SPRING LIVES: Episode 4 of the series:

Four pictures from this set. The first is the usual view pondward from the house; taken from my usual place on the deck. The 'butterfly bush' is losing its flowers slowly as the leaves begin to come out. We've put in some other plants in the relatively flat area around it, and created a mulched walkway through it to the stairs. Maybe in the next two weeks there will be some greenery to show there.

This one is my more-or-less usual one of the fire pit, looking down the road past the house. The trees are just beginning to bud out, but not enough yet to be visible in the photo. By the time spring has sprung, so to speak, the sky will be just barely visible in the background.

The next photo as a slightly different one, looking back at the house from that newly planted area below the walkway to the fire pit. I wish the camera had the dynamic range to show the deck, but the sun is just too dang bright.

And the last picture is the usual one from across the pond looking back toward the house. The house is (always) just visible, but the crest of the hill is obvious. By summer the hill itself will be completely obscured by the trees. There are no real leaves on any of the trees yet, but all of them are budding out. I expect green in all the pictures by next week.

As usual, last week's pictures are here.

POWERLINE'S Week in Pictures is up. My favorite:

Now go see the rest. (Especially the definition of a Democrat. And the Mao connection.)

WELL, THEY'RE STARK RAVING MAD, SO THE ANSWER IS OBVIOUS: Would the Democrats rather win in 2020, or eat themselves alive?

TUCKER CARLSON apologizes to Joe Biden.

That's what real men do when they err.

WELL, I'LL BET the favorite color isn't red.

Um, well maybe it is.

They are hypocrites, after all.

AMMO GRRRLL: I can't even....

A RED HAT never hurt anybody.

And turnabout is fair play: she got fired herself.

OBAMA: Oh, my God, what have I done?

Chickens, roost....

POWERLINE WRITES on ineffective Democrat subpoenas. Adam Schiff (Intelligence) and Jerrold Nadler (Judiciary) seem to be the prime movers in the House's subpoena effort.

If I were the Republicans, I'd mount a two-pronged counterattack. From the White House, just respond to any question or allegation with silence: "No comment".

From the Senate, I'd have the chairmen of the corresponding Senate committees, Richard Burr (Intelligence) and Lindsey Graham (Judiciary) exactly mimic the House. For example: "You want Trump's tax records? Fine, we want Shumer's and Pelosi's."

After all, I'll bet that's the rug where the real dirt can be found....

'LOW AND DISGRACEFUL'! Democrat strategist (and Hillary supporter) viciously mocks polio survivor Mitch McConnell. Read the whole Twitter string.

I'm roughly McConnell's age, and I too had polio as a child before it was essentially eradicated by the Salk and Sabin vaccines. I have difficulty walking any distances, walking on uneven or soft surfaces, and always use a handrail when climbing or descending stairs. And it gets worse with age.

Parkomenko should be given a swift kick down a steep rocky hill, then asked how he feels when (if) he gets up. That might - might - give him some small inkling of what it's like to be a 70ish polio survivor. What a maroon!

[On reflection, Parkomenko isn't a maroon; maroons are just stupid, not vicious.]

Linked from Instapundit.

NOT ACCORDING TO DEMOCRATS: Is the Affordable Care Act unconstitutional?

'Free stuff' is always constitutional....

THAT'S ALL THEY KNOW HOW TO DO: The Democrats brazenly know they have been demanding forbidden disclosures and unrealistic deadlines.

Lie, cheat, and steal. To paraphrase the 'Mayhem Like Me' guy on television, "It's what we do."

IT'S DIFFERENT when we do it. Because shut up.

WOULDN'T YOU KNOW IT? A black racist antisemite emerges as a 2020 Democrat kingmaker.

No surprise, I guess.

NO PRIVACY AT ALL: Even your wrecked car is spying on you. And not necessarily even your wrecked car....

TUCKER CARLSON and the art of the insult.

Tucker, keep after those maroons engaging in lying, pomposity, and groupthink.
Mockery works.

STACEY ABRAMS: I’m the real winner of the Georgia gubernatorial election.

So, um, why is Brian Kemp in the Governor's office?

WELL, THAT’S BECAUSE IT IS: Nearly half of men believe the pay gap is ‘made up’.

THE SOUTHERN POVERTY LAW CENTER (SPLC): neither southern nor impoverished.

Good riddance.

BLUE CITY picks up the hammer and sickle.