Garbage Day (2nd Annual?)

Hey, look what I just found in the woods and brook beside my house:

Ok, ok, I know - another boring post about garbage.  But here's my point:  People who litter are selfish and lazy.  Please don't be one of them.

Signs of Spring

Look what I found, peeking out of the ground beside my house!

(I actually hate these things (hence the obvious lack of care around them) - they're tiger lilies, and the place is overrun with them . But still. SPRING!)

Buds on the lilac bushes, and a brilliant blue sky.



Birds everywhere (all of whom managed to elude my camera)

And yes, even the inevitable garbage in the brook, waiting for me to get out there and do some Spring Cleaning (remember garbage day last year?).


Even though the yard actually looks pretty desolate right now.


Even though I know that we probably haven't seen the last of the snow, yet.
Even though it's technically still Winter...

Spring is definitely on its way!

Sometimes what I'm working on really doesn't warrant 'before & after' shots (trust me, you don't want to see photos of the basement door I spent the last hour painting. Though, I am definitely grateful to finally have use of it again. But that's a story for another day)

Anyway, how about a transformation that I didn't really have anything to do with (unless you count the fact that I could see the potential, even in the dreariness of Spring)? Here's what my backyard looked like before I moved in:


Those gnarly old trees are apple trees - I have the remains of a small orchard. Neat, huh?

And here's what my backyard looks like today:

With everything so green and full-grown, it's almost 'cocoon-like'. Love!

I feel so lucky that my property already had tons of mature shrubs and flowers. Every week it's fun to discover what is blooming - so of course, I take pictures:













And most recently:













I am currently LOVING this last one, which just started blooming this weekend. So pretty!