I don't think I ever managed to find a lucky four-leaf clover, as a child-- not enough patches of clover, not enough time, or not enough patience?-- but every single one of these has four leaves. Do you think they're all lucky? ;o)
Spring snowflakes continue to bloom. That makes me feel lucky, too!
Donald commented that some of the new daylily foliage looks like tulip leaves. I haven't had much first-hand experience of tulips because they don't grow well here (it doesn't get cold enough to chill them properly), but I've seen photos and illustrations. I think new tulip foliage is usually fleshier than this, but there is a resemblance.
(Is that chickweed? I think so... There's quite a bit of it around the flowerbeds, right now. If I'm not mistaken, it usually dies back once the weather heats up-- only to replaced by other types of weeds-- but it wouldn't hurt to get out there and pull some of it. That is, it would hurt my knees and maybe my back, if I had to kneel too long to pull it, but, well, you know what I mean...)
The remnants of the bog sage look skeletal and ghostly-grey in the early morning light...
The tea olives (Osmanthus fragrans) are in bloom, but most days, lately, the fragrance just doesn't "carry" very far. It's there if you take the time to stop and sniff, though.
The new leaves of the "too-red" rose are probably the prettiest in the yard-- beautiful purplish burgundy.
I neglected to post these back when I took them-- January 20th. There was a doe outside our fence that morning. I sneaked a few photos through the window. This is the first deer we've seen for a while.
One day, within the last week or so, we saw a handsome hawk perched (in broad daylight) on the new arbor (near the garage). It's not the first time I've glimpsed a bird of prey either on the arbor or on our roof, but this time it sat still long enough for us to really see it. There wasn't time to get the camera for a photo, unfortunately.
It's always a treat to see something wild like that, right in your own back yard.
