Chloe was on the bed one night so we used our new camera to zoom in and take a picture. She was keeping an eye on me.

Spring is springing up on the mountain. The inversion saved us from what we hope will be the last freeze of the season. It reached 27 F Saturday down in town, but we bottomed out at 33 or 34 F. That saved the first hints of dogwood blooms.

This is one of the larger native dogwoods we have. It has bloomed profusely in the past. We’re going to miss this one when we move.

Some of the understory trees have fairly advanced leaves. The dogwoods are at the early stages. Poplars were starting to show green on Saturday, and some of the oaks are showing signs of life.

We had rain early Monday morning. By the time the dogs and I walked, the rain had stopped but the fog and clouds were still around.

I like the woods in fog. Everything seems more mysterious.

The other plant that is showing green is our jalapeño. This green started a few weeks ago. I wrote earlier about the mild but tasty chilis we got from the plant last fall, and about how we planned to try to keep the plant alive over the winter. Some people have reported getting a second crop of jalapeños when they do it. Here is our plant now.

We have already eaten one pepper from this second crop. The peppers seem to be smaller than the first crop, but the first one tasted good. I counted 23 after picking one last week. If they all ripen, we’re going to have trouble eating them all.

Sylvester comes in the house to nap most days. He found Zeus’s old hedgehog squeaky toy to use for a pillow.

He usually goes in and out a few times before he finally decides to settle down.

This is the crop from our jalapeño plant.

I don’t have much to say other than, “Aren’t they pretty?”

The plant is looking kind of ragged, but it’s still alive.

Sylvester and Smokey both love milk. We usually put some down in the morning, but separately. This time they both wanted the milk at the same time.

They have different styles for drinking. Smokey laps quickly and always gets milk on his chin and chest. Sylvester takes his time, like he’s savoring every taste. Here, neither one of them was ready to go first.