Snow Laughing Matter!

Ok, I admit it. I am ready for winter to take a bow and graciously welcome spring. I am totally flaked out by it's many encores. Yesterday's snowfall started out lazy, so I was OK with it. Liked it, even. Today? Not so much.

But before yesterday's lazy snow went to bed it had a surge of energy.

So did I. Even though I am weary of Jack Frost nipping at my nose, I bundled up and braved the cold to walk around our property to take pictures.  Numb fingers aside, I got a big kick from seeing this milkweed pod having a last laugh at Old Man Winter.

 

I don't think that the bees in this super were laughing, though....do you? I think that they were probably worn out from beating their wings for the past four months to keep their home warm. The bees in the other two supers did not make it through the harsh winter, and we've removed the supers from the bee yard.

 

And the fish? Well, who knows?

 

 

 

 

But of all, I think that these snowdrops were maybe happiest of all with their message that, hey..."spring is here.

It really is.

 

After all, we're bloomin', ain't us?"  :)

 

 

Marcheta *Hit the road, Jack.

Across the Pond

Here's Lumber Jack Jim, cutting away at

 a low branch near the small pine.

 March 9.
There's still a lot of snow on the ground because this winter simply does not want to end. The pond is still frozen (as seen as the "Big White Way" in this photo. 

The  sky is brilliant blue, the temperature is 40 F making the day feel extra warm. Funny how living Life Below Zero for the past while makes an otherwise 'cold' day feel downright balmy!

This warm weather means that Jim has to work quick today to cut firewood in the wooded area on the side of our small pond that is opposite the house and driveway while the ground is still somewhat frozen and he can drive his Kubota back to the house without flinging mud all over. ( LOVE run-on sentences! Where else but a blog can people get away with them? >grinz<)

Or, worse yet, getting stuck in the mud.

Like his wife did. 

In the driveway, where not so long ago we were getting our vehicles stuck in the snow, I had a "Close Encounter of the Muck Kind"  today. I returned home from morning errands just in time to fix lunch, before venturing out again. I did not want to park the car in the garage because I wanted it to sit in the sun so that I'd have a nice warm car for my afternoon running around, so I pulled up past the garage into what I *thought* was a gravel area. Silly me. When I opened the door I sank into mud about half-way up my ankle boots. :(

What an ordeal it was to not drag that mud into the kitchen,

Yep.

Mud. The True Sign of Spring :)

Marcheta *Mud pies for dessert, anyone?

Signs of Change

 

As in last post, do not click on double underlined links. I did not insert them. I do have links to information, and they are regular-looking links. This problem is one of the reasons will be leaving Blogger soon. Sorry for any inconvenience or confusion.

 

 

 

 

Last week I saw this American Robin sitting on the outside ledge of my sewing room window. It was extremely cold outside, but the sun was out in full force and warming up the south side of the house.

People think of spotting robins as the first sign of Spring. Although these red-breasted birds are a welcome sight, actually they hang around all year. A robins diet is bugs, worms and fruit. In the winter they do not visit bird feeders, they are busy foraging for fruit in hedgerows. In January a flock completely stripped the berries from my Hawthorn tree, which not only provided nutrition for the robins, but also supplied me with welcome entertainment. How hardy are robins? They even live in Alaska!  So, no. Robins are not harbingers of Spring.

A few days later I saw a true spring-bringing bird; a Red-winged Blackbird at Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge on Lake Erie. Yep. It was another cold day and the bird might have been thinking it had been duped by the lengthening daylight which brought it "up North", but seeing it was a thrill for my friend and me.

Then, just yesterday, I saw a Turkey Buzzard gliding over a snowy field, looking for something dead to feast upon. Year-round residents in southern Ohio, buzzards are another sign of spring where I live. Legend has it that they return to Hinckley, Ohio, every spring on March 15. Jim told me that my buzzard had ignored protocol by daring to show up early. I think that the buzzard is as hungry for spring as we are.

Even though I am looking forward to spring, I am a *little bit* sad to see winter, with all of its challenges, go. Why? Well, I had a ton of projects that did not get done (as usual) and would relish a bit more time to work on them before outdoor work takes over my days.

But the biggest, most exciting change for me is moving.

No, not moving locations; moving forward with said projects. Growth is a good thing. I've decided to move my online presences to one location. Blogger has been a great tool, but I need a bigger space to hold all of my blab and big ideas.

To reach this goal, I am meeting with JoAnn Snell, of Jo's Graphic Design today to work on a new website; to build a home big enough for OCJ and The World According to Marcheta. Everything tucked into one URL.  Won't that be tweet sweet?

Marcheta *bob-bob-bobbing along