What My Weekend Looked Like

Here is a collection of pictures from my weekend, and I think I'm going to do a post like this every weekend. As I was uploading these photos, I saw that Temporary Librarian had done the same thing. Maybe it was one of those psychic things?

This weekend I went to San Marcos de Apalache Historic State Park, saw the St. Marks River flowing into the Apalache Bay, kayaked the Wakulla River, saw hundreds of fiddler crabs (but they scurried away so fast that I only got a few in the picture), and basked in lots and lots of sunshine.

Spring Quiet

To celebrate the Spring Equinox, here are some pictures of the magnolia in bloom outside our bedroom window, and a poem that seems to describe our yard perfectly:

 Spring Quiet


Gone were but the Winter,
Come were but the Spring,
I would go to a covert
Where the birds sing.

Where in the whitethorn
Singeth a thrush,
And a robin sings
In the holly-bush.

Full of fresh scents
Are the budding boughs
Arching high over
A cool green house:

Full of sweet scents,
And whispering air
Which sayeth softly:
"We spread no snare;

"Here dwell in safety,
Here dwell alone,
With a clear stream
And a mossy stone.

Here the sun shineth
Most shadily;
Here is heard an echo
Of the far sea,
Though far off it be."

-- Christina Rossetti (1847)

Spring

Hello, Internet. I'm back and ready to post a little more frequently on this blog. Here's a quick summary of what happened while I was gone.

 Somehow I didn't post at all during spring, the most spectacular time of year in Tallahassee. But we were outside a lot of the time enjoying the season: the camellias blooming and carpeting the ground with their blossoms, the cherry trees, then the oriental magnolias, then the pears and dogwoods and poppies, and then native magnolia, wisteria, and masses of tiny pink-purple wildflowers in our back yard.

A cherry tree.

An oriental magnolia.

A camellia.

We did the Backyard Bird Count, but we saw this Baltimore oriole a couple of days before. He was so bright that it looked like he was glowing.

We gave Malinda the rest of the red felt that I used to make the Christmas tree skirt, and she spent a lot of time sleeping on it.

And one really exciting thing happened: David finished writing his book manuscript!

To celebrate, we spent Spring Break in Hillsville visiting David's family. Here he is with his cousin Sheree, his mother Ann, and his brother John.