It's finally Spring

 I stand under the apple blossoms and feel as if there is a wedding happening all around me.  Such extravagant beauty must be the beginning of something wonderful.

 The currant bush that I have babied since we moved into this dear old house.  My dad says that grandma used to have one in the backyard and she would make currant jelly in the spring.

 The herb garden.

 We took a break from all the planting and headed for the lake.

 Skipping stones.

 Checking out the bugs.

 Brothers.

 What a difference a year makes.  He's keeping up with the big boys now when we hike.  He knows many different bird calls now and is eager to stop and take a closer look.

We watched the turtles basking.  There were many very small ones (babies?) but this big guy sat still for me to photograph.  It was fun to watch them swim in the algae water and poke their little heads up for air.  We also hunted for frogs but never spotted one.  We could hear a bullfrog though so we know he's out there somewhere.  Maybe we'll find him next time.

Apple Blossoms

The queens of the yard are in full display.  Such beauty.....  

I love this picture because you can see how great of a job my J has done with the pruning!  You always want to be able to see through the tree.  It needs to be open like that for the sun to keep the tree healthy and able to produce lots of fruit!

Look at these buds! So beautiful, and they smell sooooo good.....

Thank you Mr. Honey Bee for taking time to pollinate my trees.  I'm so grateful to you.  :)  It really is amazing to stand under the trees and just listen.  The bees are sooo loud while they are doing their work.  There must be hundreds of them just among the two trees.  And hundreds more by the other apple tree and pear tree.  Amazing!

Things we do this time of Year

Last weekend was the annual "Apple  Tree Pruning Weekend".  It is way more fun than it sounds.  I admit, we didn't get as much done as usual.  Why, you ask?  Oh....because there were even more fun things to do.  Like walk around downtown and get a hot chocolate.  And check out our new local shop which has thirty different kinds of bottled beer, caramel corn, and little handmade wooden train car toys all at the same time.  And the weather was springlike! ....which causes one to wonder a bit more than usual....and so we will extend our annual pruning "weekend" to two weekends this year.

We also are preparing for our new batch of spring chicks.  We will be ordering from Murray McMurray Hatchery this year.  What kind are we going to get?  Oh....you will have to wait and see! :)  But, I will tell you this much....the boys are each going to choose three of their own this year. (well not Hen...who is too young for a hen of his own..ha ha) Stay tuned to see what they pick out!

Also we are continuing to work on getting ready for the big remodel.  The toy room and laundry room are almost totally empty now.  The kitchen has nothing on the walls anymore.  The pantry is empty and moved into the temporary kitchen (the orange room off the kitchen) and last night J and I moved the refrigerator to that room too! Phew!  It's starting to look really empty in there, which is sad looking. (because the room itself is in such bad shape, and one notices this more when it's empty)  But it's totally exciting that we are approaching this new phase!  Tonight we are planning on meeting with the builder to firm things up.  How exciting!

I'll post some pics soon.  

love to you.

- us