We have had some gorgeous days here on the northeast Piedmont of North Carolina.

Driving to and from my mother's this weekend, up and across the mountains then down into the Kanawha Valley that I call home was a delight. Redbuds blooming all along the edge of the woods, down low, and the larger trees all different fuzzy shades of green, yellow, orange and pink as the leaf buds start to color up and unfurl.

Daffodils growing out in the middle of old fields or light woods, the only remaining trace of what were once old homesteads and houses.

In my yard, all but the latest jonquils and daffodils are faded. Tulips are at their prime, flowering almond and an old, very early spirea in full bloom, earliest azaleas approaching full bloom, and Quaker's Ladies are all over the front yard. Vinca minor blooming on the shady bank and my few hellebores putting on a good show.

Field garlic has infested several flowerbeds and is standing tall.

The juncos and most of the white-throated sparrows left early in the week. Most birds still in courting mode, but have a pair of red-bellied woodpeckers tending a nest of eggs that I don't think have hatched yet. Several pregnant squirrels, aka tree rats, building birthing nests up in the oak trees.

And it is NCAA Basketball tournament time! Go Tarheels!