spring!

While we know that most of our friends and family have been suffering through prolonged winter weather the past month or so, it has been simply beautiful here. Evening walks in this little village are awfully picturesque.

And then sometimes it's just plain quirky. For example the side of this house....

Have you figured it out yet? Snails. Stone snails making a line across the house. Lots of things are named after snails around here - like restaurants. Hmm. Not sure about that one.

It's also traditional to decorate your trees for Easter like this:


There are so many song birds! I'm not sure if it's just quiet enough here to hear the birds or if there truly are more song birds in this region, but either way, its pretty incredible. One night we walked past this really plain looking black bird with an orange beak. And then it started to sing - beautiful! They make the most amazing sounds!

Fruit tree blossoms are everywhere. I think this one is a cherry tree. When we ride the bus everyday, we pass fields with woods in the background. All the grass is bright green with fresh green foliage on most of the trees. The cherry trees covered in white blossoms stand alone in the midst of all that green.


Just off our balcony is a Magnolia tree. It's huge though not particularly well shaped. Nevertheless, we watched it bud anticipating how grand it would be when it flowered. We were not disappointed.




The sheer volume of blooms has been quite a spectacle while they've lasted.

And to top off all this spring glory? Allergies. I'm sparing you the sight of my half swollen shut eye and rashy face. That one's not so pretty.