Perhaps Spring…Estate Sales...and Then!

We both love spring and the annual ‘rebirth’ of the trees and flowers.  Also, since we lived in the St. Louis Missouri area and in Northern Illinois, Greater Chicagoland, most of our lives, we really don’t like winter with its cold temperatures, snow and ice.  So every year we look for an end to the short and generally mild winters that we experience here in East Tennessee.

The first rays of hope for warmer weather were observed in little plants…mosses and other related tiny plants that I noted in Laurie’s herb planters on the deck as well as the blooming little bunches of moss in our yard.  They are like a mini-eco system!  I didn't know that some mosses actually have blooms...

Promising warmer weather really got the annual estate sale business cranked up as well.  Although we live in an open community…no gates, no age restrictions…most residents are retirees.  Consequently, there is a steady turnover of homes and downsizing as folks move to smaller quarters, assisted living or they pass on… Lots of traffic and a few parking challenges for sure!

A couple of weeks ago, Laurie and I went to two estate sales on the same day.  One was just a bunch of stuff and the other was pretty decent…but we didn’t see anything that we ‘needed’.  The weather was beautiful so it was a good time to be out and about.

In our yard, flowers were beginning to pop!  In addition to the grape hyacinths, quince and forsythia, our daffodils, jonquils, and Lenten roses were all blooming.  Even our redbud trees were beginning to flower!  Hooray!  The temperature hit 67 F on Friday…

…AND THEN!

Canada sent some really cold weather south and on Saturday morning we woke up to a temperature of 27 F…and, at least for East Tennessee, a lot of snow!  We had about 5 inches of snow on back deck with the wet and heavy stuff clinging to tree branches, bushes and just about anything else.  The only exceptions were our driveway, large boulders and the street in front of our home.  Due to a run of warm weather, they had built up and retained enough heat to melt the snow!  While the effect was beautiful, we still don’t like all the white stuff…

Knoxville recorded 7.5 inches of snow at the airport and other reports from locations around the Tennessee valley reported snow accumulation of up to 9 inches.  Worse yet, the temperature plummeted down to 18 F here last night.  The good news is that we should be back in the mid 40 F’s today and starting tomorrow, we’re back in the mid-60 F range or higher.  Hopefully, all of our spring blooms survived the sudden snowy and brief cold snap…

Just click on any of the photos to enlarge them.

Thanks for stopping by for a visit!

Take Care, Big Daddy Dave