Fake Dandelion Invasion

The Lovely One was off to the highlands of Scotland, and left me a honey dew list. It is " Honey do this" and "Honey do that" before you leave for work in Nassau Bahamas on Tuesday.

If you live anywhere in the northeast part of North America, you will know that we have had an amazing stretch of warm, record-breaking weather. Yesterday it was 27 degrees Celsius or 80.6 degrees Fahrenheit. Just a couple of days ago, I was chopping ice and snow trying to reduce a huge snowbank left by the snowplow, and now everything is melted away just like my retirement savings after the tech boom crashed.

So after playing handyman for a few hours, I decided to go for a walk in the balmy spring weather. I looked in the ditch near the road, and behold, I saw a profusion of yellow flowers. They looked like dandelions.
They weren't. They were fake dandelions. And they were growing in the scrubbiest of all places -- the ditch.

All of the flies, bees and bugs that hatched in the warm weather





These things seem to like growing in gravel. I have been googling like crazy to try and find a name for these things. If you happen to know the name of them, please leave a comment.

But the surest sign that spring has arrived comes from a picture that I took north of Bowmanville Ontario on Thursday.

I don't know the name of it now, but it is the old Erin Lee Golf Course on Taunton Road a few kilometers after you exit from Highway 115 and before you get to Liberty Street from Bowmanville. The course was open and it was packed.


I didn't see any fake dandelions there. But I suspect there was a lot of fake scores.

Pour mon ami Yves

I promised my friend Yves who is in the Bahamas some pictures of what spring looks like in the hills of Quebec today.

"Yves, ce sont les images du la belle province car elle jette son manteau d'un autre hiver."

Our backyard is to my right. This is the walk to the Gatineau River.

Further down the road.

Crossing the road, are the tracks of the old steam train from Hull to Wakefield.

The train tracks.

Winter survivor.

Cottage country road along the Gatineau River.

I love Canadian cottages.

The hills are starting to turn green.

Spring is Springing

I am up in the north, still under a blanket of snow, but spring is sprung. It is in the air. The snow is disappearing day by day. Holes in the snow and ice are getting bigger. The air is warmer. The smells of fresh air and newly exposed earth permeate the air.

Spring always creates the impression of optimism, excitement and wonder in me. It is the promise of sunny beautiful days to come. It makes me feel young. Spring is early this year. Bring it on.

And in honour of spring, here is Marilou doing Edith Piaf's big hit "L'hymne a l'amour" at Versailles in France: