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I’ve been collecting pictures of the flowers in our backyard and around our neighborhood the past few weeks. The lilacs were prettiest the first full week in April, when only about half of a bunch were bloomed. There’s a house at the end of our street with the most beautiful redbud tree and tulip garden. I admire it every spring and I’ll certainly miss it when we’re not here to see it next year. And that alien-like fungus growing on the coniferous tree branches!! It’s Gymnosporangium juniperi-virginianae; “at the first warm rain of spring, the spore horns become gelatinous masses and produce their teliospores.” Or maybe it’s the Pacific Northwest tree octopus ;) My all-time favorite, though, is still the Renaissance spirea, the spray of tiny white flowers. I keep an eye on the shrubs in our backyard to make sure I get to see it before all the flowers bloom. Little buds are the cutest part of flowers in spring.

Over the weekend, Nat (and Cody) and I drove to St. Louis to visit Megan and see Jenae, whose work was part of a fashion show Sunday night. Megan and Nat and I stayed up late Saturday night watching Practical Magic and on Sunday before the show we went out to get me a tattoo as an early birthday present to myself. The fashion show was really cool. Jenae’s line was incredible and it was awesome to see her work again. It was such a good weekend. But Monday morning I got really sick, and after a trip to the ER in the middle of last night it’s been determined I have gallstones. So that’s super fun. I imagine I’ll have my gallbladder out within the coming days. 2015 is the year for surgeries!

All pictures from April here