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I can safely say that these two were not the culprits. The little babe noticed the feathers stuck to the window in the sunroom, which looks out at the birdfeeder. I am guessing that a female cardinal was grabbed by a hawk while it was off the ground, because there were feathers hanging amongst the branches. A bit of excitement on an otherwise gray and wet Thursday.
It's not all pretty nature scenes and knitting around here. Plenty of mud, dog mess, and horse hair - welcome to Spring! The slightly sad and scruffy guy pictured above is Chip, our old crusty Sheltie mix. He wears his wool sweater for half of the year and spends 60% of the day sleeping. The other 40% is spent driving me bonkers as his nails clack on the floor following me all around the house. It is the sound of old dog shuffling. We've had two male Corgis that in their old days, followed me in the same manner. If I needed something from upstairs, I had to make a mad dash because Tank would attempt to hoist his rhino-like body up the staircase for a mere 20 seconds, then have to half bound/half fall down the stairs again.
Anyway, today is Tuesday, so I'll lead the way. I am thankful that the neck pain I'm having is not chronic and that while I normally avoid medication, those two little white pills are miracles. I'm thankful for a driveway full of wood, since the forecast this week is calling for rain/slush/snow. I'm thankful for my creative little babe who already cranked out three paintings this morning and is busy in the land of "Sophie the Mouse". I am thankful for a partner to share parenting duties with. And I'm thankful I can provide a home for that scruffy little face above - he was half naked when we first saw him at the shelter and is constantly dealing with skin issues, but he doesn't ask for much - food, warmth, and some love. Isn't that what we all want?
What are you thankful for today?
We had what I think was the last snow storm of the year this past week. The little babe and I headed up to Black Moshannon State Park to see if the Tundra Swans were still there. Snowy hemlock groves, blue skies, and a lake full of waterfowl. Dozens of Hooded Mergansers were sharing the water with Canada Geese, Mallards, and between 100-200 Tundra Swans. Even though the sun was warm, the wind was gusting across the lake and we had scarves pulled up to our noses. The swans were honking and talking to each other, turning bottoms up and looking very undignified with their plump white bums up in the air. The little babe was entranced. I don't have a telephoto lens, so sorry for the photos - squint and look for the white lumps with black legs.
Check out this link to see much better photos of them. They are beautiful. Make sure to listen to the sound clips too!
On Monday, the last day of Winter, we went to the turtle pond to search for signs of Spring. On the way, we passed a groundhog sunning on a concrete wall at the remains of an old farm. At the pond, we saw Canada geese, Mallards, and several mystery ducks (white bodies with dark heads). As the little babe chewed on a Black Birch twig, we saw tree buds - shiny and red, fuzzy and gray. Small patches of grass were starting to appear along the path. The most exciting sign of Spring was a turtle, soaking up as much sun as possible on a log in a small pond. As I look out the window today, two days later, at a world of white with no sun in sight, I wonder where that poor little guy went. Even the slow turtle is rushing Spring. I hope he was able to find a cozy log to bury under and wait just a bit longer. Slow and steady, little guy, slow and steady, it will come.
The first coltsfoot.
A found fairy bouquet. The woods are full of magic!
What signs of Spring have you seen?
Hi Everybody, I feel like I've been away from here for a while, even though it has only been a week. I have a lot to be thankful for today, March 20, the first day of Spring. I am thankful that I was born, healthy, into a loving family, 38 years ago. I am thankful that I never had any reason to doubt my parents love for me, even while raging against my Dad with teenage fury. I am thankful that I had a stable home life, something that many kids do not. I am thankful for the summer vacations, the holidays spent with family, the mundane moments at home.
I am thankful for my life today, with my husband, daughter, and all of the pets that we are able to provide for (even though I complain about their mess on a daily basis.) I am thankful for the new memories that my family is creating. I am thankful for a Mom who is embracing life.
I am thankful for little signs of Spring, even though the cold hasn't left us yet.
Photo credit for the last three photos: The Little Babe, who has taken an interest in photography. Mainly close-ups of the pets. The St. Patty's Day green sweater is my latest project, a version of the Nutkin. Yes, I have made two previous versions, one for my mom and mother-in-law. However, it is a super simple pattern, easy to knit while playing with the little babe, and I have done something different with each one to make it unique. Mine has longer sleeves and no pockets. The yarn is Juniper Moon alpaca, bought on sale, hence the departure from my normal neutral color palette. It is super soft, and knit on size 8 needles, actually is not overly drapey. I think I could have made it a bit longer, tunic length, but it will do.
I hope you find something today that makes you smile and perhaps you'd care to share what you are thankful for. I find that writing it down or saying it out loud makes me appreciate it even more.
