Almost Red Bud

Gina and I set off for the UC Davis Arboretum this morning to see what Spring and a patient Mother Earth had brought forth. It is a truly dazzling display, and it isn't over yet. I just wanted to have a walk through before leaving for the tropics.


The Red Buds are just about to burst into full bloom; right now the trees are loaded with tiny pink bumps that will flower into deep cerise and fuchsia blossoms. Ornamental rosemary is a vivid blue in the deep green fragrant needles.

The Acacia trees are barely starting; enough to make an asmatic sneeze, but not yet turned fully an egg-yolk yellow. There are several beds of daffodils, a whole bank of alstromera that are not going to bloom for a couple of months but the greenery is up, announcing their imminent appearance. I have watched this bed get larger and larger every year, spreading along a bank of Putah Creek. They are a gorgeous pinky-beige color when they finally get around to showing off.

Nemo, Gina's three-footed dog was nuts for chasing the ducks that wander the banks of the creek and seem to own the place. They were out in flocks, floating in the rather murkey water but having a fine time nonetheless. In a few more weeks the baby ducklings will show up, little yellow puffs dotting the water. In all the years I spent on the campus, watching this annual miracle, I never once saw a duck egg. I have no idea where they are hidden. All know is one day there are no babies; suddenly there are a couple hundred. I must have been absent that day in biology.

While I was out at a luncheon this afternoon The Patient began getting his beach gear together. He tried on a pair of shorts just to see how badly they fit. Not too badly. But what I was interested in was how thin he has gotten and how he would look. Would he have lost those great basketball player legs? Not at all!

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