La Primavera ha venuto a Milwaukee

     For all you English speakers out there, that's "spring has come to Milwaukee," in Italian.  For all you Italian speakers out there, feel free to correct me if that's inaccurate.  Truly: all the birds in the neighborhood are flying in pairs, we've moved our grill to the patio, the blades of green far outnumber the winter browns of the backyard, and much of my elastic-prominent clothing is surfacing in my wardrobe.  (Jeans and regular bras in the heat?!--gross).

     After having the out-of-laws visit two weekends ago, we had a bunch of our friends visit Milwaukee for the first weekend of the NCAA tournament.  This meant three straight days and nights of watching basketball.  Now, as a Spartan, I don't mind some exciting games, but I couldn't keep up with the fellas and my interest waned after State played their games.  So, my old MSU roomie and I did some traipsing around Milwaukee to various bars, breweries, and restaurants.  It was a fun four days!  But it didn't leave much time for anything else, so we're glad to be back in our regular routines. 

      We've had a string of perilously (sunburn, climate change) beautiful days down in Southeast Wisconsin, so I took a bike ride around my neighborhood to show you some interesting shots that contrast the winter scenery in my post from less than a month ago.

Daffodils have grown up and out, even though you can still see their dead comrades in the background.

Not snow-covered boughs, but petal-covered.

Choke Cherry Tree?  We're unsure.

For whatever reasons, this is the third barn I've become compelled to photograph.  I like the contrast between the decrepit building and the bright, blooming bush.  (Alliteration was unintentional here)

This fella, the cardinal, my squeeze captured rested atop the birdie "summer cottage."  He chases his mate around all morning.

      There's a little old ditty my dad used to sing to us every year:

          "The spring is sprung,
           the grass is riz,
           I wonders where
           the flowers is!"