May 9: One of my work-mates at the former City of Etobicoke would often say that it was never officially Spring until the Saucer Magnolias had come into bloom. With that in mind, I offer this picture of the gigantic specimen at the end of my street, and proclaim that Spring has (finally) arrived. Time to start wearing shorts and drinking rosé.
By comparison, Spring was declared last year on April 28, with the note that the date was 10 days earlier than 2016. So, even with the seemingly endless colder weather and ice storms, we seem to be right in the ballpark of opening days (to belabor a metaphor…)