The Yard: an Update

So things are really taking off outside.  I can't quite believe we get to live here; it is so pretty!  I am very grateful to the people before us for the nice things they did in the yard.  I took some pictures this morning before I left for work, and here's what we've got:

You can't really see much, huh?  Ok, here are the details:

Daffodils, blooming on the right and not yet on the left, and a pink hyacinth in the ivy-covered spot in the middle of the yard, and little purple vinca all through them.  Here they are again a couple of days ago (I know, it's a sickness to take pictures of your own flowers every day.  Maybe I won't do it next year.):

And then!  Look at this!

More of the same flowers, but along the back of the house this time. 

A forsythia bush on the far left of the yard, just below our big oak tree.  It's a late-bloomer - tho Mom says it's called "extending the season."  I usually don't like the ones with such sparse flowers, but here it seems to fit.  I'm quite fond of it.

And there are a couple daffodils on the other side of the yard:

See their little yellow heads, about halfway between the stone steps and the tree on the right?

Then, there is the matter of this tree.  We thought it might be some kind of cherry, and now it's got little pink flowers.  Pretty!

And the tulips that I was certain would be eaten before they budded have beaten the odds, I am happy to report.  Perhaps I am jinxing it all by writing about them, but look: buds!  Two of them!  It was too late for the spotty-leafed tulip, but perhaps we'll see the flowers of the other sometime soon.

There are also some daffodils along the side of the house, by this little path to the front, on the right.

And, the very best part:

Can you see something wonderful in the grass?  Here's a clue:

My very own violets (well, ours, but Anthony doesn't seem as attached to them as I am)!!!  And I picked some and brought them in the house.  Oh, this was supposed to be our house.  It's just right, even down to the violets in the yard.  We are so lucky.