Chilling

This was the first time in several days that it was too cold to have the windows open. I miss the fresh air already, but the pearly gray sky was nice to see. There could be rain tonight and tomorrow, and maybe Wednesday as well, but it will be a fairly warm rain. That's good news for the azaleas in my back yard, which are blooming for the second time this year. They bloomed once during the unusually mild weeks of January, and I hadn't expected them to bloom again, but two of the bushes are now sporting fresh flowers, one bush red and the other white. The third bush, which failed to bloom in January, doesn't even appear to have any buds on it. It might be near the end of its life cycle.

The oaks are noticeably greener than they were a few days ago, though their new leaves are still small and sparse. As the weather has been considerably warmer than usual this year the rapid leafing of the oaks will be welcome. We might be needing their shade very soon. Meanwhile, some of the grass in the back yard is sprouting up rapidly and will soon need mowing. Because so much of that lawn has been invaded by Bermuda grass, which is still brown, it looks very odd to have several patches of taller, green grass scattered about. The back yard will soon be looking as bad as the front yard has looked for the last couple of years. At least I'll save a bit on water this summer, since there is no point in watering Bermuda grass. It stays brown all through the hot season, no matter how much water it gets.

I don't know if I'll get to do any moon watching tonight, or get a glimpse of Jupiter, as the clouds have gotten fairly thick. It will be too chilly to spend much time outdoors anyway, but I won't mind if I get to hear some rain falling on the roof and running through the down spouts. There hasn't been enough of that this year.