No, No, Charlie Rascal!

I don't think spring has technically sprung yet but there are definitely things happening in our garden...

Sara thought this flowering/fruiting shrub in our back alley was japonica, I thought quince - turns out to be the same difference, japonica being "a common name for species or hybrids of flowering quince, members of the genus Chaenomeles" according to Wikipedia.

However, calling it quince gives me an excuse to recite a verse from one of my favorite childrens' books, No, No, Charlie Rascal! by Lorna Kent:

Grandma made a big fruit pie
With apricots and quince
She left it on the shelf to cool
We haven't seen it since

Turn the page and you'll find out
Why our Grandma had to shout...

"No, No, Charlie Rascal!"

Ah... I used to love reading that to the kids when they were little.