cat coup d'etat

 We've had some frost...

...but it's mostly been cool and rainy.  Some normal warmer-weather activity has been happening.  Mowing the back field...

...and cleaning out the gutters.

We thought that Claudia would be really excited to leave the barn in the spring, and she has gone outside...with some encouragement.

To our surprise, though, this formerly-feral cat who protested every time we tried to bring her into the warm barn during freezing temps does NOT want to be outside...at all.  On really warm days when we put her out, she mostly sits on the barn doorstep and waits for Todd to open the door, hoping to slip inside unseen.

When inside, she's either sleeping or sitting next to Todd on the couch, begging for attention.  She's basically taken over!

From what I've read, she's probably feeling vulnerable because she's compromised in hearing, sight, or both.  She doesn't move very quickly, and she'd probably be easy pickings for a coyote...or a stray.  For now, we're going to keep her in the barn nights, but still encourage her to go out during the day to get fresh air and a little stimulation.  Hopefully this compromise works!  

The spring ephemerals are popping!

dutchman's breeches

cutleaf toothwort

putty root orchid

Spicebush trees are budding out...

...and the redbuds are fully popped!

his expression after zinged with a particularly funny insult - all in good fun!

Red-winged blackbirds are everywhere.  

I've also heard meadowlarks, cowbirds, robins, bluebirds, jays...so many different birds!  More bulbs are coming up...

hyacinths

scillas

...and seedlings are starting to press against the lids of the greenhouses.

I'll have to take the lids off tomorrow, after the worst of the rain is over...but the lids need to be replaced (or most likely, a tarp used) to protect them from the frost that's coming in a few days.  As soon as those roots hit the bottom of the "greenhouse," they'll be ready to pop into the garden!  Not that the garden is ready...I haven't touched it since late summer.  But I will baby-step my way through it this year.

Speaking of gardening, my sweet peas germinated nicely in my dark, chilly attic.  Now they're out under lights.  Ready to go in the ground in a couple of weeks!

We're seeing more new life on our trail cams...this heron caught a bluegill!

We've got quite a herd of deer coming from the forest into our fields every evening, too.  They're still shaggy with their winter coats!

Coyotes, rabbits, possums, squirrels, raccoons, geese, and skunks are still making regular appearances as well.  No babies yet but I'm watching closely.

Have a great week!  

and I dream I'm an eagle

 More signs of spring!  First, the GREEN.

Cursed Crowfoot

Ceratodon Purpureus

Cinquefoil

Hairy Bittercress

And the most exciting...the first spring ephemeral!!!

Cut-Leaf Toothwort

Lots of trees starting to bud...

Redbud

Green in the garden, with no help from me.

Shasta Daisies

Parsley

And insect life!!

Sawfly

Millipede

Aquatic life...

Gastropods (freshwater snails)

Our porch possum is more active too!

Lots of beautiful birds, including this grackle...

...and even an eagle!  I'm convinced one is nesting in our woods...I saw several flyovers last year but never seemed to have my camera.  This time I had it, but the wrong lens.  Still, his identity could be made.

Wood ducks have returned to our front pond, too.  A nesting pair!

I love doing daily checks for new signs of spring.  Our morning walk is still fairly brown...

...but it won't be long now.  The mantle is decorated with flowers from the yard...

...and soon we'll celebrate the first official day of spring!  Claudia is loving the warmer temperatures.  She's great company when I poke around in the yard.

The indoor cats are loving those rays of sunshine, too!

This is such an exciting time of year.  Last week I started sweet peas indoors...next week I'll fire up the grow lights and start agrostemma, sugar snap peas, radishes, bachelor buttons, and a few other cool-loving annuals!  Big plans for the garden this year.

Have a great week!

a bad rabbit habit

I ordered an embroidery stand this week and am loving it!  The paddle bottom slides under your leg and you can adjust the height of the arm as needed.  The clamp holds most size frames.  I'm able to work much more quickly this way.  

I'm going to keep making Yumiko Higuchi embroideries, but I'm also interested in trying other kinds, from Tudor-era tapestry work to more contemporary styles, like this embroidery journal.  This particular one was created by Amy Deacon, and the idea is pretty self-evident:  take an event or object from each day and embroider it into your frame. 

photo courtesy of Amy Deacon

It's not quite my style, but an intriguing idea and one that I might try next year.  I like the idea of doing something creative every day, even if it's small.  It's not an uncommon idea in textile circles.  For example, textile artist Ann Wood makes a fabric book every year, with one page added daily, sewn with random scraps and in a random pattern. It's unrefined, of course, but keeps you in a creative mindset.

photo courtesy of Ann Wood Handmade

There is a version of this for painting, of course.  You can paint a suggested theme each day:

photo courtesy of foxandhazel.com

Or, like the embroidery journal, just paint something from your daily life.  I've long been attracted to this idea.  Two books that I've owned and loved for years are Island by Garth and Vicky Waite and The Diary of an Edwardian Lady.  Great examples of older and more contemporary styles of nature journaling in a chronological style.

A selection from Diary of an Edwardian Lady

A selection from Island

I struggle with the focus and the skills needed to commit to a project like this, but I love the idea of daily creativity and am throwing around some simple 5 minutes a day ideas for a future challenge!

More inspiration all around.  We survived the awful storms last week...

...and the rain and warming temperatures have brought out the flowers!  Of course, I'm making as many bouquets as possible...

...and I've been tramping around in the woods behind our fields, looking for spring ephemerals.  Plenty of early growers, like a whole slope of Cut-Leaf Toothwort:

...and some Spring Beauties, too!

Mayapples are up...it must be spring!

I was hoping to get some Columbines in the garden this year.  I had so many at our Indianapolis house, sprouting up from sidewalk cracks and crowding out of multiple garden beds.  But although I've planted many different types, I haven't had too much luck with repeat blooms.  One of the problem is rabbits, especially this year.  I think it's going to be a bad year for them, and I can see where they've nibbled the growing Columbine flower stalks:

As fast as the flowers shoot up, the rabbits mow them down.  Deer, too, might be a problem this year.  I've seen plenty of evidence that they're around, much earlier than normal and closer to the house, too:

deer scat

I know that deer eat daylilies, but I planted clumps of them all around the yard and they've never been bothered by deer...until this year.  They've been eating down the foliage pretty regularly.  It's pretty much a foregone conclusion that we're going to have to fence in the flower beds, and put some kind of strong-smelling deterrent around the hostas and daylilies.  

Meanwhile, the little spring chores continue.  Pruning the roses...

...checking my mini greenhouses regularly...

...and keeping track of all the new green growth outside!

I love it!  Meanwhile, the cats are mostly appreciating our extra hour of daylight:

They're feline fine.  :)  Have a great week!