It Must Be Spring If...

• The forsythias are blooming.
• The western chorus frogs are peeping.
• The garden hose is connected.
• The lawn is fertilized.
• The songbirds are back. 
• The big daffodils are dancing in the wind.
  

 

I'm wondering what are the first signs of Spring in your part of the world?

Also, this week has been balmy and warm (sixty degrees plus) with nighttime lows above freezing.  Which means that the forecast for the next ten days will be less than nothing like that. As Kevin the Mailman and I agreed today: typical weather for northern Nevada.

 I'm hoping for rain instead of snow. 

Guideposts (8)

               That is one good thing about this world...

           there are sure to be more springs.

~Lucy Maude Montgomery

Anne of Avonlea

Spring is making up for lost time.  I turned around and the apple tree was blossoming and I'm pretty sure that they weren't open five minutes previously!  What a delight life is...enjoy your week ahead, dear friends, and may we laugh no matter what life throws at us.

One Day. Two Seasons

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!

SPRING!!!

 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.

They played till they could play no more.  A tired puppy is a good puppy.

Enjoy life is their message and I'm taking their advice!

 

 

I Might Be The Only One

 I enjoy Springing Ahead and Falling Backwards.  

I don't at all mind "losing" an hour of sleep so that my clock time matches the sunshine that has started to flood our east-facing bedroom.  If I'm gonna be awake anyway, I'm much happier to hit the ground running at seven instead of six in the morning.  

Getting up in the cool of a summer day that has the potential to go triple digits is another reason I'm thrilled with daylight savings time.

It may have been a few years (okay, decades) since I had little ones who, like chickens, woke with the sunrise.  I liked my kids a whole lot better when my clock radio said it was only six-fifteen instead of a dreadful five-fifteen.

I don't think I'm losing anything.  Especially since I know I'll regain that hour of sleep next Fall when the days are getting way too short.

With snow falling and accumulating on an almost daily basis--still!--I'm also ready for any hope of Spring.

Signs of Spring

Even if there is snow and it's not exactly warm, there's hope.

 It's March.   It's sunny.  I hear a time change is fast approaching.  And the first official day of Spring isn't far off!  Whoo-hoo!

A few leaves have bravely made their appearance.  Mini-daffodils are so reliable.  Buy a pot for color in the deep of winter, shove them in the soil later that spring, and enjoy them every year after.  No thought or care required.

This regular old daffodil is pushing through the snow too.

It occurred to me that this is a three-season photo: old leaves from autumn, snow from winter and the "can Spring be far off" leaves. 

It's not springtime without flowering bulbs and it's always a toss-up whether the crocus, mini-iris or mini daffs will blossom first.  

Except this year, the violets beat them all. Presenting the first flowers of 2023!

Another four inches of snow is predicted in our extended forecast.  More water for my garden.  But still, sigh...

Dose Dos--Remember When

I never finished writing this post originally so I never published it.  I was gonna delete it, but then figured that this was a record of the change from a very challenging time to one filled with hope.  I wanted to keep this memory.  Sometimes a blog can be less of a communication tool and more of a personal journal.  This is one of those times.

March 29, 2021.  We got up this morning and headed off for our second Pfizer vaccination. I might have been a little anxious since I had a nightmare that involved a low-speed car crash right into a small tree.  But we were up in time, had no auto incidents on the way, and were at the pharmacy in plenty of time!

What a difference three weeks can make.  There was no hour-long queue to wait in while cringing away from other people who somehow, even after nine months of Covid19 warnings, still didn't know how to properly social distance.  Heck, there was no line at all.  We walked right up to the check-in desk, handed in our paperwork, had our temperatures taken, sat down waiting for our names to be called and had our shots in less than five minutes.  It took longer to sit in the waiting area afterward than it did to walk up and get our jabs!

Since then, we had Easter dinner with a vaccinated family and I got to hug my mom for the first time in a year. Last week I took her to one of our local nursery/gift shops just because we didn't feel totally vulnerable and at risk.  

We are still very cautious in public, knowing that there are no one hundred percent guarantees and cognizant of the new variants swirling around.  I won't be eating in a restaurant or enjoying a movie theater anytime soon.  But I'm gaining confidence outdoors and not totally freaking out when there are more people in one place than I'm used to.  We do masks and social distancing and keep tabs on family, friends and co-workers who are getting vaccinated so we know when we can relax and enjoy their company.

I may be safer, but I'm still keeping up on the latest science.  I won't be getting cocky anytime soon.  I've seen the statistics on B.1.1.7 and they are scary.  My neighbor had a scan recently and asked if they could include his lungs since they were "in the vicinity" and his radiologist agreed since he knew why he asked (he caught Covid19 during a chemo infusion). My neighbor's lungs are thakfully clear and healthy.  But the radiologist shared that he'd just seen the lungs of someone who had a mild case of the coronavirus and he called them coal miner lungs.  Why one guy and not the other? This virus can affect vital organs in ways that we are still learning about.   

