The sights and sounds of spring

I took a couple days off from work this week because the weather has been beautiful and I didn't want to miss spring. Some years I do.

Yesterday morning I was about to sit on the glider and have my morning coffee when...

I'm not sure what Violet's spring hours are but from nowhere, there she was, on top of some knitting patterns I wanted to look at. She knew there was some good reading material out there before I even brought out the knitting books.

All cats do this. Why? And what is so captivating about books, magazines and blank paper waiting for something to be written on it? I could sit and stare at a spot on the floor but that's not going to compel a cat to settle in on that spot, blame it on some mysterious intense power of localized gravity, and then defiantly stare back at you. If you set out a Sunday New York Times in the middle of the jungle, would  lions and tigers race to sprawl on top of it? I think they would.

Well, I had knitting books to look at, a full cup of coffee and it was a pretty, pretty morning. I could stall Violet out if needed. The bright white blossoms were falling off the crab apple tree and then carried a short distance across the yard by a breeze. Behind me, the kerria blossoms were floating to the ground. Just so restful and pretty.

I had just let Cathy Jean out because she was so adamant about getting out of her tank that morning. She's not a peony stomper like her brother Michael Ray so I don't have a problem letting her loose in the yard before I put up the barricades to try and protect what's starting to come up in the backyard. Cathy Jean settled in the turtle's favorite spot by the kerria and it didn't seem like she missed her brother one bit. And she wasn't bothered by the yellow petals that occasionally fell on her either.

The sounds of spring. Every bird out there was singing its little heart out. Carpenter bees were buzzing under the glider trying to figure out if they could drill holes in the recessed spots that held screws. They can't. They do this every year. Violet had a good time swatting them (and without having to leave the paper she was lying on... quelle surprise).

But then......the sounds of early summer. Police cars. Helicopters. An hour or so later...police cars...helicopters. This went on all day. I always know winter and cold weather is long gone when the first nice day is announced with the sounds of crime being chased.