SPRINGTIME 2021, Week 8: Well ... the leaves didn't come. The leaves didn't come! Looks like I was off by a week or few. Here's the almost usual pond picture -- just taken from roughly halfway from the deck to the fire pit.

The difference this time is that last year that picture couldn't be taken; the brush would have already obscured it. That's been cleared -- hopefully permanently. Note that the hardwoods are not cooperating. They're blooming, just not showing leaves as I had expected last week.

Here's our house, taken from the same spot as the one above. Again much of the brush has been cleared, and the pines are showing clearly but the hardwoods, both to the left and in the background are recalcitrant.

Looking north toward the fire pit, the brush is cleared but the hardwoods are still not cooperating.

The dogwood outside our kitchen window has decided to go full bloom this year. I don't think I've ever seen it this full. It has leaves showing, but the white blossoms have shown real staying power this year. The smaller deciduous softwoods and brush on the south side are rapidly getting their green on. Since there's been almost no attempt to clear the brush on that side, I expect it will begin to dominate the skyline by next week.

Finally, our road. Since it's lined with mostly oaks, I to expect our 'tunnel' to reappear this year, but as you can see the trees are still mostly bare.

'Till next week, then....