Birthdays are fun....

The cards keep coming...and more fun, 22 people posted a birthday greeting to me on Facebook!

(Including greetings in Swedish and Danish no less.)

Cats in hats are always extremely appropriate subjects for birthday cards don't you think?

The fragrant hyacinths perfumed the air that was filled with good wishes for the upcoming year.

Two bit of extra fun: A card that had a mysterious letter "M" on the envelope.

It was mixed in with family gifts and I had no idea what it was all about.

Turns out my son thought "M" was plenty of letters to let me know that it was a card to his "Mom".

Busy guy, my son. Those extra two letters to spell out the whole word would have totally slowed him down.

The second big laugh:  Daughter Laura has often heard me sigh over the uber cute ruffle bottom 
baby panties; I have on more than occasion expressed a wish that such panties were available in big girl sizes.

Frenchie and I both thought this gift was fabulous!

I will spare you a photograph of my be-ruffled and bowed bum. You will simply have to guess when I might be wearing them under my skirts or even jeans!

Laura also supplied me with a vast collection of blooming teas.

Speaking of blooming...the forsythia next door is budding nicely.  Down in the valley they are in fully glory but up here in the cove they are just beginning to peek out.

A few more sunny days like we had today and they will unfurl and proclain spring has arrived!

The first widespread wild flower is going great guns alongside the roads.

Pretty stuff...

The blossoms are very unusual and can only truly be appreciated up close.

The coral center is hardly noticeable until viewed up close.

To say nothing of the side blossoms complexity.

Cool, huh?

The flower is a Myrtle Spurge. 

Pretty and interesting as they are, they are most unwelcomed in these parts.

Pretty -but extremely invasive. Myrtle spurge can crowd out native habitat for wildlife.

It poses danger to adults and children, because of it’s caustic latex sap.

This sap causes nausea, vomiting and diarrhea when ingested.

If the sap comes in contact with the skin, it causes redness, swelling and blisters.

Oh my...no wonder folks don't usually get up close and personal with this flower!

Myrtle spurge was introduced as an ornamental plant because of it’s deer resistance and adaptation to dry soil. Commonly used in landscapes as a border plant, it takes over and spreads like crazy! Oddly enough, it is still popular in area nurseries, yet listed as noxious and even illegal to cultivate in some surrounding states.

During the next few weekends locals will glove up and try to erradicate as much of these plants as possible.
Well, I am glad I was able to photograph them without making any contact with my skin.


 
Around the area plants are awaking and greening up nooks and crannies here and there.
 

The tree buds alternated between carrying ice and sunlight.

Any snowfall quickly turns into a soft foamy like covering and vanishes at the slight ray of sunshine.

Up Little Cottonwood Canyon I spotted a waterfall splashing over mossy green growth.

I wanted to try out various camera settings to see how they would change the look of falling water.

I  afraid I really don't see much difference between the photos.

But the experiment gave me reason to park and hike across the road and enjoy the waterfall's sound and the beauty.

That's a good enough reason to park and walk a bit, right?

I would have poked around some more but there were all kinds of signs announcing various wide places in the road as Avalanche sites (each of which had an assigned name), and the declaration that NO parking or standing was allowed between Nov 15 and May 15.

Maybe if I had been wearing my ruffle bum panties I would have been brave enough to flaunt that warning.

But since I was instead clad in a rather dorky black powder suit, I yielded to directions and headed back home.

Like a sensible woman that I (sometimes) am.