Spring is in the Air!

How odd that just a few weeks ago it was -3 degrees, snowing, and the sun was never shining. I guess German Mother Earth finally hit the switch and decided she was done with winter. This past week has been a wonderful 20 degrees, sunny, with a light breeze. It has been quite a change from seeing people in the town bundled up for the next blizzard, to the towns people walking in t-shirts and hiking around the trails by the Burg. Another beautiful surprise that I was told about but did not believe is the wild flowers that have sprung up everywhere! The green grass has turned into a rainbow of colors. It is amazing.

So I made a promise that I would pick and dry a collection of wild flowers from Germany for my Aunt Lois.

This is the first one, collected from the front of the personal house I live in. Tomorrow is our off day and it is so beautiful, we are going for a hike on the trails around the Burg Staufeneck. We do not know where they lead, or what the view is like on the other side of the hill, so it will be an adventure! Maybe there will be a field of flowers for me to pick and dry for my beloved Aunt Lois.

Real quick, I know this is a bad photo but it is of the tree outside of our window. While it was cold it was just sticks. Now it has pink buds all over it but no leaves. We do not know what kind of tree it is. Can you help us figure it out?