Spring Projects, etc.

 

With everyone writing about their weekend activities, I thought I would add mine.  Technically everyday is a weekend day for me, but I still work as if I had a work schedule!  The first nice spring day we had was spent pruning and clearing out all the garden beds of winter damage and miscellaneous debris.  We also made some decisions regarding shrubbery that had served its purpose which in turn kept the fire pit burning all day.

 

 

 

 

 

Last summer I made a promise to a little girl (and her mother) that there would be a swing set in the yard when they again came to visit.  I don't know if the little girl remembers the promise, but the mother did:-)





My usual mess!

 

 



 

How to erect with no one around to hold the uprights.

 



I also promised my wife to fence in a portion of the yard.  I make a lot of promises:-)

 



 

Along with Kurt, my gas driven post hole partner.  My manual one is off pouting, but he has gotten more use than I had hoped.

 

To be continued..................



City Fox!

Early in the week Brigitte Dade mentioned she had a family of fox living under the utility shed at the back of their lot.  They live in a subdivision south of Smith Road and north of Roscoe Ewing Park.  Their lot abuts the railroad track.  We expressed an interest in seeing them and the Dades invited us to come over last Thursday morning between 9:00 & 9:30 which is when the kits come out to nurse and play.  There is a male and female with 10 kits.  They appear to be about 6-8 weeks old and as you can see from the photos, some larger than the others.  I have only seen brief glimpses over the years driving back and forth to work and have never seen young ones in the wild.  They were out and about for about 45 minutes and went back under the shed when it started to rain.

Mom.  We didn't see dad, but the Dades say he is around and integral in the care of the young ones.

 



Breakfast time.........

 



 

Time to explore.

Time to 'wrassle'!

 





 

How to get down?

 

You lookin' at me?  That's a watermelon rind they were dragging around laying on the ground near the three kits by the shed.  Apparently someone had gotten into the garbage somewhere in the neighborhood.

 

 

Tom said the shed reeks of urine and he is really unsure of the reaction he will get once mowing season begins. 

Ithaca 4-2015

Since the snow finally melted (mostly) in Ithaca, we decided it

was time for a little road trip, so after Dad finished work on

Thursday, we threw a few things in Big Red and headed

northeast for a few days.  It was rainy and in the

upper 60's when we left.  Dreary, but not

a big deal.

 

 

This is a picture of Chautauqua Lake, about 1/2 way.  I don't know if you can tell, but the lake is still frozen.  By the time we arrived at Keith and Sarah's, we had lost

30 degrees, but kept the rain.  They had a fire in the stove, warm hugs,

cute dogs, tomato soup and grilled cheese waiting.

 

 

Since Friday was a work day for them, we made arrangements to meet

Mike and Michelle Chevalier in Syracuse, about an hour and a half

drive.  This is the river running through town and is a good

example of all the waterways between home and Ithaca.

There is no drought here.

 

 

We met an Irish Pub in downtown Syracuse and had the best visit!

Michelle is having some disconcerting health problems, but

Friday was a "good" day and after bringing us up to

speed, there was no more talk of it.  As always,

it was just wonderful to be with them.

And, is our all to usual downfall,

these are the only 2 pictures

we took :(

 

 

 

Saturday, Sarah had an all day open house at the Vet Clinic and I went

along and helped where I could.  Her "booth" was set up in the

petting zoo.  Here Sarah is with the most loved animal at the

clinic.  Minnie is sort of the vet clinic mascot and she

is companion to Mike, the giant draft horse that is

the clinic blood donor.  I wish I had a picture

of the two of them together.

 

 

an alpaca and a llama

and

 

the friendliest camel ever.  When I walked by later he was

kneeling down and little kids were all over!!

 

Meet Blossom, the holey cow.  And...I can't remember why???

 

I love Minnie!  She just goes along with whatever is happening.

 

Eurasian Eagle Owl - realllly big!  From the local Raptor Rescue Center...not the petting zoo,

 

and a Golden Eagle.

 

Back at the Petting Zoo, this very patient cow was "milked" by hundreds of kids.

 

2 week old piglets joined in when they weren't napping and

 

one of two "painted horses"

 

 

"Bald Men Working"

 

While Sarah and I were at the Open House Keith and Pat did some planning for the kitchen project then Sunday, the real work began.

 

 

 

 

Zhora, Sarah and I enjoyed their first real spring day working in the yard.

 

 

 

We burned lots of yard stuff.

 

 In the evening we enjoyed the first fire of the season and

 

 

 

tried out the totally awesome binoculars that Eleftheria and Ian gifted Keith and Sarah. 

 

 

Two Dogs Sleeping

 

Monday morning, another beautiful day, we stopped at Brookton Market, our traditional "end of visit" stop for coffee and snacks and a loaf of their

great bread.

 

View directly across from the market.

 

And, this is the little cactus we brought home from Adam and LeAnna's yard.  Not only is it alive it is growing!!!!!!! 

Spring Teaser

As you no doubt know, spring arrived on Friday.

We got together with Hollopeters at the Timms' house

that evening and celebrated its arrival by eating, drinking, laughing,

sharing stories and complaining about the continued cold weather.

 

 

 

Sunday we texted with Adam who had arrived in Anchorage and

reported that it was 40 degrees.  At our house, it was 27 degrees...

doesn't seem quite right...

 

 

As you can see, we are ready to swing with the conditions!

We spent Sunday afternoon raking leaves, (7 bags!!) which was not a bad activity - we were just a little surprised because we had be particularly diligent in the fall.

However, your Dad noticed 

this...empty all fall and winter, there seems to be a little activity in the past couple

of weeks, although it does not appear that yard work is on the

schedule, so we may end up doing A LOT of raking this spring.





 

I planted lots of daffodil bulbs in the fall and they are beginning to peek out, more

attuned to the amount of sunlight apparently, than the temperature.

I don't know what the plant in the upper right is, some kind of wildflower that I have never looked up.  I love them.  They get real tall with a yellow flower stalk

which mature into seeds that the birds love.

My little stand of snowdrops looked pretty sad this morning :(

 

 





 

Future Strawberry-Rhubarb Pie!

 

So, our temperatures have been following the same pattern for about 3 weeks

now...gradually increasing from the weekend, peaking on Wednesday and then

dropping back down going into the end of the week.  Looks like the same

thing this week and next, BUT the highs are getting a little higher and

the lows are not quite as low.  Almost all the snow piles are

gone and the days are getting longer!!

 

I hope all is well in your little piece of paradise.  I miss you all.

Love, Mom

 

 

Snow Day, Blue Diamond?

 

So this was a hike we took on First Creek Trail on Saturday morning and this............

is what we woke up to this morning!

 



 

It was raining (which they need) when we turned in Sunday evening and snow was forecast for the higher elevations.  Adam had repaired and waxed his snowboard on Saturday in anticipation.  He headed to Mt. Charleston shortly after these pics were taken.

 

The snow was so wet that the hummingbird feeders in the tree out front were touching the ground.  I couldn't catch them on camera, but they were trying to feed from them.  The second photo was taken by Adam.



In the center foreground of this photo you can see a euphorbia Karen bought at Cactus Joe's to plant in their yard.

Fortunately they are winter hardy and the snow is melting quickly so we should get it planted before we leave tomorrow evening.

 

 



 

Mother Nature's way of prepping us for our return to Ohio!