teeth and toothwort

The redbuds are just just passing their peak.  They're everywhere around here and give a nice pop of color!

Last week, Todd and I took a walk in our wooded property section.  Beyond the back fence, blackberry bushes spread quickly in early summer, blocking our access...but it's lovely in spring.

So much lovely spring growth!

dutchman's breeches

crane fly orchid

trillium

dwarf cinquefoil

mayapples

so many ferns!

ragwort roundleaf, unopened...

...and opened.

slender toothwort

I love it back there.  We have two limestone bed streams...

...and a new smaller one, red from the iron beneath it.

No wonder we see so many animals on our trail cam, which is at the mouth of this stream (by the main pond).  It's a pretty perfect animal habitat...plenty of shelter and a water source.  We found evidence of quite a few deer back here, judging from the skeletal remains!

It's so peaceful back here that we're talking about hacking out a trail and hanging a hammock on the ledge overlooking the stream this summer!

Meanwhile, I'm continuing to weed a little every day, making slight progress...

...and hanging with the cats to relax.  They could teach a master class in chillaxing!

We're all loving the new growth that we're seeing every day...cats included, I think!  Apple tree is leafing out...

Lilac buds are starting to open!

Every day, something new.  I love spring!

Bed in front of porch...totally empty when we moved in!

Have a great week!

a green sheen

 For so long, all we have had, in between snows, were pretty seed pods...

...and bare treetops.

But a few warm days, and suddenly...

Some trees are even starting to bud out!

One of the earliest flowers, dead nettle, is blooming.

Another early spring occurrence - our cattails are spreading seed.

I can see bluebirds starting to build nests in our fence post nesting boxes...and other animals are pairing up too!

Todd has started experimenting with his drone.  Hopefully he can catch our coyote pair or bobcat in the woods before the leaves come in!

His drone isn't the only thing in the air.  As usual in early spring, the power company sends a helicopter out to drag a long serrated blade, trying to clear out debris around power lines.

The cats are watching everything from their window perch.

When they aren't otherwise engaged, that is.

There's always something new happening in early spring.  I love it!  And some pretty nice early morning views, too.

Have a great week!

(civil) war-torn but on the mend

 The snow lasted until...today!  Beautiful glittery snow...

...criss-crossed with the telltale signs of heavy travel.

I love seeing everything snow-covered...

...and I love seeing the birds come out.

pileated woodpecker

male cardinal

Still, it was a rough week.  The temperatures dropped to single digits, and both Todd and I got sick with bad colds.  We had to miss an eat-along viewing of 1971's Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory at the local theatre - a major disappointment.  At least we both felt well enough on Sunday to watch a Civil War reenactment at Spring Mill State Park.  Guns were blazing!

There were deserters...

...and plenty of casualties.

Ready...aim...

Bayonet charge!

You'll notice that for the sake of historical accuracy, several of the soldiers were barefoot (in the snow!).  They all had to laboriously re-load their muskets after a single shot, too.  It was agonizingly slow.  I couldn't imagine that inefficiency in a real-life battle!

Other than that little outing, life around our house has been very...very...slow this week.

Sleepy cats, sleepy us.  But now we're both better, and the weather is warming up a bit.  Hopefully we can get back outside again soon.  Have a great week!