Yesterday
Sunny enough to bask if you're an older doggy like the yellow lab we are dogsitting for the neighbors.
Cloudy enough to need a jacket.
Warm enough to work in the yard but cool enough to need layers to add and subtract.
Springtime enough for the soil to be friable.
Changeable enough to suddenly feel it might rain. And it does.
Surprising enough to wake up and find that the weather prognosticators were right and it did snow a bit.
Springtime!
"Rain", they said. Sounded good to me. Instead...it's snowing. Again.
It's a good day to put yardwork on hold--actually that's not even an option since the weather gods clearly are not favoring gardeners.
Still, I can and did plan my next project. Since the chickens are no more, and there will clearly not be any more if the HOA has its way, their chicken coop can be moved out of the run and repurposed. After measuring it, I found it fits nicely in an unused space that has way too much shade and cedar duff to be useful for plants. The coop will become a mini-storage shed. It's a good place to stash pots and soil and frequently-used fertilizers. In the winter, I can fit garden hoses, BBQ tools and tools out of the elements.
I'm thrilled I constructed it as a modular coop. The roof, coop and base are all separate units so it will be relatively easy to move.
My huge old common lilac tree broke in the Sierra Cement snowfall a few months ago. As soon as it's blossomed, it's getting replaced by a much prettier lilac named Agincourt Beauty. I just repotted it into a roomy five-gallon pot and it's funny to think of this little twelve-inch lilac replacing a twelve foot tree. What a change that will be!
When the lilac branch broke, it also took down part of a honeysuckle plant that shaded the chickens, provided cover from hawks and kept at least part of the run free of snow. I gave it a hard pruning--it might stay or it might not. The run previously was used for vegetables and that's my plan again. There was too much shade from the cherry tree which is almost completely dead and slated for removal soon as well as from the lilac tree. There should be plenty of hot sun again and I intend to take advantage of it for pole beans and sunflowers.
The Sensation lilac (fourth from the left) is calling my name--I love picotee flowers. Where to put it though? I'm pondering the possibilities.
Gardens need to be updated every so often. Rethought. Refreshed. Revitalized.
Hopefully we all will soon be enjoying lovely weather outdoors! Ya hear that, Winter?
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Hurray! What a wonderful day this was! The first day of Spring was filled with sunshine and birdsong. There is only a teensy bit of snow hiding in the shadiest, most sheltered part of the yard. Drumroll, please...there is finally no snow in our forecast. Yes, we've definitely turned the corner on all things winter.
Fifty degrees, blue skies and the knowledge that it's going to rain tomorrow spurred me to get outside and do some gardening while I could.
Is there anything better than dirt under your fingernails?!
Yes, going on a playdate with your puppy's best friend and your favorite neighbor.
Enjoy life is their message and I'm taking their advice!
The more man meditates upon good thoughts,
the better will be his world
In the Olden Days of the Blogosphere, we all left comments on each other's posts and it felt like a neighborhood or community of friends.
Then Facebook seduced us with an icon so we could approve at the push of a button. So fast, so easy. But we still made short comments, at least. Then heart icons on Instagram and Tik Tok appearred. Is it just me or does typing a comment on those platforms seem a bit too pushy/unneeded/intrusive/over-personal?
Blogs, however, don't have a cute little icon to quickly show I like/care/etc.
I'm now guilty of reading a blog and sometimes not commenting. I got spoiled. Putting my thoughts into words takes time compared with clicking a convenient little icon.
Anyway, I just checked my Comments Setting and realized I'd been getting comments but had not approved them. Mostly because I never saw them. Might be the system never gave me a heads up via email. Or it might have been something I did wrong. (Not likely since I'm sooooo tech savy,)
I sincerely apologize to everyone who commented during my March Binge of Posts. When I checked my Stats, I was thrilled to not only see I had readers, but that some had commented!!! And I never knew and never acknowledged you.
Suffice it to say that I reset my Comments and they will just appear after the post (and I'll delete the spam as needed.) Because I love anyone who is willing to spend a little of their time to make me feel pretty wonderful and connected through our common interests.
Now I need to figure out how to respond to your kind comments. Our give-and-take is a simple thing, but is really the essence of who we are!
I know have some technical learning/updating to do. Blogger changed enough things since I was posting regularly--in a previous decade--that I need to relearn their system. I'm grateful that adding photos got easier after their last iteration. I never had a problem changing my banner from season to season or as the mood struck me, and that's a priority for me now. The current truck and simple font is a lot different from what I'd prefer. It does the trick, but I accept the challenge to upgrade my skills.
In random news, Lilypad Pond has been ice-free for a grand total of two days now. Apparently Lila thinks it is warm enough to wade in. Sheesh.
Yesterday was a good day on the bunny front. Turning and stuffing the arms, legs and heads just seemed endless--then I began embroidering the faces and the clouds parted and trombones sounded!
Is it because embroidery was so much easier? Or just more creative?
I'm going with the latter. Suddenly they just had personality.
Here is a bouquet of the four little bunnies. A teaser of what a warren of seven little fully dressed bunnies will look like!
p.s. I found a remnant of a stuffed arm on the carpet. Bummer!
If I had to reconstruct the events, I'd go with:
I have a treasured Easter bunny that my grandma made long ago. He looks pretty spry for a sixty year old. I wonder how old that would be in bunny years?
I thought I'd try reproducing him. Not bad for a first try without a pattern.
I'll be making a few more destined for a new generation of grand-littles.
Possibly I should have taken photos earlier when there was still daylight...ya think?! I promised myself I'd post decent lighted and nicely edited photos of the whole litter of rabbits when the last stitch is set.
But for now, a poorly illustrated post is better than none.
