St. Patricks day at White Rock

On St. Patty's day I had the pleasure of spending a few hours in White Rock.  What a treat to hear the Surrey Fire Department band playing by the pier.  On the way home we drove through a small village I never knew about, Arnold, on Sumas flats, near Majuba Hill.

First Day of Spring 2015

It may technically be the first day of spring here in the Fraser Valley, but in truth, we are about 3-4 weeks ahead with the spring weather this year.  The magnolia trees which generally bloom around our anniversary (April 7), are now already losing their blossoms.  Although it's raining today, the smell outside is amazing, and I wish I could just bottle it up!

 

Even the dogwood buds are starting to fill out. 

The lilac will be blooming soon too! 

Walked around the house and saw the bluebells all in bloom. 

 

 

 

And if you don't like rats...scroll no further! (Click the x on the corner of your screen and leave this blog now!) For those of you without a rat phobia, (or if you're brave enough to look LOL) this is Raticus, Jeremy's new pet.  He's actually a super lovable little critter. (if you're not afraid of rats, that is!)  He is expected to grow quite a bit yet, and Jer hopes to train him.   

A walk in my neighborhood

Nothing quite beats a walk in the spring sunshine (okay, not exactly spring according to the calendar, but the weather is spring).  We are fortunate to live on the fence between town and country, so a few minutes walking can take you from a street lined with homes to a farm along a creek.  It's really the best of both worlds in my opinion.  Near the end of a walk today with my cousin Corissa, we spotted a plum tree at the end of a dead end road.  Turns out, the city now owns this piece of property, and plans to pull a road through this section, meaning that all 3 plum trees located there are coming down.  The man who sold it to the city, encouraged us to take as many flowering branches home as we wanted.  That's when I got the crazy idea to bring my VW van over.  I've always wanted to take pictures of it under a flowering tree, but seriously, how likely are the chances that you find 2 that you can drive right underneath.  While parked there we also spotted several bushtits building a nest.  It was amazing how close they actually let us get to them.  And of course, it's always a good day when you see a beautiful butterfly! (after this walk, I didn't miss Minter Gardens quite as much)

This tree is soooooo sad :(  rather butchered! 

This lilac along Bell Creek is always the first in the neighborhood to bloom. 

It amazing, how when you keep your eyes open, you find little bits of beauty everywhere.