ABC Wednesday . . . Again!

I know, I know . . . last week I said I wouldn't be able to participate in ABC Wednesdays this round, but with such a beautiful A in front of me each day, I couldn't resist . . .

Amaryllis, aptly named "Appleblossom"
(thanks dear readers for identifying it)

The sunny but frigid days of last week have turned warmer but grayer and gloomier. My thoughts are naturally turning toward spring and . . .

. . . planting Annuals.

Some seeds were collected last fall from various plants with hopes of having another year of blooms from some of the favorites from last year's garden, including the electric blue Bachelor Buttons pictured above. The new Butterfly & Friends garden was a riot of color last summer, thanks in part to seeds sent from fellow garden blogging friends. I am excited about getting more seeds again in a few weeks from friends through Monica's seed swap.

One way I get through the long winter is to spend hours looking through seed catalogs. Although some seeds were collected from the pink cosmos above, an order has been placed for more, a "Double Click" mix, to ensure I have enough of these lovelies. Many other varieties will soon be ordered, too, including some Agastache and Alyssum.

Cold winter days make me long to visit Arizona where it is sunny and warm--although not this week, according to the Weather Channel. I had hoped to travel there in February to visit my daughter, but Husband's schedule won't allow us to leave until March.

But that's all right, too: the Cubs will be in town for spring training, and the cacti should be in bloom. I hope to visit one of my favorite places again, the Desert Botanic Gardens, where I will see some magnificent Agaves.

No doubt everyone has seen this familiar logo countless times in the past week. If you are like me, you have watched the scenes of the devastation in Haiti and the tragic aftermath and have felt helpless. The one thing that all of us can do is to donate to the relief efforts sponsored by organizations across the world. The American Red Cross has made it very easy for Americans to donate by phone, online, texting, or mail--check out their website for details. There are other organizations helping in the relief effort as well, but before you donate to a charity you are not familiar with, it would be wise to check them out on a site such as this. It will take the efforts of many to restore some kind of normalcy to the people of Haiti.

For more contributions on the letter A, check out other ABC posts here.