From Skilled Hands

Since #2 daughter and I were here last week, and I had a pitiful amount of sleep, I will continue my weather related MTM posts for at least another week.

We had another 6 inches of snow to top off our 24 inches or so. Until Friday. When temperatures climbed and the sun came out. Our mountains of snow receded and the ground appeared. We have 3 dogs, who needed to go out during the snow siege, so you can imagine what appeared when the snow melted.

Folks around here are ready for spring. Or at least for a respite from cold and snow. The Village of Peninsula, population 602, will be participating in a Cabin Fever Reliever next month. Stay tuned for details.

Here’s a look at my neck of the woods these days:

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Travis Erwin is the mastermind of My Town Monday. Take a look at his site. You’ll learn some stuff about his home state of Texas, and find links to other MTM’ers blogs.

It’s been hard not to talk about the weather this winter. Today is the first day in I don’t know how many days that the temperature has been above freezing. The sun has shown itself, too, a welcome respite from the gray we’ve seen for so long. Icicles are melting, a constant drip drip on the metal roof. Temperatures are expected to fall again, so the melted ice will morph back into it’s former state, but horizontal rather than vertical.

The quality of the light is changing, a sure sign of progressing seasons.

Chickens are laying, another sign of longer days.

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Travis Erwin is the conductor of the My Town Monday symphony. Check out the links to other MTM players.

#2 daughter and I are off to North Carolina for the Lake Eden Arts Festival this afternoon.

We’ll be traveling with some good friends in a rented SUV; it’s probably the best vehicle for 3 adults, 3 teen aged kids, all our stuff and our camping gear, but I feel like I want to attach a big sign: “IT’S NOT OURS” or “WE DON’T OWN BIG HONKING SUV’s” or some such thing. With gas approaching $4.00 a gallon, and the carbon footprint we’ll create, I feel a bit hypocritical. Less wear and tear on our Toyota, driving 1 vehicle instead of 2, enough space for us and our stuff… I know, I know…

That being said, it will be wonderful to get away, to see more of this beautiful land, hear music, meet some new artists, enjoy the company of friends old and new. See you next week.

So we’ve paid the taxes, and relished the first days of Spring. The grass IS greener—on both sides of the hill. Pansies raise their smiling faces at the sun, and daffodils sway in the breeze. Asparagus and strawberries, and the sky that is that infinite shade of azure affirm Spring is here.

If today is your day, as it is mine, click here or here

It has arrived!! I knew that it was Spring before the calendar told me it was so; I knew it when the quality of the light changed; when the birds first sang their songs early in the morning; when the goldfinches began frequenting the thistle feeder, the breeding males sporting their brilliant yellow coats. I knew it was spring when I had to fill the feeders every other day; when the snowdrops and crocuses showed their colors; when the hens started laying again. I knew it was
spring when little muddy doggy footprints were a daily occurrence and when the smell of wet, muddy dogs permeated the house. All these things I knew.

I sit at the big kitchen window, birds crowding the feeders. The cardinals have found the new feeder, filled with safflower seeds, a pileated woodpecker sits on the suet, alternating between eating and calling. Nuthatches, chickadees, tufted titmice, Carolina wrens, woodpeckers and others move from place to place.

The sunshine, a welcome addition, tells me that it really IS time to wash the windows. Inside AND out. I will take care of it—soon. The weather report informs me that rain and storms are on the way, followed by a bit of snow by the weekend. The best thing about snow in April is that, unlike the 22 inches we had in March, it won’t last.

What tells you it is Spring in your neck of the woods?