Something A Little Different!

Instead of crocus and daffodils and all those signs of spring that I am desperately looking for, I caught the remains of this Chinese Lantern - Physalis alkekengi glowing in the afternoon sun in the corner of my big perennial border. It's a pesky plant - very aggressive. I've got it in a place where it really gets no summer water, yet I see that it's spreading it's darned roots further and further into the more fertile garden. I'll have to attack it this spring and corral it into the corner again. But the orange "lanterns" are lovely in the fall, and this is the skeletal remains. 

And yes, it was sunny this afternoon. Not too cold. I took down the colored lights on my Japanese Maple and put up little white lights in their place. It will be fun to see them tonight. 

I'm about to go pick up my grandson (4 yo) who is spending the night with us. It will be an interesting experiment since he's used to being with his sister. This will give his sister and parents a nice break...and hopefully I'll sleep ok!