A Promise of Spring

After a cold and gloomy Monday, Tuesday dawned bright and sunny in Vicksburg. After it warmed up a bit, I drove toward downtown in search of any signs that Spring may be on its way. As I drove by the Old Court House Museum, I was delighted to see a little "fringe" of buds popping out on the Dogwood Trees surrounding the courthouse.

Can you believe that sky!

The little buds are still tightly curled, as if they're saying to themselves, "Not yet ... not yet."

I found this Redbud Tree not far from the Court House ...

Can you see the tight little knots of red buds dotting the branches?

My next stop was at one of my favorite houses in Vicksburg — this grand old "Painted Lady."

I took that picture last summer, and just inside the fence on the right side, there is a tree. It is a Japanese Magnolia Tree, and this is the way it looked yesterday ...

My heart skipped a beat when I saw all those glorious buds ...

This sweet little Hyacinth pushing its way through the leaves at Duff Green Mansion made me smile, too.

My last stop was to visit a Bradford Pear Tree, which I captured in all its glory last Spring.

I was sad to see that someone had done a terrible job of "limbing it up." This is what it looked like yesterday:

Hopefully, it won't look so bad in a few weeks when all these buds open ...

This is our weather forecast for today:

"A few showers possible this morning, then a wintry mix expected to move in during the afternoon hours. Snow accumulating one to two inches."

Hopefully, all those tender little buds will stay curled up tight against whatever our weather brings us these last few weeks of winter, as they give us hope and a promise that Spring is, indeed, on its way.