There is no downside to getting the vaccine.  Still a happy camper here...ready for springtime, outdoor activities, visiting with neighbors (all of us vaccinated), and lots and lots of gardening!

 

One Week In, Two To Go

It might be spring if yesterday was too chilly to be outdoors and today is balmy.  If yesterday was gray and dour, and today is blissfully sunshiny.  If yesterday felt like a good day to cocoon and hibernate and today is an outdoorsy invitation.         

My garden is in no doubt that spring has just about sprung.  The yearly parade of intensely purple mini iris, tete a tete daffodils and crocuses (croci?) by the hundreds has been flaunting their blossoms regardless of snow flurries or shivery breezes.  Thank heavens for bulbs and perennials like primroses that lift my spirits each year.  

My vast collection of bunnies are lurking behind an abundance of green clad leprechauns and shamrocks, waiting for their turn in the seasonal spotlight.  Can lambs and peonies be far behind?  

I know that changing out holiday decorations is just too much trouble for most people nowadays.  I can't help embracing the changing seasons though.  A changing gallery of holiday reminders is just a small delight that makes my life a tad richer.

Plus, I get bored easily.  Eye candy is nice.

Time is a funny thing.  It hardly seems like it was only a week ago that we received our first covid vaccine.  The second dose scheduled for the twenty-ninth seems like an eternity away.  

I'm mulling how to celebrate being (relatively) street legal again.  There are some errands and projects that have been on the back burner.  Things I want to accomplish but have not been willing to risk the possible exposure, like a trip to a big box store to have a gallon of paint mixed for the family room or BB&B for a digital kitchen scale. The idea of going out without weighing risk factors and deciding on discretion is going to take some getting used to.  We are fortunate to live in an area where most people are mask compliant.  Still, those new variants popping up are not only more transmissible but also cause more serious infections.  I'll dream about paint and scales, but till probably resist the temptation until more of our population has access to the vaccines.  Better safe than sorry!

1

It's Baby Chicks Day

You can have your Tiffany Blue boxes and the sparkling treasures within.

You can keep your scrumptious dinners with an excellent wine in a restaurant where someone else cooks and cleans up.

You can keep your tropical vacations to Hawaii when springtime is still way too cold at home.

I'd like all those things too.  But... these little peeps are what bring me real, true, deep-down happiness and joy. 

So here are the obligatory baby pictures from a doting chicken mama. (I currently have 430 chicken photos on my hard drive.  In my defense, that's only 33 photos per chick.  It could be worse.)

(

Seriously, what's cuter than a day-old peep running amock on your coffee table right before Easter?

 

Or an Oreo sandwich?  And check out that cute lil white chicken butt on the left.  So sweet!

I say do whatever brings you true happiness, no matter how crazy it might seem to anybody else. And if your dream also provides fresh eggs, consumes scrap veggies and provides excellent compost--all the better.

Be (INSPIRE)d,

 

Where I Party On:

I Got The Art Bug and Finally Started Painting

I'm very proud of myself. Apparently Spring Break is exactly what I needed to get enthused enough to finally grab a paint brush and begin those paintings that have been fermenting in my brain.

I had time and inspiration enough to paint a landscape on the weekend. Then the knowledge that there was no school bell ruling my life yesterday enabled me to work on these two small seascapes.

I bought an expensive frame for the larger canvas ages ago, hoping it would motivate me into turning a blank white into a lovely decorating piece.  Here's a peek at how it looks when I put it together.  Don't you just loooove it?!

Me neither!  April Fool's! 

I couldn't resist since I had the raw materials:  I found the frame and canvases in a "free" pile when a neighbor moved out two weeks ago.  I never turn my nose up at canvases no matter how bad they are.  Even if the "trees" are strokes of paint over a "leaf" background and the mountain is nearly invisible.  Or the seascapes completely ignore the rule of thirds.  Or the artist mistakenly thinks the Pacific is dark blue.  Because all I see is a free canvas!

I once picked up a completely black canvas and carried it home (it's pink homage of roses and rose quotes now). 

The frame is truly hideous.  The light wood is nice but the rough carved dark part is challenging my creative instincts.  Any suggestions?  Maybe a driftwood treatment and add a chalkboard?  Or a bright turquoise paint job for a modern fun look?  Or even a nice bonfire to warm my hands from my morning walk?

Now go forth and punk someone you love.

Be (INSPIRE)d,

 

If a Bird Can Build a Nest, Then So Can I

Birds just have their beaks assisted by basic instinct to guide them when building a nest. I've got two hands, opposable thumbs and a lawn filled with birch branches blown down by the last windstorm--how hard can it be?
 
Since I had to gather up all the twigs anyway, I kept some to weave into a nest.

