March 4-17, 2011

Kind of a surprise here. It's very unusual for the neighbor to change up the decorations before a holiday even arrives. I think the "Happy St. Patrick's Day" Banner was kind of disintegrating so he took it down and replaced it with the phrase "Erin Go Bragh" which is a kind of Anglicized version of the Irish phrase "Éirinn go Brách" (Ireland Forever). The countdown continues, though.

Possibly noteworthy: no mention of Shrove Tuesday or Mardi Gras.

PS - I chose this particular picture because of the Christmas tree out with the trash. This is not the only Christmas tree I've seen being thrown out in late Feb. or March. I guess people in this area just keep their trees for a long time.

Of course, once St. Patrick's Day arrived, the yard changed slightly:

Feb. 22-March 3, 2011

Immediately after Presidents Day he started gearing up for St. Patrick's Day. The shamrocks are out, of course. In addition, there's a printed banner reading "Happy St. Patrick's Day". There are also two miniature buildings over by the front walk. It's difficult to see in the picture, but the green one is labeled "O'Jimmy's Pub" and the red one is "O'Holland Hotel". There's also a countdown that started on Feb. 28.

Feb. 15-21, 2011

From Feb. 15-20 the lawn read "Presidents Day Coming" which logically progresses to "Presidents Day" on Feb. 21. The Christmas wreaths have finally come down, and we're still awaiting spring on the far left side of the lawn.

Feb. 14, 2011

Valentine's Day, complete with red lights. Note the Christmas wreaths still present on the second floor windows.

Feb. 3-13, 2011

After Groundhog Day we're back to focusing on Valentine's Day...except for a couple days. Between Feb. 8-11 there was an additional decoration: a long line of American flags across the front and the word "Father" right behind him. This could commemorate any number of things having to do with his father: a birthday, anniversary of death...anything, but it's one of those ones that makes you feel a little awkward when you see it. It's like you're getting just a little more information than you were looking for, but at the same time I admire him for putting himself out there like that.

Feb. 2, 2011

It's Groundhog Day and the neighbor has actually done something pretty creative this year. (It's possible I just missed it last year.) Of course, the far right section of the lawn is proclaiming that it's Groundhog Day, but if you look on the far right you can see some new decorations. They're illegible in the picture, so you'll just have to trust me that they say "Spring Coming". Get it? The groundhog didn't see his shadow so spring is slated to arrive early this year. Either that or he's just really optimistic, but I think the timing is more than coincidence.

Jan. 29-Feb. 1, 2011

Valentine's Day is still coming, but there's a couple changes. The Christmas decorations are slowly coming down. The "tree" on the far left is gone, but if you look very closely you'll see that the second story windows are still displaying Christmas wreaths. We're also anticipating Groundhog day. More on that soon.

Jan. 20-28, 2011

Finally, all is right with the world. The neighbor is back, and he's hard at work with the decorations again. We're anticipating Valentine's Day now. The "Christmas Tree" is still up on the far left of the yard. Not sure why. This particular picture is unique because it actually depicts the neighbor at work; currently snow-blowing the lawn. The purpose of this is unknown, as he did not add any decorations in that part of the lawn for several days.

Jan. 1-19, 2011

It looks like the neighbor came back just in time for the New Year, but his return was short-lived. After changing the signs to read "Happy New Year" he disappeared again. No lights at night, and no changes for most of January. It was kind of odd as it got later into January to see not only New Years, but Christmas decorations still up.