Fresh air

Spring is finally here! It feels so good to get back in to the yard and see what made it through the winter. But first..

Lisa's birthday! As per her request, we had a nice evening in with one of our favorite meals, cranberry chicken and roasted potatoes. The dinner was complete with wine, flowers, and a fair amount of loot.

Instead of cake, Lisa requested a peach crostada. Luckily, she wasn't about to task me with making the crust. She made it ahead of time and I took it from there!

See the lone candle burning?

Now we head outside. Spring blooms are up, including our crocuses:

and irises:

Our peas are doing well. We've lost a few, but the rest look good. Hopefully we'll have peas in a month or so!!

Yesterday we bought another tree to plant in the front yard. The raintree we had there was looking pretty sad and was mostly dead. Being the center of the yard, we needed something a little more alive. Plus, the purpose of that tree is to block the headlights from the side street that shine right in our window. So, we did a bit of searching and finally found one to bring home. It was a little too big for Lisa's car, but we managed:

It is a weeping yaupon holly -- evergreen (good for screening), red berries (good for bird watching), and only gets to be about 10' high (good for hurricanes). After pulling the old tree out (and saving the crocuses planted around it), we got the new tree settled. Here I am putting the crocuses back:

Doesn't she look nice? We'll wait for her to settle in before we prune her and make her look more shapely, but we are pretty happy with her! This is the 3rd tree we have put in this spot...I hope 3rd time is the charm.

Finally, we had to mention this awesome pizza recipe we came across recently. It is so good. Olive oil, sauteed asparagus and garlic, and fontina cheese. Yum.