Town square

Dig up whatever was there...pour concrete, then start setting the bricks.  People who wanted to purchase a brick to memorialize anyone they chose paid $50 toward a beautiful town square.  Hopefully by the warmer weather it will be finished.

At the top of the slope, with the fire department in the background, children enjoy the Chamber of Commerce's huge rockers.

Hellebores

Such delicacies!

Blooming by the lake

Short blooms

first the weeping cherry on the corner a week ago...

And the Bradford Pear across the street

With lots of sun and warm days, they didn't last a week, and are sadly dropping petals all over.

Today is rainy and we've got some cooler weather now, so perhaps the next round of blooms will last a bit longer.

Spring in the 'hood

In just 2 hot days the Bradford Pear tree just decided to shake it up and bloom-forth!

We have some older homes, and some newer ones.  It's a comfortable dead end street.  No kids.  I'm glad of that, because I've already raised mine, and want a quiet neighborhood.  That may change with the turnovers that are about to happen.  I'll see how it is.

Afternoon shadows

While shadows lengthen across the grass, there that robin is again. She's up early to catch her worms, and her hubby is nearby too.

Yes, a pair is the way birds seem to work best together.

A ducky commotion

 Mallard males have been run off by the white duck...

 A woman who was closer to the scene told me that the white duck was mating with one of the grey ducks... and how long did I think they could hold their breath under water?

 He would use his bill to grab her neck every once in a while and pull her nostrils out of the water for a second.

 This went on for several minutes.  And I just took a few pictures, and stared dumbfounded. 

Then finally she was up and able to swim away...toward the Mallards.  But she wasn't exactly of that species either.

And the next day as I walked by, there's that little dark female next to her mate.  They should have some interesting looking ducklings, if he lets her raise them at all.  He seemed a bit aggressive.

Traaaaaaaain

You hear it first, then the rumble, and when you look through the trees at the clay studio, it's going pretty fast, but just look how big that engine is towering above that SUV that's stopped at the crossing!  I'm always awestruck by the power it represents.

Snowcaps

The Blue Ridge still has snow, which landed at night, and will probably melt during the day.  Lakeview Senior Center on Lake Tomahawk enjoys the warm sunshine these days.

Spring finally

Drive on Laurel Circle, and there's a hint of spring coming through pinkness.  Drive into Asheville, a hundred feet or so less elevation, and there are many more blossoms showing.  It's Spring.