Sunday and Monday

  
   As the saying goes, "April showers bring May flowers". This is true but the last few days have been so hot that the flowers have bloomed and faded without a chance to photograph them.  Now the trees are beginning to green up or, as this maple in front of my neighbour's house testifies, produce many different hues. When its leaves appear, they are a shiny  purple bronze colour. I'm not sure which type of maple it is. Maybe one of my readers can supply that information. Some trees are still completely bare, some have just a hazy green to them and there are a few that are well covered with leaves already.

   My little planter on the front porch, which has morphed from its winter style with the addition of some pansies, was improved with a couple of forsythia stalks but they will soon need to be replaced. It's too early to plant annuals or tender vegetables as frost can still occur up to the end of this month. Hardly seems likely with the high temperatures we have had recently, but best to err on the safe side.

   James was here today and seems fully recovered - ate everything I put in front of him, and asked for more! Yesterday I was "stooging" again for the teacher candidates, thoroughly exhausting but someone has to do it. There were 18 of us this time so we didn't need to stand in for all the candidates. I was done (in more ways than one) by 4:30. Got a nice e-mail this morning from their instructor with thanks from all the candidates and herself.