Fevers, cat-scratch and spring

Otis picked up Selkie today, too soon after he had a (probably status-based) scuffle with Mountie. Apparently, his blood was still up, because he blasted his way out of her arms, scratching her left bicep in the process. They have since re-bonded, but it was a pretty tense afternoon.

To dissipate the tension and work off our own antsiness, we took a walk around Green Lake in the beautiful sunshine and the warm air. It felt like a spring day, and we weren't the only ones who thought so - the walking path was crowded with people and doggies. (I love how on days like this in Seattle, some people are still in their snow-storm parkas while others move right into madras shorts.) While walking around the Bathhouse Theatre, we found a bush covered with blossoms just like this:



The question is this: these flowers are clearly outliers, but are they extremely long-lived hangers-on from last fall, or extremely early new arrivals for this spring? The bush that they were on was almost as tall as I am, and about three feet across.