Both of your "blooming" stories sound wonderful.

Yonuh, when my mother lived in Green Valley, she told me she selected the lot their house was built on particularly because of the beautiful Palo Verde tree in their back yard.

Sandy, I love magnolia trees, though I am not quite sure what a spider magnolia is. Guess I will have to look that up. My sister, who lives in Racine, WI, has a beautiful magnolia tree in her back yard. She sent me a picture of it in early bloom a couple of weeks ago, and it was so stunning.

Around here, in northern Illinois, the lilacs and ornamental plum trees in my neighborhood have been blooming for a couple of weeks now. Same with the tulips and daffodils.

The trees - elms and oaks and maples - started leafing out a couple of weeks ago, and some are already in full leaf. The birch tree outside my office window hasn't leafed out yet, but it has seed pods handing from it, and visible buds.

However, it was 32 this morning, so not sure what to expect next!