It smells so good outside!

It smells so good in our yard right now, and the reason are the Mimosa trees we have. Being out in the yard is like being in a tropical paradise with the lovely fragrance from these trees. Here is one of our Mimosa trees.

Looking at the fragrant blooms a little closer up.
An even closer view.
And from as close as I could get!
Here's a picture of another Mimosa tree we have that the kids and their friends used to climb all over when they were little. It was a perfect climbing tree for them, and the tree loved having them on there.

How this tree is hanging on is a big mystery to us. There has got to be one narrow little lifeline going through the thin trunk that is left.

Our Oleander bush is blooming nicely this year.
Oleander blooms from up close.
Also, Mom and I went downtown this afternoon. We went to Rivercenter Mall and walked around in there for a little bit, but it was kind of empty because a lot of stores have shut down. It's just not the same place anymore. We decided to have lunch at Schilo's, so we left Rivercenter and walked over to Schilo's. Along the way, I pointed out some of the stores that Martina and I visited and it was fun remembering that! The food at Schilo's was delicious - she had split pea soup and I had Weinerschnitzel. It was a nice day to be walking around downtown.