I had thought our late February vacation would preclude being greeted by the first bloomer of the spring, the star magnolia, but no! She bloomed between the 18th and 20th this year, at least with a few of the blossoms toward the top. I will still miss the entire shaggy mass, but the past couple years the ravenous squirrels eat more than half the blossoms before they “hatch”.
all the voices in my head 