sours on flowers

After a few frosty mornings...

...I think winter is finally over!  Everything is so green.

Peonies are starting to pop!

Because of a pretty rainy stretch...

...my ferns are going crazy.  

I love spring!!

Todd had a cyst removed last week.  He's been recovering with a little help from Pepita...

Celebratory "body cavity" cupcakes!  The middle is raspberry jam...I swear.

The cats have been their usual helpful selves...

"Gonna take out the trash any time soon??"

"Oh, you wanted to stretch your back?  Let me help."

"I'm done folding!"

"Why are you photographing NASA stuff when I'm soooo much more photogenic?"

"You missed it!  Ryan broke up with Marissa AGAIN."

I can't believe that June will be here in a few weeks.  I've barely been outside with my camera this spring.  It's been cooler and wetter, and life is just busier in general. 

One thing I haven't done, even though it's nearly mid-May, is plant out my annual garden.  In years past, I had seedlings ready to go into the ground by now.

This year, I bought the seeds and soil, cleared the garden debris, and...nothing.  In part there's a physical aspect.  I developed Morton's Neuroma in my right foot, which is a pinched tendon/nerve between two toes.  Some days it hurts to walk/be on my feet for too long.  I also have arthritis in my lower back that has been more painful this spring.  It's more easily aggravated and the thought of the lifting/bending required to do just get the boxes seeded has been daunting.  The main job, however,  is crawling around on the tick-infested ground, stabbing the spring weeds out of the hundreds of 4" pre-cut seedling holes.  You can get an idea of how many there are in this photo.  It's hot, dirty, grueling work and I dread it every year.  Because we've had a long, wet spring, the weeds are now 6-12" high, with deep roots.

A more inspired year

But this isn't a case of the mind is willing but the body is weak.  I'm just not interested in doing it this year.  As I have done my whole life, I throw myself wholeheartedly into a hobby and it consumes me for months or even a year or two.  Then I completely lose interest and focus on something else.  I always cycle back through my hobbies again but sometimes it takes a decade to reignite that passion.  And this year...I don't care about it.  I'm not interested in the propagation process.  I'm not interested in a colorful garden.  I'm not even interested in picking future bouquets.  I'm either 100% in or 100% out...and this year, my interest might even be in the negative.  ;)  Worse case scenario, we will string-trim the weeds down to surface level and just cover the whole lot up with landscape fabric.  Save the seeds and hope that the interest returns next year.  We'll see what happens!  

making tracks

 With temperature fluctuations like this...

...and frequent rain...

...we're seeing a lot of really pretty fog.

Even with the regular frosts, there's more GREEN.

putty root orchids

haircap moss

Pepita approves.

In just three weeks, she'll be a year old.  Time flies!

Remember this tiny puppy?  Maybe 7 or 8 lbs.?

Now she spends her evenings passed out on the couch, all 25 pounds pressed up against my back, snoring like a freight train.

Is she potty trained?  Nope, she still has enough accidents (maybe one a month) that I haven't put any of the house rugs back down.  She still struggles with impulse control with the cats...but she's getting better.

The cats have plenty of places to escape to, anyway.

The Barnacle in my puzzle box.

Frances on his heated pad atop my puzzle shelf.

Calliope on my heated keyboard pad.

My work photography station, with one well-intentioned but somewhat in-the-way cat looking for attention

So many personalities keep things interesting around here!

Hard to believe that we'll be seeing snow again in a few days.  I'd like to get out and inspect the back pond when it happens.  As you can see from this trail cam still, we get a lot of animal tracks back there.

We'll see how it goes!

the upper crust

The temperature has not yet risen above freezing, so the snow remains. We actually had a bit more!

Freezing fog, too.

Looked so pretty with the sunrise!

Rabbit tracks in the snow.  And...those lumps to the left of the track are from moles!  They're trying to poke through the frozen earth and snow layer because they're looking for food.  They aren't hibernating, like many other small creatures.

Lots of sun.

A lot of these photos are from the same vantage points, because, well, we just can't go hiking yet!  The (unplowed) trails have over a foot of snow, and it's been cold. We've got to wait for some melt before we venture too far.  The snow has formed a crust, which means that Pepita can be outside for short periods.  Sometimes she falls through the crust, and I'm reminded of a section of Laura Ingalls Wilder's The Long Winter:

Pa often said that he could not have managed without David. “He is such a good horse,” Pa said. “I did not know a horse could be so good and patient.” When David fell through the snow, he always stood still until Pa shoveled him out. Then quickly and patiently he hauled the sled around the hole and went on until he fell through the snow crust again. “I wish I had some oats or corn to give him,” Pa said.

I never really experienced snow crust before.  It snowed, it was wet, and it melted.  But this crust is really firm...until you fall through it.  Pepita isn't a fan.  She's still mostly indoors, until the snow melts.

Her relationship with the cats is progressing.  It's a battle to see who wins the coveted spot at the edge of the couch back.  If The Barnacle wins, Pepita respects his victory, and hangs forlornly over the armrest.

see The Barnacle on the couch back?

There is frequent cohabitation on the bed.

They mostly get along...although Pepita's no-exercise restless energy and her natural nosiness are a bad combination.  She loves to follow the cats around, her nose pressed into any available bottom.  She never snaps, barks, or growls at them, but she can be persistently annoying and sometimes get a smack to the face.  I think things will continue to calm down as she gets older.  

Calliope doesn't like having Pepita in her space (upstairs) at all...

...so they remain separated.

The weather is supposed to warm up this week, and we might lose all the snow by the weekend!  Then we'll be able to get out again.  Right now (besides work), there's mostly puzzles...

(when the cats allow it)

...and a few personal projects that I'm not ready to post yet.  Lots of reading, with MORE cat assistance (current book is The Will of the Many, which is really good so far!).

I'm not complaining, though.  I love spending time with the animals!  :)  I miss seeing what "our" outdoor animals are doing...the snow is too deep between us and the trail cams to access them.  Hopefully soon...although I'll miss the snow.  

Have a great week!