May showers and flowers

This May has been the coldest and wettest I can remember since 2011. But I'm fine with that. Though I'm sad it lessens my time on the trails, I find something comforting and cozy about unseasonable cold. Also, work usually closes early if it's rainy and no one's there, so I get extra free time.

Between storms, I have been able to spend some time outside. May is the prettiest month that is not in the fall, but it has the bonus of staying light for a long time.

The weather and cool temperatures seem to have pushed the wildflowers' natural seasons back a little. I don't remember seeing longleaf phlox this late.

This plant had some unusual four-petaled flowers instead of the usual five.

 We also have common paintbrush,

 Utah sweetpea,

 and arrowleaf balsamroot.

The Bonneville Shoreline Trail isn't always my favorite trail, but I had to make sure I saw the field of Palmer's penstemon this season. They are gorgeous, but they smell even better. I smelled their scent in the air before I saw them.

Tufted evening primrose smells like Froot Loops, but only when you're up close. I adore their huge blossoms.

There are many kinds of vetch, but I can't distinguish them.

Mulesears are just starting to bloom. They haven't reached their peak amazingness yet. But there are few things as fantastic as a full field of mulesears in bloom. But they have a weird smell, even when they're not in bloom.

One evening, I stayed off the trails because they would have been muddy, but I rode my bike on the paved Legacy Parkway Trail. That isn't always the most scenic, but everything is scenic in May, even chain-link fences.

It's so much more fun to spend time outside than cooped up watching TV. This week I thought about making some snide comment about people watching Game of Thrones, but then I remembered that time I was obsessed with Gilligan's Island.


Friday was my day off, and it is a special day. The Friday before Memorial Day is the day I kick off the Fourth of July season. The offerings of red, white, and blue food seem smaller this year, but there are some new things. I am sad that all the Shopkos closed, because they had the best selection of Fourth of July candy. That's almost the only reason I'm sad they closed, but I'm sad nevertheless.

I think this is my second-favorite weekend of the entire year (Thanksgiving being my first). Even though I have to work both Saturday and Monday this year, I love the patriotic and celebratory mood in the air.

This morning, in our Come, Follow Me discussion, my parents both pronounced Lazarus as "Lazareth." I started wondering why no one ever pronounces Nazareth as "Nazarus." Right after I wondered that, one of today's speakers in sacrament meeting said, "Jesus of Nazarus." So it goes both ways after all.