First I took all the wispiest pieces--some were already off the ends of larger branches, some I clipped off  if they were attached to pieces to thick to weave together.

Then I circled them all in my big soup pot, covered them with hot water and heated it to a boil before I turned off the burner and let them soak for thirty minutes.  The branches in springtime are usually alive and pliable anyway (as opposed to dead branches in the fall), but the heat makes them extra springy and less likely to break as I work with them.

Then I bent a few into a circle and spiraled both ends into a wreath shape.  Perfection isn't required--lots of ends stick out but we'll deal with them late.  Keep adding twigs until you have a nice hefty little wreath.  

Make one large wreath, one medium and one bitty.  My large was less than four inches in diameter and each smaller one was about an inch smaller.  The sizes aren't exact.  They just need to be graduated so that the next littlest one is smaller than the one above but still overlaps the inner diameter a bit.  You can see I made the littlest one nice and full--it'll be on the bottom and you don't want your eggs to fall through.  I had enough twigs for a second nest and my top was almost six inches, so you can make them as big or little as you'd like.

Then stack them up--can you see the spaces showing between the layers?

I saved some fine and very pliable twiglets to use as "thread" to sew the layers together.  I just wove them in and out, using areas that were open, until I had a more-or-less unified look.

Then I basically gave it a haircut--I clipped off the spikiest stems that stuck out before I glued on some moss.  When you hot glue a very thin layer of moss (Dollar Store or craft store) on top you camouflage any flaws as well as make it an softly inviting place to lay a few eggs.

I shaped a piece of wire about six inches long like a hairpin and stuck in through the bottom of the nest so I could easily attach it to my grapevine wreath and remove it as needed.  If you're displaying your wreath atop an old trophy or on a shelf, you obviously can just lay it in place without wiring it.

I'm an Offical Craft Hoarder so of course I've had a little bag of speckled eggs laying around for years just waiting for a project.  I squirted together a bit of light blue, ironically named Blue Jay, and added a dollop of a lime green acrylic paint to get just the exact shade of robins egg blue that my brain was visualizing, painted one side at a time and patiently waiting until it was dry before carefully painting the other side.

(And if you believe that I have some tropical acreage here in Northern Nevada that I'd like to sell you!)

Paint at here at Meadowsweet doesn't have much of a chance to dry before I'm ready to put on a second coat.  I have a system dedicated to my impatience now--an index card with thumb tacks pushed through that I use as a little drying rack.  It keeps the eggs from rolling around and the little points support the eggs but allow the paint to dry without needed a repaint to cover places where wet paint stuck to whatever I previously set them on.

A bit of hot glue--making sure that your eggs are attached to the twigs beneath the moss rather than the moss itself--and nestle your little robin's eggs in place.

Voila! You're ready to attach your nest to a wreath

or place it in an old trophy, 

or set it on a china plate.

  Nothing says springtime like a bird's nest filled with eggs!

Be (INSPIRE)d,

More wonderful springtime lovelies at My Romantic Home's Show and Tell Friday!

The Nest and the Scrub Jays

I didn't mean to create a "situation" but I think I was born to be the neighborhood trouble-maker.

I have a spring wreath on my front door. It's so cheery and springlike that it makes my heart happy every time I come up my front walk.

Winters are way too long and cold and spring is worth celebrating, wouldn't you agree?

Nestled among the silk flowers is a faux nest I created from little birch branches and inside are three little eggs painted robins egg blue.

The nest is cute, the eggs are colorful and everything seemed just fine until this year...when I noticed there were only two eggs in the nest.   

Darned hot glue just didn't hold or somebody shut the door extra hard, I figured.  I looked everywhere for that egg but couldn't find it.

Then most of the second egg disappeared.   Hmmmm.

And the last remaining egg showed signs of...

 (dum, dum, da,da, DUM)

egg-stealing, nest-robbing, hungry hoodlum scrub jay attack!

I can just imagine the conversation around the Jay Family table that evening.

Fledglings:  "Mom, are you sure we're supposed to eat eggs?" as they show her the empty shell they carried home.

            Momma: "They just don't make eggs like they used. I don't know what robins are coming to these days."

            Grandpa Jay:  "You young whippersnappers complain about everything.  Why, I flew upwind to school both ways and had to eat moldy worms for lunch when I was your age."

           Dad:  "I'll show you how it's done tomorrow."

Famous last words--can't you just picture the glee of the young ones when Dad had to eat his words.  Literally!

But wait...it gets worse for them.  We've replaced the eggs and have taken to listening for commotion at the front door.  My sweetie and son thoroughly enjoy flinging the door open and scaring the jays right out of their tail feathers. It might be hard on the hungry jays but I suspect they'll think twice before attacking the songbird nests for a quick snack later this spring!

I shouldn't laugh but I can't help it.

