None the worse

 

The spring flowers are none the worse for the blanket of snow yesterday. In fact, that kind of wet snow is so beneficial. It never got below freezing at ground level. 

However, no one predicted it would snow prettily all day, which it did, causing havoc at the airport, where a couple of snowflakes is enough to stop everything dead in its tracks. We're not prepared for that stuff here.

In other weekend news, Nova's group was scheduled to fly back to Seattle last night. They had a series of departure delays, and eventually the flight was cancelled due to a brief ground stop at the DC airports, just long enough to mess everything up royally. 

Long story short, they were re-booked on the same Delta flight in two days, Sunday night.

What an adventure. On the bight side, they aren't sleeping on the airport floor--they got rooms at the Arlington Hilton, where Nova says the food is "much better" than the tour hotel. Hopefully, travel insurance pays for some of this. Teenagers eat.

Still, everyone is pretty homesick and of course many of them have colds. Hats off to the saintly teachers keeping the kids occupied for another two days. 

The major mountain passes were closed for almost 24 hours, so a blessing in disguise they didn't get back late last night. 

  

 

 

 

 

One more snow picture

 

 

The battle of the seasons...

Irish music (and snow)

 

 

Of all the crazy songs the ukulele group plays (our leader is partial to classic rock!) that little instrument was made for Irish and Hawaiian music. 

I like the meeting right before St. Patrick's Day. Those traditional, corny Irish songs are pretty much about three things: love (as in chasing girls) drinking (whisky) and untimely death. 

That's Cecil at The Bridge yesterday. He just turned 102, and can still whip out a harmonica in the right key to harmonize on just about anything. We are always happy when he shows up, especially now that his granddaughter drives him across town. 

Anyway, it was a good time despite the cold wind blowing through the patio. I sit along the side and avoid the table tops with those gas burners. The fumes make me dizzy. 

The big news this morning is SNOW in Seattle, a strange event for March, and in fact the first lowland snow all winter. 

A soggy, wet and cold garden...

 

Have a good weekend. 
 

 

Believe in yourself

 

 

You know it's a slow day, when you get sucked down the funny cat hole on Instagram. 

The other Washington

 

 

Our granddaughter Nova is in Washington DC this week, on a educational tour with a group of kids from her school. It sounds like there are 11th graders from all over the country, this being a common trip for high school groups now, especially in the spring.

Their agenda was packed with activities and visits to the various monuments and museums. She took this picture at the Supreme Court this morning, and they were getting ready to meet our Senator, Maria Cantwell. 

 

You know me, always obsessed with the weather. Washington DC has been crazy. In the mid-80's all week, but tomorrow the temp drops below freezing with snow in the afternoon. Shorts to parkas. 

The kids fly back to Seattle on Friday, followed by a long school bus ride over the mountains, with luck arriving in the Valley about 1 am. What an experience. 

Trying hard

 

 

 

Spring is trying hard, although we have to get through this cold spell first. Here in the lowlands, we're about to turn the corner. Up in the mountains, a different story, with blizzard warnings and feet of snow piling up this week.

Who doesn't long for spring? The older neighborhoods in Seattle are so beautiful because decades ago, homeowners planted ornamental flowering trees and old fashioned shrubs like forsythia, lilac and viburnum. The new builds are usually low-maintenance landscaping and most don't have space for even a tiny yard. 

We had a mini-spring stretch of weather in February, but I haven't been outside to work since then and it shows. John starts mowing after daylight savings time (his tradition) but that's not going to happen this wet week.  

 

Over in Carlton, a busy weekend. Friends and neighbors helped to move the backyard playhouse from the old house to the farm. Quite a project. Little did Tom know, when he built it for the girls, that it would someday be repurposed as a chicken house. 

In sad news, the game warden killed the Carlton cougar. It is a shame but cougars are rarely relocated. They suffer and struggle to survive in a new territory, or find their way back to their home range. You can't change feline nature. 

Remember that old folk song?