Dogwood/Redbud Winter

There's a Redbud tree blooming on the other side of the porch in the picture above...Can you see it? Every year when the Redbud trees bloom we get a cold spell called, "Redbud Winter." Then when the Dogwood trees bloom we get another cold spell. This year the trees have bloomed at exactly the same time, so instead of just getting a cold spell we got a double whammy...SNOW.
My azalea bush was getting ready to burst out in full bloom. A couple of the flowers had already opened and bloomed when the weather turned cold a night or two ago. Just last week the weather here was around 80-85º F. and someone b.l.i.n.k.e.d. There's a saying here in Kentucky that if you don't like the weather here, just blink and it will change. Well, I was liking it fine the way it was and I'd sure like to know who blinked.
Here's another picture of the azalea and you can see the buds much better in this picture. It was going to really be beautiful this year. I took good care of it and fed it when I was supposed to and everything was coming along great until this cold spell hit. We still have one more cold spell to go and that's called, "blackberry winter" and it comes when the blackberries bloom. I've never really paid to much attention to these cold snaps but they are always right on cue. Even though I may not always like what the weather does, I do find it rather fascinating.
Here's my pink rhododendron shrub covered with snow. The snow doesn't hurt it because it stays green all year. The lilies in the upper left corner will probably have to start over again and will be killed. This is the second time they have been stricken by freezing weather...they're survivors and will start over as many times as they have to...at least they always have.