Sun, tulips, a nursery, and SNOW!

We had a little of everything in Seattle this weekend as we broke our "late in the year" snow record. And it wasn't just a few sprinkles; a few people I know had 8"! But I should start at the beginning...

On Friday morning, my little family headed north to the Skagit Valley to check out the beautiful tulip fields. We knew it was still a little early in the season, but we had a free day and the sun was shining.

My little guys spend so much time around flowers that I've had to teach them early to smell--no touching!

Really, I just use the annual tulip festival as an excuse to get up north so that I can go to my very favorite nursery; Christianson's Nursery in the Skagit Valley, between Mount Vernon and La Conner. I couldn't resist taking pictures this weekend to share.

Besides beautiful plants and beautiful paths and beautiful displays, Christianson's has some great old outbuildings to explore. This is the original schoolhouse in the Skagit Valley, and dates back to 1888.

An old red barn and ironwork aviary...

Other scenes from the nursery...

There is a great little antique shop in one of the barns, filled to the brim with European antiques, garden art, and amazing little soaps and candles. They always have a couple of antique Italian chandeliers hanging in the windows to catch the light.

The plants at the nursery are watered from this mossy, damp, stone rain collection trough.

And then...after a great lunch at the Skagit Valley Brewery, we drove south to head home, and the rain started. And then got thicker. And then turned to slush. And was a downright blizzard by the time we arrived home.

And our own poor tulips? Covered in ice and snow!