A Slow Start To Spring

  It was bound to happen...

  Spring, that is. 

  Better late than never, I say.

  Walking around Panicale, or out in the surrounding area, I have kept a keen eye on the flowering trees, various wisteria vines, and wildflowers. Waiting, waiting....All of a sudden, it happens. The sun comes out, the wind dies down (a little), and the warmth of the air just makes things pop.

  Boom. I am so ready.

I just hope I get to see these bad boys bloom before we leave!

  On our almost daily walks to Paciano, I have been eyeing a few choice flowering fruit trees...

  The last week they didn't let me down.

Just outside the walls of Paciano. 

A real beauty I've been watching for weeks!

Flowering quince near Paciano.
I especially like it with the olive.

This one has gone from bare branches to full bloom while we have been here.
 Again, on our morning walk to Paciano. I love the lines of this.

A peach, I think. Near Panicale.

  Last year I wrote about Yellow & Green in the landscape here. It is something to behold. As the wheat fields and mustard fields come into bloom again, I am still in awe. 

  This year, I've noticed a couple of yellow and green combos that I really love...

Forsythia in back, with a fantastic Mahonia in front. The Forsythias are in bloom all over now,
and I am loving them. Mahonia is more rare, but super happy here.

  In all the olive groves and local vineyards, the tiny wildflowers are a true carpet of color. I'll readily admit, I don't know the names of these fellows, but I sure enjoy seeing them. Always together, blue and yellow and green...Magic.

More of my favorites, an annual Euphorbia that is a "weed" here.

  A real harbinger of spring, the wild violets just slay me. We don't see these at home, except in nurseries. They are all over the hillsides, and I just can't get over it.

  Oh, and then there are the fields of wild grape hyacinths...this just cracks me up. 

  Really. I don't know why. I guess it's just so unexpected to see them growing wild. They get mowed down by farmers, like any other weed!

Just too beautiful with the olive trees, don't you agree?

Another nice mix of this and that...

  While Mr. J was painting the other day near Valiano, I took a nice long walk into town. I had walked around here two years ago, and liked it very much. When I came across this scene, I remembered taking a picture of it back then. This lovely plant has tripled in size, and looks even more spectacular than before. Especially against this wall...

  Continuing the Yellow & Green theme, I have taken a bunch of photos of the nearby countryside, in all her gloriousness. Spring is here, and we've all been waiting. I just hope the last day or two of sun and warmth continues...I'm not kidding.

  

  I will enjoy these scenes either way, rain or shine, as they speak to me in a way I have come to adore. I have a foot here, in this country, and another back home. Each offers me the chance to walk in worlds I never knew I would have the chance to experience. 

  I do not take this for granted. I am so freaking grateful for this amazing opportunity to see, smell, taste, and listen to a life in two worlds.

  Just to gaze out at these landscapes...it blows my little pea brain on a daily basis. I am brought to tears every day, at least twice. 

  I kid you not.

I see you.

I hear you.

I feel you.

  In a few words....

  I thank you.