More signs of spring

It's been a crazy week following a crazy weekend, so I haven't much time for either blogging or collecting blog material.  That's quite okay with me, though, as the forecast for this coming weekend looks positively glorious, and I've been slogging through another cold, gray rainy week riding high on the promise of back-to-back 18 hour days of sunshine outside this weekend.  

I don't much care what we do on Saturday and Sunday so long as it's outside.  We've tossed around ideas as wide ranging as massive yard work, vacuuming the detritus of winter and about a pound of trail mix out of the footwells of my car (best not to ask), bike rides, hikes, jogging, or just sitting and roasting our bones in the sun.  Any of those is fine with me.  Seventy five degrees and sunny!   Bliss.  With the promise of that kind of deliciousness ahead, I can endure nearly anything this week, so long as it doesn't interfere with my weekend.

As an aside, I am generally very concerned about global warming and watch the changes in my climate with mounting anxiety.  I confess, though, that at the moment I care not a smidge if 75 degrees is unseasonably warm for the start of April.  Bring it on!  I shall resume caring once I stop shivering.

Although there was little time for fun last weekend, on Sunday morning we darted out to Baltimore Woods for a quick look at the wildflower gardens to see if anything else had sprung.  There wasn't much change from the previous weekend as far as flowers go.  I only have one flowering shrub to add to the list of blooms at Baltimore Woods.  This gem was positively glowing at the entrance of the trail:

I don't know what it is, and don't have a flowering shrub book to look it up in.  The most exasperating thing is that there was an identification sign.  Right there.  In front of the shrub.  I even read it, and informed my husband that I needed to remember the name of the plant.  I made a mistake of not photographing the sign, and now have zero recollection of what this lovely shrub is.

I shall have to make a mental note to check the sign this weekend.  Let's hope the mental note to check the sign will be more effective than the one I made regarding the name of the plant.  Sometimes I feel like a squirrel diligently hiding nuts all over the yard - I make so many mental notes that I can't possibly keep track of any of them.

In a slightly more sheltered area, the hepatica is making a brave leafy showing in a few spots, although it didn't have any blossoms yet.  Surely next weekend there will be some flowers.

Do you remember this little patch from my post last weekend?

There were probably half a dozen clumps just like it.  Here's how they've progressed in just one week:

Although it's no kudzu, that's still a lot of new plant cells in roughly 168 hours.  They'll probably shoot up an alarming amount in 75 degree warmth and sun this coming weekend.  In fact, they're probably shooting up right now, as I type, even though it's still chilly.

Although it is still cold, the rain dried up sometime in the course of the day and the clouds were starting to break up this evening, giving a teasing glimpse of the glory that is allegedly to follow.  Just two more work days to endure...