I suppose you could call this "Howard Wakes Up."

While the weather in Ballard has been lovely this week, we're told it's lovelier in Arizona and warrants an in-person visit for confirmation. We leave you with Howard the Sleeping Cat, and hope your dreams are as peaceful as his. See you soon...

photo by Ballard Avenue

No one wants to play with the blue boat.

photo by Ballard Avenue

It's warming up lately and they're poppin' up all over, just like they did before. The great thing about croci is that they always come through even when the gardener (and blogger) is slacking off.

There being no good Abraham Lincoln videos, we honor Presidents' Day with the fabulous Eleanor Powell.

Ella Fitzgerald and the Johnny Spence Orchestra with Tubby Hayes on tenor, from a BBC television broadcast in 1965.

photos by Ballard Avenue.

Long time readers might remember the upper photo from last fall. Sometimes it seems as if the skies will never clear, but they always do.

You can never have too much Henry Purcell in your life. This is the choir of Clare College, Cambridge University singing "Hear my prayer." It is the surviving fragment of a larger piece, one of many he composed for the Chapel Royal, but really, it's all you need of a Sunday.

Hear my prayer, O Lord, and let my crying come unto Thee.

Look at all these kinder and their accordions. There's hope for the world after all.

photo by Ballard Avenue

We do like our trains around here, and this one led by BNSF locomotive 5490 made the day complete. The pedestrian overpass at Carkeek Park is perfect for train-spotting.