Spring is coming.... slowly

It's spring time in Holland but sometimes it's hard to tell.  Our temperatures continue to get down to the mid 30's each night with highs in the 50's during the day.  Last year at this time Don and Joan visited us and we sat outside on the patio in our shirt sleeves to enjoy the 80 degree days.  Not this year.

Despite the cool weather my tulips are up.  I planted 400 new bulbs last fall.  You'd think that would give acres and acres of solid color, but it actually results in fairly small patches.  The colors are beautiful; I just wish I had more.  It makes you appreciate the Kuekenhof with their millions of bulbs.  That's how you get acres of color.

About a third of my landscaping from last year got killed off by the freeze.  

Finally, after almost three months our street has re-opened and we can drive to our home.  It is great to drive all the way to the house instead of walking for two blocks.  I celebrated and went to the grocery store to restock on all the things I didn't want to carry that far.  With cat litter, cleaning supplies, diet cokes, paper towels plus food I ended up spending almost $300!

It is tough to see, but the street is constructed with bricks.  They put down a rock/gravel subsurface,, put sand on top of that, go over it with vibrators to compact the sand. When's that's done, 2-3 men lay the bricks by hand in a herringbone pattern.  It's a lot of bricks.  The also refurbished the sidewalk with new pavers.   

Graber has his spring hair cut.  

Someone's soccer ball (not ours) as ended up in the canal across from our home.  I can't decide whether to call the Canadian Ambassador and ask him to fish it out or to get out our rowboat and get it ourselves.