The tulips are coming into bloom, weeping cherry in bloom, quince and peonies about to go, and the pond has reached the magical 58 degrees at which one can feed fish safely—if we had fish. But that’s getting closer. It means the nights are getting warmer, while the days are staying chilly.

One of the hardier water lilies has broken the pond surface with 2 leaves, and other lilies are on the way up.

Lotus won’t report in for a while yet. But it should be fine.

Raven paid us his annual visit. The rascal nipped a major branch off our weeping cherry 2 or 3 years ago, so the whole growth pattern was affected, but we still enjoy him. He’s one of our annual residents.

The pond is staying clear. I’ll be interested to see how clear now that this warming trend has set in, but so far so good.