No dramatic developments on the writing front this month. Colonel Brandon in His Own Words continues to steadily progress through the post-production phase, with a summer launch date in view. So basically this post is my excuse to share some pretty pictures and a tidbit of personal news with you.

Spring is my favorite season. Yesterday was sunny and 70, and I think the threat of snow is finally past. I know snow is beautiful, and I love taking pictures of snow-covered scenery. But it’s also cold and really inconvenient, especially when it shows up unexpectedly. So by the end of March, I’d definitely had enough and was ready for it to be over.

Winter didn’t give up without a fight this year, however. I thought we were in the clear a couple of weeks ago. After all, the calendar said “April,” the days had grown dramatically longer, and it was almost Easter! Out in the garden, some of my early-bloomers were already in full flower. Even my magnolia was budded and ready to open.

Then on April 13th, “Surprise!” The temperature dropped and so did a layer of gravelly snow, which the weather folks on TV informed us was called “graupel.” Who knew?

The wintery conditions didn’t stick around long, just long enough to blight most of the magnolia buds with a brown tinge. Most, but fortunately not all. And there are lots more spring flowers coming!

Oh, I do have one more recent little “surprise” to report – the bit of “personal” news I mentioned. Something I wasn’t expecting at all!

After being SO careful for SO long… After my husband and I had taken all the proper preventive measures for months and now years, apparently we slipped up somewhere. You know, had a little “accident.” I had my suspicions that something was up, and so I took a test.

Then came the hard part; I had to break the news to my husband. I was afraid he wouldn’t take it very well, but he had a right to know. After all, we were in this together.

“I don’t know how to tell you this, Honey,” I began, showing him the plastic stick, “but the test is positive. Surprise.”

He looked mystified. “What does that mean?”

“Well, either we’re pregnant or I have Covid.”

But, there really was no suspense or question about it. Since he knew that one of the options was an impossibility at this point in our lives, it had to be the other. Yes, I had Covid, which meant he probably did too. Surprise.

Although this true story (only slightly embellished) is told with a little humor to soften the blow, everybody knows Covid-19 is no laughing matter. I’m just very grateful we didn’t catch it at the beginning, when it was a lot more dangerous.

So after we thought the threat had pretty much passed. Surprise. We’re back in isolation. Not the end of the world, just very unpleasant and very inconvenient – you know, kind of like one of those unexpected late snowfalls. Well, maybe more like a blizzard. I think we’ve rounded the corner, though (yes, I did say “we” because my DH has it too). We’re over the worst of it and on the mend. The upside? I guess we don’t have to worry about catching Covid anymore, at least not until the next variant comes along.

I hope you are staying well and enjoying all the beauties of spring… with only AGREEABLE surprises!

Yesterday I had the agreeable surprise of finding several scarlet strawberries quite ripe… There are more gooseberries and fewer currants than I thought at first. We must buy currants for our wine.

Jane Austen – a letter to Cassandra, June 6, 1811