Spring Walk

A quick walk in the woods before Lily's bus screeched to a stop.

Bloodroot growing in the neighbor's yard! This has many medicinal and magical purposes, but is endangered and can be toxic so I'll just admire it. The root has a red sap that has been used to paint and dye bodies and fiber. The leaves are beautiful and wrap around the flower as it emerges.


















Fiddle-heads looking a little hairy and alien.


















A young horsetail emerging fresh, pointy and bright green.

I miss having Azalea to walk in the woods, she was a good companion and she motivated me to get outside.

I feel like I stayed inside most of the winter, the wood stove was so tempting and cozy it was hard to leave the house.

I'm hoping to be outside more now that it's warmer and the stove is done for the year. I've been walking with a friend 6-7am two mornings a week and that is lovely. The birds are singing like mad then and the sun rises earlier every morning.

Here's to spring and to green things shooting up and out!
And to sweet clear brooks that babble. (press play!)

Home alone organizing

I miss the family.
This Monday is a day spent trying to catch up on two years of disorganized photo taking and erratic downloading.
For years, I've been fantasizing about having this quiet focused time, and, while I'm glad to feel movement away from total chaos, I'm surprised to find myself a bit lonely.

Seeing Georgia's precious stash of chicks waiting on the table makes me pine for her ruckus company.

Plum Tree in bloom

Yikes! That was almost overnight!

There were buds and then BOOM! there was a tree covered in blossoms and swarming with flying bugs. It made the yard smell heavy and sweet like powder. Bugs must have smelled it from miles away.
Hopefully we'll get a few plums this year.









By afternoon it felt like summer with a tea party and bathing suits.
Then we heard Wrennie singing! Hooray! Maybe it's the same pair and they'll nest with us again!

Easter

We went to my parent's house and spent Saturday dying eggs and playing outside.
75 degrees and sunny!




We stayed overnight and woke up Easter morning! Lily was up at 6:15am but Rob held her off for an hour. Then she came to wake up Georgia and me, who sleep downstairs in the basement. Rob and Lily sleep upstairs in my old room, which Lily now calls her room. I think this arrangement started because of Rob's mold allergy and the basement making him wheeze all the next day, but us not wanting to have the children sleep alone in the basement. I love the opportunity to sleep next to Georgia. I love sleeping with my children, hearing them sigh and breathe and lying there nose to nose. ahhhhhh.

Candy Candy Candy is the big tradition in my family!
peeps, mini eggs, jelly beans and chocolate bunnies.

Rob's Puritanical holiday background (socks, underwear and a smidgen of candy at major holidays) motivated him to put a time limit on the candy. No more after 12 noon! Interestingly, the girls didn't fight the moratorium when it came.

Then we went and played in my childhood playground. The neighborhood swamp.





We found 3 frogs, some blooming skunk cabbage, maple blossoms and 2 red backed salamanders,
















And some dense fairy moss, cool and moist on hot bare feet.







Then they both got sleepy and dreamy.
Georgia snuck another peep on Grandma's lap.

Mixing colors with Georgia

We made orange green and purple.


I should have gone into work but I didn't want to.

Such a beautiful sunny day outside.

Happy 1st birthday Cakie and Jewel!

Miss Jewel and Cakie turned 1 this week. We gave them carrot cake with walnuts. They are so sweet, but wiggly- so I haven't been able to capture them on film as much as I would like. Getting these clear pics involved me taking tons of blurry shots.

Peepers and a low moon

I got home from work at midnight. I could hear the peepers were loudly trilling from the bottom of the yard.
I decided to sneak down with a flashlight and get a video with sound.
I heard 1 bigger frog call, too.
It was warm and clear and deliciously spring.

I was feeling serene and pleased with myself when I got back to the door.
Rob was 3/4 asleep standing puzzled in his underwear, "Where the hell were you?"
Then I heard Lily's footsteps upstairs.
So much for being sneaky.