I am not ashamed to admit that I am happily still in Winter mode. Everyone wants it to be done and is ready to don shorts and sandals at the first day over 50 degrees. The bulbs are bravely shooting up, green tips appearing amidst the brown debris of last year's garden life. The strength of the sun is amazing and also deceiving. It makes you think that it is warm outside, but unless you are feeling the greenhouse-like heat while sitting in a car, it is still darn cold. 13 degrees at Sunday sunup, chicken water still frozen in the mornings, and snow flurries falling today. So for me, I am still happy to run to the cold barn early in the morning, then come home and hibernate the rest of the day. Baking carrot cake, bagel chips (the simplest snack in the world to make*), carrying in wood for the stove, experimenting with food based dyes for pysanky eggs and tie-dyed handkerchiefs (turmeric, blueberries, and beets), knitting my grass-green St. Patty's Day sweater, coloring side-by-side with the little babe, and still bundling up in plenty of wool. Not quite Spring yet. At bedtime each night, I ask the little babe to tell me something good about the day. Lately she has been saying, "Everything about the day was good!" I am thankful for that.
What are you thankful for today?
*I had a batch of fresh hummus and needed something to go with it, but didn't feel like baking pita chips. My husband had just bought a dozen bagels, so I grabbed 3 of them from the freezer, sliced them into thin pieces, coated them with olive oil and salt and popped them into the oven. The "everything" bagels made great bagel chips! I have to admit that I've been cheating on the hummus recipe - instead of boiling the raw chickpeas, I've been using organic canned cooked chickpeas. Still the same healthiness, but a whole lot quicker.
Snowflakes falling, light as a feather, drifting down, sticking together.
Spider webs glistening between the trees, strung with flakes, swaying with the breeze.
A late Winter squall or is it early Spring, this mixed-up weather confusing everything.
Birds sing, greeting the day, the babe and I head out to play.
Today I am thankful for...
this opportunity:
My love of horses has been revived. At the barn where the little babe takes riding lessons, we have the opportunity to take on ownership of an older horse. We have been trying it out for a month and hopefully come April, he will be ours! Which makes me excited and nervous. I took riding lessons throughout my childhood, stopping after college and entering the "real world". This past month has been a journey back in time to my 15 year old self, remembering how much I loved horses. I now understand why my parents said no to owning a horse - the money, time, and long term commitment involved are pretty big. I wish I could apologize to my Dad for being such a spoiled brat about it. Sorry Mom. So this old guy, named Frank, is an older horse who requires little exercise, but will take all the love we can give him. Since I haven't ridden for 17 years, I'm not looking for a lot of action. After doing my 15 minute trial ride on Frank, I was sore for a week. As with the dogs that we have rescued, I just want Frank to be happy. I'm not asking him to work much.
Owning a horse offers a lot of learning opportunities for the little babe and is a relaxation session for me. When we walked into the barn on Sunday morning and I called Frank's name, I was greeted with a loud nicker from the end stall. That simple sound made my day. I owe my husband a big thank you, for saying that we can do this. This girl doesn't want diamonds or high heels; I'm happy with a senior, slightly sway-backed, yet very kind, horse named Frank.
What are you thankful for today?
Almost every other day, the little babe asks me if it is Spring yet. No, not yet. Some days it is still cold enough for snow pants, then the next day she doesn't need mittens. The birds are gathering nesting materials, but in the mornings there is still ice on the puddles in the saturated fields. I am still drinking lots of mint and stevia tea, I am still happily knitting, but seeds have been purchased and there is a bag of soil mix in my front hall. On our way to the barn in the morning (more on that later), we pass flocks of Canada geese and Mallard ducks in the corn fields. This past weekend, we saw two juvenile Bald Eagles - one at the lake where we keep our canoe and the other at a deer carcass alongside the road. The previous day, we had seen an adult Bald Eagle at the same carcass; it lifted off and hovered in the snowy wind for a few seconds - a magical majestic moment. Such sightings did not happen when I was a child and I am so glad that the raptors have made a comeback and that the little babe has the opportunity to see them in our area.
(We did not take an active bird nest - this was dangling from a branch. The "eggs" are stones.)
(A Tulip Poplar flower.)
The little babe talked me into a butterfly cookie cutter from the grocery store. When we got home, I thought a double raspberry pie topped with those thoughts of warm days would be nice. The little babe thought that was a good idea too (cookies were her first pick). I finished my cabled vest with a cotton/wool yarn. I like the variegated color, but the crisp texture just isn't my style. This is not a perfect project - lots of frogging, bits of this pattern, ideas from another, and a lot of hope that it would be something wearable. It isn't the most attractive, but it is a good layering piece for this time of year. And I do really like the cable pattern.
These in between days have been busy, full of goodness, muddy dog feet, story telling, nature sightings, book reading, egg collecting. I'm not rushing Spring.