home again

Spring break, n: school holiday or vacation occurring roughly during the middle of a spring academic term. In other words: the eye of the storm.

It is very sweet to be home. *sigh*

Yesterday I went to the Boston Flower Show with a good friend and fellow plant-lover, Emily. The Philadelphia Flower Show is heavy on spectacle and competitions, with less emphasis on inspiration and things real home gardeners can do. The Boston Flower Show has plenty of the latter two items. The theme was similarly not highfalutin': Container Gardening. How practical for the city dweller! I find this type of flower show more endearing and approachable. Though I don't think I am the type to join a Garden Club, as I shun competition when it regards things I truly love,* I respect garden clubs and think they are quite wonderful in an idealized small-town neighborly sort of way. 

Unfortunately, flower shows have hideous lighting which makes for bad photos. But here is a sample:

Delphiniums, juniper, pine, and white tulips, among other plants, in the Garden of the Treehouse

spring tease

It really is terribly ironic:  I drove south to Philadelphia hoping to find more springlike weather, and I found that in spades. What happens in Ithaca while I am gone? It snows, also in spades (shovel-fulls, to be precise). A foot and a half of heavy snow. Ugh. I should post a snow photo, to contrast with the spring-flower-filled photos below, but I don't want to give the snow any more publicity. Snow now completely covers the windows of my basement room, blocking out all but a thin, blue light. I want to flee again.

I am way too tired this evening to post anything more exciting, but I'll give you some eye candy.

They just look like they're singing, don't they? Since I recently posted some (comparatively thin and sad-looking) crocus photos, here is something different (not yet blooming in Ithaca, not for another month).

Winter aconite. I always forget the name of this flower, for some reason. Very sweet, with its little ruff of leaves.

photo credit: Kelly Shipman

Kelly snapped a photo of me taking a photo of the winter aconite. A characteristic pose, for me.

Souvenirs from the flower show, now decorating the bulletin board above my desk. I do not yet have a garden of my own (tragedy), so the seeds are for my parents. Other bulletin board accessories include a photo with friends from Senior Ball circa 2004, and the label of a mineral water from the town in Italy where I am returning at the beginning of April.
It was a wonderful weekend, all in all, and despite the snowy welcoming, I do feel invigorated, or I will right after I... zzzzz... snor... zzzz... wha... oh yes, hi. On Saturday, Kelly, Alice, and I roamed around Mt. Airy (me in cotton blouse and light jacket!), making highly satisfactory visits to the Trolley Car Diner (most impressive beer selection of any diner I've ever seen, wow), a yarn store, and a used-book shop, chronologically. I picked up some spicy red sock yarn and a lovely hardcover edition of The Annotated Alice in Wonderland, to replace my battered and coverless paperback version.
Last night in Philly it rained, hard, and the sound of the rain on the windows of Kelly's apartment made me feel cozy as we talked late into the night over mugs of tea. I am lucky to have such beautiful, intelligent friends and relations!