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!  

happy happy toy toy

 Green green green!

Things are really popping now.

apple tree budding

garden spearmint

lilacs

garden euphorbia

We're going to have to take animal predation a little more seriously this year, though.  Once again, I have lots of beautiful columbine mounds...

...whose flowers get eaten by rabbits as soon as they send up a stalk.

Last year was the first year that we didn't get a single flower from the garden...in prior years, there were so many!  Ugh...rabbits.

Unusual - especially in the spring! - the deer are getting into our front beds for the daylilies.

Todd has caught deer in our front bird feeders several times...they must have noticed the daylilies while passing through.  

Daffodils are still going strong, and other bulbs that I've planted...scilla, muscari, and hyacinth...are in bloom now too!  I love my little spring bouquets.

 

My indoor seed test went well, too.  About a third of the seeds tested sprouted.

Nice to be able to eliminate old seeds and add seeds to my planting pile.  

Claudia is not ready to give up on winter, though.  She loves sleeping in the heated barn when it gets really cold, and I frequently find her sitting on the doorstep out there, hoping to sneak in for a nap!  

Otherwise...Todd and I were at a toy show all weekend.  Now, you can imagine how I feel about toy shows, as someone who hates noise, crowds, germs, and deviations from my routine.  My energy drains out by about 9 a.m. on the first (of three) days and I feel a lot like this kid I saw:  

It's always kind of fun to see adults in costumes...

...but with my arm in a sling because of terrible tendonitis and my knee wonky from three days on concrete, you can imagine how thrilled I am to be home and now potentially YEARS away from the next toy show!  Recovery from a toy show is really tough...they're so tiring.  Even TODD day-naps for a couple of days after a show!

So glad to be home with my cats.

Hoping for a quick recovery so that I can be back on the trails in a couple of days...have a great week!

a maple staple

 Let there be life!

I thought they were goners, but these anemones and ranunculus have really taken off.  I planted these in the ground yesterday and only one was rotten.  I love seeing the green...

...and in probably a month, I'll have this!

It's been pretty chilly, but we have a few bulbs blooming.  Hyacinth and daffodils make a great pair and bring a really cheerful spring feel to the mantle.  I've planted many different types of daffodils, so while the really tiny golden ones are dying now, other patches haven't even bloomed yet!

I love delicate scilla in the tiniest vases.

I'm even making small bouquets with the scant new growth outside...mint, dead nettle, daffodils, and vinca.  Nothing fancy, just something nice to see on the kitchen counter.

I re-hydrated one of my favorite geraniums and it's blooming on a low table in our dining room.  Geraniums are pretty easy to overwinter...just bring them inside, water them maybe once a month, but increase in the spring.  I've had this one for years.

Peonies are starting to pop outside, too!  It won't be long now until beautiful color everywhere!  

Other signs of spring:  these bags are appearing on maple trees all over town.  It's sap-collecting time!  To make syrup, all you have to do is boil down the sap...and the syrup is not just for pancakes. As a child, I fell in love with the description of using fresh-made maple syrup to make candy in Laura Ingalls Wilder's Little Girl in the Big Woods:

“They could eat all they wanted, for maple syrup never hurt anybody. There was plenty of syrup in the kettle, and plenty of snow outdoors. As soon as they ate one plateful, they filled their plates with snow again, and Grandma poured more syrup on it. When they had eaten the soft maple candy until they could eat no more of it, then they helped themselves from the long table loaded with pumpkin pies and dried berry pies and cookies and cakes.”

Who could resist?  Not me!  Todd and I purchased some of this homemade syrup at our local town's Maple Sugar Festival a couple of weeks ago.  Now all we need is a little bit of snow!  :)  

More spring things:  deer are everywhere, eating up those tender spring shoots.

Birds are building nests.  This nest on our front porch has been used by different birds for four consecutive years!

Rabbits are out and about, too.  This one hopped up the steps onto our front porch to nibble at the pumpkin leftovers from last fall! (not-great cell phone capture)

Speaking of rabbits, I decided to use them as the subject in my next embroidery project.  I traced Happy Rabbits by Yumiko Higuchi...

...used a light box to illuminate the pattern...and then traced it onto light green fabric.  I selected my colors and will be ready to start soon!  

More rain is expected this week...

...but I'll be out working in the garden when weather permits.  

Have a great week!