"flowers that boom in the spring, tra la"

If you are a fan of Gilbert and Sullivan operettas, you will recognize my title as being from The Mikado. It seemed appropriate for the photos I'm posting here. My front flower bed is full of bulbs that bloom this time of year, as well as the pink and purple ground cover in front. Makes a nice show in March and April. Later this spring, the iris will be equally showy. I love bulbs because once they are in the ground, they just come up year after year with no fuss. I have to admit, however, that tulips are not among those bulbs. I've never had much luck with them. Seems as if they last a couple of years and then just die out.

We've had several days of nice spring weather lately. A bit on the blustery side, but mostly sunshine and blue skies. I just wish we could have a month of temperatures between 60 and 70. I know we won't get that. May will arrive with a flourish of 80 plus temperatures. And summer will be upon us. I guess I'd better enjoy spring while it's here.

Next week I'm heading southwest into Virginia for a brief family visit. I'll probably drive over through northwestern Maryland and West Virginia and then come down into Virginia to reach Harrisonburg. It's not the shortest route, which would be going down around DC and west from there. However, the northern route is much more pleasant. It's scenic, rural, and has no traffic jams. I don't mind an extra half hour of driving, especially in the spring when the trees are in bloom.

We had a nice Easter service this morning. At the end of the service, the choir and congregation all sang part of Handel's Messiah. This is an Easter tradition at our church. It sounded surprisingly good, considering there were at least as many singing from the congregation as from the choir. It was my first time singing the alto part. (I sang soprano for most of my life, but lately those high notes just aren't in my range.) I really like the alto part - I could actually hit all the notes without straining!

Happy Easter everyone!