Slight Detour: Ahhhh! Robins and Ismaila!

Such mood lifts on a rainy day in February!

The robins arrived home and Ismailia ARRIVED in stunning fashion on the ZAGS scene!

Both wonderful and both welcome.

Let's talk robins first.

I had gone to town to buy some potting soil for my Sungold tomato seeds which arrived in yesterday's mail.

I drove home, stopped on South Center Valley Road and said hi to Bill who was headed to town for his errands.

After walking into the house, I looked out the sliding glass door and saw the activity: robins-- lots of them, flitting about, landing in the service berry bush or landing on the ground to peck away for worms.

"They're back," I said out loud, hurrying back to the car for my camera. The robins noticed me and started making their way toward the barn.

One still sat in the big bush, but branches prevented me from getting a decent picture. Another moved around just inside the barnyard fence, looking for worms.

The resident crow stood in its spot, probably wondering what the heck had just happened to its domain.

An invasion, for sure, but the crows and the robins will get along in the same general space.

I looked toward the barn and could see numerous robins walking about with beaks in the ground.

Some hung around for me to take some pictures while others flew to the first pasture.

An exciting moment, like it is every year when they return, but this year's arrival was more spectacular than ever with its sheer numbers rather than a single sighting.

This morning, I met up with a few robins near the tree boundary on the north lawn. A couple even seemed liked they were following along as I walked north on the road.

These birds will now be the daily yard friends, along with the crows, for several months ahead.

Their arrival signals that spring is on the way!

And, then, late at night, past our bed time while watching the ZAGS game, we saw Ismailia for the first time. We sat up and took notice.

Check out the information below. I can't even imagine how exciting life suddenly became for this young man from Senegal who has been sitting on the ZAGS bench throughout the season. We heard that he had dealt with injuries before last night's Ismailia coming out party.

Check out the information below. I have a feeling that the ZAG nation felt a burst of rejuvenation last night. It was obvious that the team and coaches did too.

Ismaila Diagne

WOW!!! . . . let's get acquainted with that name.

After about one minute of watching him play in last night's Gonzaga--Santa Clara game, it was obvious there's a new star on the ZAGS squad. And, new excitement for Gonzaga fans.

from Gonzaga roster information: PRIOR TO GONZAGA: A native of Nguekhokhe, Senegal … joins the Zags after averaging 10.2 points, 7.8 rebounds, and 0.9 blocks for Real Madrid's Under-18 team this past season … He helped lead his team to the Adidas Next Gen Tournament championship in Berlin, Germany … Real Madrid also won the Podgorica Tournament in 2023-24, and Diagne averaged 11 points and 7.8 rebounds in the four games in the event … Diagne appeared in four games in the Spanish Liga Endesa (ACB) this season with the Real Madrid national team … He averaged five points on 58 percent shooting from the field. Diagne added 4.5 rebounds and a block in 12.5 minutes per game. He also appeared in two EuroLeague games with the club … In the 2023 Adidas Next Generation Tournament for the Real Madrid U18 team, Diagne averaged 12.5 points on 55 percent shooting from the field, along with grabbing 12 rebounds per game.

Welcome, Ismaila. We are thrilled.

I just liked this picture so I decided to post it today after reading Willie's poignant words in his sub stack about the closing of another season.

I've already told him this in an email: he makes us so proud as a coach and as a caring human being.

There's much more to any sport than the X's, O's and final scores, and Willie knows and demonstrates that aspect of his coaching very well.

As do his wonderful assistant coaches, Joe, Madi (Happy Birthday, Madi), Audra and Dereck.

Great team; great coaches. Great times ahead.

This is one of my rosemary plants which is looking pretty hardy.

Yesterday I added to the sliding-glass door garden by filling five containers with Sungold tomato seeds.

That will probably complete this year's early seeding, which includes two kinds of tomatoes, swiss chard, lettuce, a pretty orange annual flower and the rosemary.

It won't be too long before the assortment moves to the greenhouse.