone.  The lawn people never got that contract either.  So now I don't leave outgoing in my mailbox.  I mail it at a drop box.  And I get my mail as soon as I get home each day.  Luckily, I don't pay much by checks, charities mostly,  but I worry that my small checks from the gas company drilling on my property won't reach me.  And I know I have a new credit card coming in the next week.  I'm kind of paranoid now.       

Anyway, I called the lawn people, and sent them my copy of the signed contract (after making another copy, of course) and they are scheduled to do the work Monday.  Then all trace of the foundation issues will be erased.  That makes me really happy.

That's about all today I guess.