It was a beautiful weekend here in Southern Ontario (and has more or less remained so since then). It feels like spring is finally here to stay. I celebrated by getting something I’ve been saving for since the end of Summer.

A big girl BBQ!!! You may recall that when I celebrated my five-year anniversary at work, they gifted me with a small, portable BBQ. It lasted two years before rusting out beyond all use. I replaced it last spring with another from Walmart. It didn’t even make it until the end of summer. So since then, I’ve been saving my PC points (earned from buying groceries at my grocery store) and by the end of winter, I had enough to cash them in for a BBQ at one of the parent company’s other stores. I usually save them for garden season, and use them at the grocery store garden centre, but as you know, the gardens are pretty full, so this seemed a much better use.

As soon as I got it home, Dave dutifully assembled it for me (though we still need to go get propane). When he was done, I brought the boys out while I rearranged the patio so everything fit nicely. Then I sat back to enjoy the sun.

The boys enjoyed the rays as well. At least for a little while….

With all that black fur, poor Burt can’t take the sun as much as the other two. But he’s got a nice new shady spot to chill out!

And Relic’s not the only one to discover the benefits of the new fence…

Rupert put his brave pants on and went for a little stroll along the top. I don’t know about you, but I think he kind of looks like he belongs there!

We stayed outside for quite a while. We saw our first butterfly, though I couldn’t get her on film.

There were a few honey bees buzzing around, though there’s still nothing for them to eat. But it won’t be for much longer…

This little crocus should bloom soon.

The pussywillow is fuzzing up!

And those fuzzy little sprouts are my Pasque flowers. They usually bloom just after Easter, so not long now!

And while it will be months before we see blooms, I’m happy to say it looks like all my roses survived the winter. All of them have little red nubs emerging. That means pruning will happen in a week or two!