Easter and Beyond

Easter dawned this year with giant snowflakes. If I had published this on time last week, I would have titled this post "And the Easter Bunny Threw Snowballs." It was the end of quite a week in these parts, one that saw huge floods to the south and west of St. Louis that disrupted the lives of thousands of people. We had a little water seep through our 85-year-old stone basement walls, a normal thing for a three-inch rain. Nothing major.

The top picture is looking out the back door at our neighbor's house before we left for church. The picture at right is the view from the front porch. Exactly a year ago, this little redbud was in bloom and it got nipped, badly, by the infamous "Easter Freeze" that sent temperatures plunging into the 'teens for five nights in a row. Needless to say, the tree is more cautious this year. In fact, although our crocus bloomed last week, and we have a few daffodils showing color, about the only other spring bloom today around town is some forsythia. And the juncos are still here

I've been battling bronchitis for about two weeks now. Antibiotics helped, but I still break out in a spell at least once a day. This week I have an adventure in the St. Louis County circuit court system coming up. I'm a potential juror in a very big case. I may know on Tuesday if I've been selected or stricken from the panel or if I need to make plans to be sequestered or not. Stay tuned, although I cannot write anything about the case.

Tomorrow is the last day of March. It is scheduled to go out like a lion here, with thunderstorms expected tomorrow night. Tomorrow is also Opening Day for the St. Louis Cardinals. We have weathered another winter and the sound of "play ball" has returned to the land. Now if fixing the economy and politics were that simple. Happy end of March, everyone!