Spring Flowers!

 The last two days have been heaven sent. The temperatures reached toward sixty and the sun was glorious. As the snow melted away it uncovered a wonderful sight. My crocuses (crocii)  were blooming! What a wonderful sight to see. Flowers in mid March. I also noticed my gardens are a mess. I believe more so than usual. This winter has been a long hard  one. What with all the sand, stones and assorted items thrown on the road a lot of it has congregated in my garden. The snow blower, so often used, deposited drive way gravel in it, leaves that would not fall early are piled up and road sand the plows threw about are all making it look a little sad. But among the stones and leaves are shoots of spring bulbs pushing their spears up to meet the sun. I don't remember planting so many but will welcome them when they start blooming. There are several different colors of tulips, many different types of daffodils and others
I can not yet identify.  Along with the flowers there are many birds of many colors returning. One of  my personal favorites is the Red Wing Black Bird. I love their colors and their song. Another is the beautiful bright orange oriole. They are one of the last birds to come back. When they show up I know summer is almost here. In our yard we have a large weeping willow tree where the orioles build their elongated nests every year. I love spring and everything that it entails. Yes, even the mud doesn't get me down. Here in the "Hollow" mud means spring. Till next time.  

YOU'VE GOT TO BE KIDDING!

Yesterday was a beautiful, sunny day. The birds were having a great time picking the seed off the ground and flitting from tree to tree. This is a photo I took yesterday morning. Wonderful! Today is a different story. Over night we received about 22-24 inches of snow. Wet, heavy, nasty snow.  Where there were no snow banks are now banks almost as tall as I am. Our driveway has been cleaned out twice and the snow is higher than my window sills. 
This next photo is after. I wonder if it is the same bird? He doesn't look very happy does he? The way he is cocking his head makes me wonder            
if he is as upset with the weather as I am. We can only hope that as March has come in 
like a lion it will go out as a lamb and stay that way. I'm sure the little guy in my photos will agree. Till next time.

Slowly But Surely

 Spring is in the air. At least today it is. Sheets, fresh from the line is one of my favorite things. Nothing can duplicate the smell or feel. I believe I am experiencing early onslaught of spring fever! Yes, there are still snow banks and lots of cold but here and there you see hints of spring. The willow trees are turning yellow, birds are returning and I am starting to do spring cleaning. On my agenda this spring are two rooms. That means two rooms to rip out the ceilings, insulate, re-sheet rock, paint, replace windows, replace 

floors and trim out. That means two rooms get emptied into my living room. Can we say huge mess! One of the rooms is my library. I started cleaning off book cases and trying to down size. I gave away five large bags of books and it doesn't show. At what point do we look around us and say enough? When I'm at camp I do with a lot less stuff and enjoy it. What if we did with less in our daily life? I am NOT suggesting that we give everything away but maybe live with just a bit less. HHMMM! I think I can. That is of course not the house in Florida I am looking to buy. That is an investment in our retirement. Winter there, summer here. In my mind it can't get much better. Wait! Then I would have two houses full of stuff! I give up. You can't separate the girl from her stuff. Speaking of stuff, my beloved lap top is going in for repair. Even though I still have my PC, separation anxiety is setting in.  Thats it for now. Till next time.