April Showers...

Bring May Flowers!

Its not quite May yet, but the wildflowers are blooming in profusion.

 Swamp buttercup

 Violets

Rue anemone

 Jack in the Pulpit

 Trillium

 Virginia Bluebells

Butterweed

Bleeding heart

First Campout of the Year

We went camping at a nearby campground this weekend.

A few of us are excited.

Come on! let's get this thing on the road!

My daughter & her family have a new camper.

Here they are backing into their campsite.

 Fishing right from our campsite

Heidi caught one!

 Ryan enjoyed the playground

 Ready for bed.

Whew, this camping stuff is exhausting!

Shed Antler

Another sign of Spring, a shed antler.

The antler has been chewed by mice already

Hoo, hoo!

Good morning!

Happy Earth Day

The snakes are out!

Saw two snakes on our Easter walk with grandkids.

Egg Hunt

Easter dawned sunny & warm.

Perfect for an egg hunt.

 Run!

 Everyone is getting in on the action!

 Maverick's first egg hunt.

He can't seem figure out what all the excitement is about.

Its Scout's first egg hunt too!

Heidi's haul

Maggie's loot

Maverick is raiding Liddy's stuff.

Ryan working on a sugar rush

Egg hunts are exhausting!

Happy Easter

Easter Crafts

I had babysitting duty this week, so decided to have an Easter craft evening.

First we made Bird's Nest cookies.

Next we made dirt cupcakes with gummy worms & lollipop flowers.

Not everyone is into baking but almost every kids love to paint,

 so we also made bead bunnies.

Oops, one has lost a tail!

 Finally we attempted string wrapped balloons.

It seemed easier than it actually was, especially for 3 year olds, 

but we got them wrapped.

 The string eggs turned out better than expected.

Happy (& silly) grandkids!

Taxes & Snow!

It snowed on April 15th.

Taxes due & snow! 

A double whammy.

Tag left the barn this morning & looked back at me as if to say,

"Are you responsible for this?".

 Snowy daffodil

 Yesterday

Today

Wildflowers are Blooming

After such a long torturous winter,

there are finally signs that it is receding.

Bloodroot, so named because if you pluck it, it will bleed red sap.

A hillside of wildflowers

 Dutchman's Breeches, one of my favorites.

Hepatica

A dewy wild crocus

I even found this little red cup fungus.

Welcome Spring!

Asparagus!

I've struggled growing asparagus here.

I tried digging a plot for it in a sunny spot,

 but the grass always encroached and took over and it ended up getting mowed.

Last year I planted some in my raised bed and crossed my fingers.

Last week I spotted some promising sprouts.

Finger sized shoots!

I checked today and wow, some was at least a foot tall.

Time to harvest!

Tag is 27

Tag is celebrating his 27th birthday today.

Happy birthday Old Fella!

Who Goes There?

Looks like a mink & an earthworm have been exploring the mud flats.