Late Spring in Seattle

 

It looks like a wedding every day here--- there are flower petals everywhere. First the cherry trees, and now this.

First Weekend at the Lake in 2016

We thought we might have missed the daffodils but we're in luck.

The water is on.  It's not forecast to go below freezing while we are in Seattle.

Texas Times

April is a stormy month with rapid wild weather swings.  This week we had a severe thunderstorm and hail warning for our area.  After what happened last month, I moved the car under the roof at the gas station.  Lots of people had the same idea as you can see from the pictures below.  I think every roofer within 1000 miles is now in Plano Texas.  Every house has needed roof repair.  Last months storm took out all of the South West facing windows including our bedroom.  I fortunately got word from my coworker that it was coming so drive under a vacant car port and only had a few dents.  You can see what golf ball to softball size hail can do.

Lots of birds back for spring.  The Green Herons are building a nest in the tree outside our window today and we saw our first Yellow Crested Night Heron last week.  Two red tail hawks also hunting by the pond most days.

Flowers at the Arboretum are in full bloom.
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The view from the gas station just before the storm hit.  Cars rapidly pulled under the gas station roof to avoid the hail damage though only small pellets in this storm.  The worst was 3 miles North where they has softball size hail.  One of the cars from this is below.

One of the cars in our parking lot at work that went through this weeks hail storm.

 

Our apartment buildings after golf ball size hail last month.  Every south and west facing window broken including our bedroom.

 

Roofers are making some money.  Here is a picture down a typical street with roof signs in every yard.

 

Our Local Albertson's closing due to a rent raising issue.  They put all their wine on 30% discount after all other discounts (now 40%).  I got a lot of good deals.

 

 Lots of wild life by the pond behind our office.

 The arboretum in full bloom.

Happy Birthday Grand-MA

Czech Recap

 We started out in Cesky Krumlov, a picturesque town with a castle looming over.

View from the castle.

 

 

Seidel home and photo studio (glass area) - a great museum, left as he used it. Beautiful art-deco furnishings.

Then on to Prague, also very picturesque.  Had mostly really good food, discovered Mucha, an artist we didn't know of, and loved the operas and ballet.  Public transport was free for over 70s.

Mucha window in the castle cathedral.  He also was a very successful graphic artist doing posters, some much like the one in Tim's dining room, and later, spent many years doing a series of 30 or more, huge paintings depicting Czech history.

State Opera House, one of 3 similar venues for opera and ballet. 

Had a lovely day in a park on the grounds of a previous castle with a beautiful church, refurbished in late 1800s in art-deco style.