Gifts of the day

Mack's yard is brightened by more and more Carlton daffodils. Some of the loquat fruits are ripening, changing from green to gold. There will be Dutch iris flowers soon; the fatness and thickening that signal the appearance of buds are making a promise. It's too soon to tell which colors will appear first. There are now three colors of blue Dutch hyacinth and two colors of pink ones. Each day, the two nasturtium varieties that are blooming give us at least one new flower. There are more and more blooms on the pea vines. Neighbors report the presence of flocks of cedar waxwings. Some years they visit us, but not yet this time around.