Spring. Definitely Spring.

The bluebonnets are bursting out all over the pastures...... the field behind our barn is an ocean of blue and it looks beautiful. The field in front of our house is blue and red and yellow, with the bluebonnets taking center stage around the pond.

The barn swallows have once again taken over our back porch..... they're using some of last year's nests, and have been building new ones.  The freshly-painted porch columns (just finished less than 6 months ago) are now spattered with bird poop. Some of these birds are on their third season with us.... we know which ones they are because they're familiar with us and don't fly off when we walk back and forth on the porch. The newcomers fly away as soon as we open the back door, but by mid-summer, they'll come to trust us.

Our outside cat Gatsby wouldn't come into the house last night..... with the warmer nights now, he's wanting to sleep out on the porch.  And not the hard wood of the porch, mind you.... he has chairs out there, and cat-pillows, and even a covered cat-bed on top of the picnic table.

The weeds are coming up in the flower beds.... giant weeds with deep roots that take more strength than I can manage to pull them up. I pulled up a few of them this afternoon, and almost landed on my backside as I forced them out of the ground.

Ant hills are everywhere.... in between the stones of the courtyard, in the teeniest crack on the driveway, and all over the lawns......... walking from one grassy spot to another without looking down is a fool's folly.

The cold winter days of December, January, and February are now a distant memory. Spring is here.... and will be for about three more days before the temperatures go up near 90, then go blasting past 100..... and I'm promising myself to not complain about hot days because it's easier to keep cool than it is to keep warm.