Debutantes, Undeterred

Into March we march!  Bits of green peeking from the soil, after all the grey and brown and white.... New starts, chances for a do-over.

On those do-overs: Yes, yes, blogging was supposed to happen with a little more regularity this year - the intention is still there; admittedly, the execution has been a little lacking.  It's been busy at work; but it's always busy, so that's just an old record that no one wants to hear....  It may feel like a resolution fallen by the wayside, but no!; all is not lost quite yet - better to pick up, imperfectly, after a two-month absence, than abandon the mission altogether, right?  So, please forgive the tardiness and radio silence, and let this be an apologetic catch-up offering.

(One of the cons of being a delinquent blogger is having to feel out again, and figure out, again, the idiosyncrasies of logging into Blogger on this BlackBerry, and guessing at the password - happily, obviously, it all worked out.)

So MamaBird's birthday this year happened to fall on the same day as our rare department cocktail party. Happily, she was amenable to a family celebration the day after - all the better to hit the buffet out on the Island that she was hankering for; it would have been too late to try for it on a Friday after work anyway.  Not ideal - the family often bends schedules to my work demands; it just felt important to attend.  And, truthfully, I do enjoy the event.  Making amends in an effort to avoid the "Worst Daughter" title happily was easier than avoiding that title on Lunar New Year's Eve (that night involved riding the subway with some sketchy characters amid service disruptions and re-routings - not fun); thank goodness for Lyft and a colleague headed to Bayside.  Last weekend's Queens jaunt for allowed for a quick visit to the Mother Garden, and the plants that are emerging for their debut - the debutantes, emergent, confident - naive to the risks of late-winter freezes.

Not to be outdone, out on the terrace that weekend emerged some hardy souls. 

And then on Friday came the big Nor'easter, with more snow than was predicted, more wind.  But at the park afterward, signs of life, undeterred.

And so hope is not lost - signs that winter is drawing to a close.  Googling the stunning hellebores, it is a wonder they caught my eye only this year as late winter bloomers.  Catalogued in the noggin now - something to look forward to after the witch hazel when next winter rolls around.