Meanwhile, I'm working on a nest-making tute--so you can be the trouble-maker in your neighborhood too. 

Be (INSPIRE)d,

 

Sharing the silliness at An Oregon Cottage,
My Romantic Home Show and Tell Friday
and Feathered Nest Friday (how appropriate!) at French Country Cottage

Top Ten Signs of Spring in the Garden

I'm so ready for springtime!  We had hopes for a normal winter back in December when we were shoveling snow.  But after months of waiting for something (anything) to fall from the skies, I've given up.  We in the western states are facing yet another drought year.  The little spring showers that have suddenly appeared are better than nothing but they are not the same as a healthy snowpack melting into our reservoirs.

Spring-like weather has arrived--a full month earlier than usual, courtesy of the weather gods.  Who am I to argue?

And how can I disagree with these springtime markers that have arrived in my yard:

10. Green grass. Suddenly you look out your kitchen window and realize that a color other than brownish-tan exists again.

9. Incipient rhubarb leaves.  They're curled up like plump sleepy green puppies but one day soon they'll unfurl and begin to stretch toward the sunlight.

8. Swelling buds. Teensy green points of hope on the cutleaf lilac by the pond.

7. Pond housekeeping.  The water just warm enough to gather up old leaves for the compost heap without freezing my fingers in thirty seconds.

6.  Blue violets.  Trusty bloomers come sunshine or snow.  Now I remember why I keep them around.

5.  White violets.  Time to declare war on these persistent varmints for yet another year.  You know it's really spring when you have an actual, gotta-do-it-right-now garden chore!

4.  Primroses.  Pink and yellow and red and blue--neighbors come and ask if they're real.  Yes, they are.

3.  Crocuses.  Yellows and whites and striped purples.  Ahhh, striped purples--does it get any better?

2.  Mini iris.  Such a vivid shade of color as they unsuccessfully hide amidst the daffodils.

1.  Daffodils.  A daily greeting from the minis as I walk up to our front porch.

Was it just a few weeks ago that I froze on my morning walks?  Now each morning brings new delights--our little corner of the Sierra is waking up to birdsong and sunshine!  (If I'm not mistaken, I get to add the first hyacinths of the season blooming tomorrow!)

Be (INSPIRE)d,
 

Fresh Cut Friday and Show and Tell at My Romantic Home

Stealing Springtime

I kinda feel like Reno has stolen all the good weather from the rest of the country and kept it for themselves.

It seems like April here.  There are robins hopping from branch to branch among the spruce and cedars.  Birdsong serenades us each morning.  The sun is shining warmly and even clouds and light winds can't make us shiver.  

I biked to work wearing a light jacket and was too warm.  So I biked home for lunch in shirtsleeves.  (Long sleeves, but still...)  And what did I notice as I walked toward our front door? 

Flower buds on the mini-daffodils!!!

And shy violets peeking out from the remnants of autumn leaves that blow in from our neighbors' yard!

I just wanted you to know that springtime will come for us all if we can just hang in there long enough.  Ya gotta have faith.  And oh, how much we'll appreciate it when we're really and truly surrounded by all the beauty of new life.

It wasn't that long ago that we were shivering in snow and single digits.  And we'd honestly and truly be delighted if you could send some of your weather in our direction.  We're entering yet another scary year of drought here in the Sierra Nevada and are praying hard for snow flurries, blizzards, thunderstorms, rainshowers or whatever we can persuade the weather gods to send our way. 

Wouldn't it be great if we could search craigslist to acquire some snow, rain or sunshine depending on what we needed?  Or bid on eBay for a winter storm or a sunny day? 

May your electric stoves be simmering hot cocoa and warm soup.  My your thermostats keep those home fires burning. May your porch lights shine out so that you can see the beauty outside and your pantry shelves bulge with good things to eat. I'm wishing that you are enjoying Netflix or board games or dreaming by a warm fireplace.  Most of all, I wish everyone safe and sound.

Be (INSPIRE)d,
 

Happy May Day!

 

Once Spring finally decided to unpack her bags, she sprang quickly. Every day is a new delight. (If your Spring is slow to arrive, keep heart and know she'll get there eventually.  She's definitely worth waiting for after a cold, dark winter.)

I spent five minutes just gazing at a pink dogwood blossom, marveling at the stripes and color and structure. Does anyone else lose themselves that way?

It's putting me in artist mode again--getting myself a sketchbook is on my to-do list for this weekend.  As well as making myself a mini-watercolor travel kit from a very Pinteresting article I found.  I'm eager to move on from the very entertaining (to me, anyway) cartoon animal sketches I've been doing and begin working in plein air. 

Happy May!  I hope it brings you sunshine and warmth and vernal flowers and greengreengreen!

Bring joy,

Hoppy Easter to All!

Peter Cottontail and I both wanted to wish you a happy day!

 

Bring joy,