Spring blooms, part 2

I'm so fortunate to work in an office with such a beautiful campus.  The landscapers and grounds crew are always at work, trimming trees in the winter, planting flowers in the spring, planting daffodil bulbs in the fall and constantly mowing the massive lawn in a perfect checkerboard pattern in the summer. They do an amazing job, and it's definitely one of the prettiest places to work in Iowa.

I was on my way outside for lunch last week, and I couldn't get over how beautiful the crabapple trees looked.  And the blooms are so fleeting. I'm glad I took these pictures when I did, because a wind the next day knocked a lot of the blooms off.

If you live in central Iowa, then you can see quite a few crabapple trees driving through West Des Moines.  I've also heard that there is a large collection of crabapple trees in Water Works Park in Des Moines, although I've never visited the park in the spring.  My favorite place to see spring in bloom is my old alma matter, Iowa State University in Ames.  I still have a photo album with pictures of the crabapple trees from my days as a college student. (Back before digital cameras!)  Hope you're all getting outside as much as you can to enjoy this beautiful spring weather.

Time to build an ark

What do you get when a record amount of snow starts to melt a little too quickly?  We've got another "100-year" flood on our hands.

I traveled with my family back to my hometown in north-central Iowa last weekend.  We were surprised to see the town park flooded by the Shellrock River.

Everything was under water in the park, including the softball fields, concession stand and playground equipment.

Here in central Iowa, the Des Moines River is supposed to reach "major" flood stage over the weekend.  I drive over the river on my commute, and each time I cross the bridge, the water looks to be a few feet higher.  (Sorry no pictures, but it's a narrow bridge without a place to park.)  They are closing Highway 30 just north of us because of the flooding.

We're lucky to live just far enough away from the river to avoid the flooding.  Honestly, I'm just happy that the snow is finally gone.  The weather forecast tomorrow calls for 60 degree temperatures!  That's the warmest weather I've seen since November!