Finally enjoying what is in front of my nose

I have been ridiculous about my azaleas this year. For several years they have been blooming earlier and earlier. This year I have been holding my breath because they are so far ahead of schedule that I was sure they would get zapped by a hard frost before we were in the clear. We're still not in the clear in terms of last frost date but I finally stopped to realize that it is time to enjoy what's in front of my nose. The shot above is one I took today of my enormous azalea bushes on either side of my driveway. As you can see, covering my azaleas is not an option. They are as tall as small trees.
Even my small azaleas like the white one above are pretty large. My biggest group of monster azaleas is at the top of my driveway hiding my secret garden. As you can see from the shot below, that azalea hedge is a ways off from blooming but even if the buds get zapped, at this point I can't complain. The azalea wall is a later blooming variety than the ones above but even so it's not too far off from blooming.
As much as I enjoy that wall of flowers, I am FINALLY relaxing and realizing that if every last one of my premature blooms gets hit by late cold weather, I have already had so many pleasant sites from early spring.The closeup above of the large white azalea blossom is from the hedge above that. There are three different colors of large azaleas in the grouping and the bottom blossoms are starting to open while the ones in the middle and top are still mostly buds.
I have let the azaleas at the bottom of my driveway (first shot) get so overgrown there is barely room to back into my driveway. The ones at the top of my driveway (shot above) are so overgrown that I can barely slip into my secret garden. I like it that way. After the blooms all open and drop off, I will do some minor pruning but mostly enough to make them grow even faster.
We have had quite a bit of rain lately. Not enough to pull out of the drought but it has made a difference. I can hear the flowers cheering for each and every drop.
Tuesday was the last of my string of appointments which started during the beginning of March. I was rather amused that my pain doc appointment would fall on April Fool's Day. I am so happy that I don't have any more doctor's appointments for months. Well, not except for dentist and blood work. I feel like I'm getting a reprieve since I'm done with oncology, dermatology, rheumatology, and painology for this cycle of appointments.For now I can kick back in my secret garden and enjoy my growing crop of weeds, I mean flowers, well to be honest flowers and weeds. Happy April!