Got my day off to a nice start 

with a relaxing soak in the hot tub this morning.

Everything is blooming madly, and I can enjoy a lovely view from the tub.  

One of my favorites is the bottlebrush.

Washed out color in this shot, but that's a very happy bush!

(Pokey likes to hang out underneath it.)

The trees along the center ditch out back leafed out in their usual strange order this spring.  

And as always, one lagged way behind, making me think that it had finally died.  But as always, despite being the exact same tree as the others (except for the one cottonwood on the south end), it was just a very late bloomer.

The bottle-brush in the NW corner of the Back 40 

is getting ready to be quite dramatic.

During my soak I called Andy.  He and Sandy were driving home from Philly, where he'd been attending a conference.  We didn't talk long (he was recovering from a cold and saving his voice) but I did get an up-date on Mom.  The latest is that she is slated to be released home on April 26. 

That, of course, is wonderful news!

It means that barring some unforeseen circumstance, 

we should be able to hang out in her apartment during my up-coming visit.  

Forgot to mention that last night Tom and I caught up on several recorded Jeopardy programs where the current champion was QUITE impressive.  A "professional sports gambler" (who knew there even was such a thing?!) he already has racked up incredibly impressive amounts of money, totaling about a quarter of a million dollars in just 4 appearances!