orange you glad...?

A few cuddles is just what this week has called for!

We took a walk, and it was nice to see the woods waking up after the long winter.

Some wildflowers are already up!  This is Cutleaf Toothwart, informally known as Crow's Toes.  It's an edible plant once known as 'pepper plant' due to its spicy taste. 

At home, daffodils are coming up everywhere.  I didn't get a chance to plant any bulbs last year, and I'm already thinking muscari, tulips, snow-in-summer, crocus for next year.  But the daffodils are nice!

Of course, I'm bringing them inside...especially the tiny ones!

I hate that I can't go to the local greenhouses for flowers this spring, but at least the grocery store had a few violas and pansies.  I potted some up on the front porch.

Last year, I planted several spring-blooming flowers - lilacs, lily of the valley, two hydrangeas, three peonies, and at least 25 columbines.  No blooms yet, but the established lilac bush on the property is leafing out nicely!

The horse farm that's catty-corner to our house has opened the fields up, and they're dotted with horses again.  Such a pleasant view!

A less-pleasant visitor to our front porch:  the dead vole.  Claudia is such a good hunter and brings us a "special treat" almost daily!

Did you notice the teeth?

Like a beaver, vole teeth are orange because of all of the gnawing they have to do.  That orange (iron!) enamel is much stronger than our white enamel, and tends to sharpen with use - perfect for their daily tasks.  Voles have made a ridiculous amount of tunnels in our yard, so Claudia is doing a great service!

When she's not working...

I guess cats have basically perfected the art of relaxation.

Bosewichte is a great help around the house once he's up from his nap...sort of!  You'd think that the growing pile of fabric in front of him would be an annoyance, but he's blissfully unaware.

This is a project that I'm dying to work on...the confetti quilt.

Unfortunately, I'm having terrible trouble with my right shoulder, an old sports injury that has been bothering me for 3+  years.  My body has compensated by utilizing the incorrect muscles for certain movements, which means that any cutting/weight bearing activity (that means YOU, rotary cutter) is off-limits right now.  It also means that I have to leave the house twice a week during a pandemic to go to physical therapy, which is scary.  But I'm determined to fix this problem once and for all.

Stay safe, everyone!