Vector visits VMI

The Lexington community was treated last night to a free brass concert by "Vector"--a newly-formed ensemble of the United States Air Force Band. The venue was the impressive Jackson Memorial Hall, an austere ediface on the campus (properly, the post) of the Virginia Military Institute, that has the proportions of a gothic cathedral seating over a thousand.

Vector opened with a jazz number, followed by the National Anthem (everyone stood--some with hand on heart). And then the band played a rollicking mixture of Latin tunes, swing and rock-n-roll, bowing out with a stirring medley of United States armed forces songs: the caissons went rolling along...from the halls of Montezuma to the shores of Tripoli......from the perils on the sea...into the wild blue yonder! Members and former members of the armed forces stood, the crowd clapped in rhythm, and the night air rang with patriotism and joy.

Crocuses...daffodils!

What a difference a week makes...really, a weekend! With balmy weather in the 70s over the weekend, the garden suddenly is awash in green. We've had brave purple crocuses poking up for almost a month, but the daffodils have spread the word and are arriving by the hundreds--green clumps of foliage standing at attention just waiting for the yellow trumpets to appear and herald Spring!

Inn like a lion...

The most serious snowfall we have had this season here in the Shenandoah Valley came in with the month of March.

The magnolia tree and the shrubbery are laden with a lovely coating of snow, but the walks have been easily cleared...and we remember all over again how grateful we are to be living here in the South where winter rarely gets its act together enough to leave us more than a calling card.