A beautiful spring day

The weather was beautiful in Seattle in yesterday, and I spent the morning outside working hard. There was an incentive to get things done, because more "typical" weather is coming in next week. Much cooler, near freezing at night with rain and wind in the lowlands, and snow in the mountains. Oh, boy.

Right now our streets are lined with lovely pink flowering cherry trees, making it pleasant just driving around in the sunshine. The Magnolia liliiflora is one of the flashier bloomers, and it's often called the "tulip tree." Technically these are shrubs, but the Japanese magnolia above is at least 30 feet tall. It grows in front of a mansion on a viewpoint I drive by on my way home to our little old bungalow.

Magnolias are native to southwest China, but were introduced to the west from Japan, hence the name. I have a little star magnolia in the yard, and another unknown type in a pot that blooms early. Magnolias are magnificent big trees in parts of the south, not overgrown "shrubs" like here. They always make me think of Scarlett O'Hara.