The little and the simple things

The little and the simple things are what is mattering most to me lately. Going “glamping” at the little house up north for 4 days over New Year’s weekend – with two lawn chairs, carpet remnants, a 50 year old polyurethaned card table, a cooler, and an air mattress. We had so much fun!!!

Seeing the deer tracks through the snow in our small yard for the first time. Taking our dog out before bedtime and walking out to see two deer right there. Driving through changing scenes of thick frost on the trees – in sepia, in green, in blue as the sun hid and then set.

Hearing stories about the well known deer in town. Hearing stories about the apple picking bear in town. Feels very familiar. Maybe there’s a message in there. I just don’t know what it is yet. Grow pine trees? Something will materialize.

Happy Leap Year!

Wow! February 29! Spring is around the corner, right? I hope so.

We filled February with a lot of activities, and the month was fun, but I’m so ready for gardening season.

My daylily seeds are in the refrigerator getting prepped for planting in two weeks. The days are getting longer, but the snow piles remain. Still, my shamrocks are back in bloom, and, right on cue, my hibiscus bloomed for the first time this year on February 26th. How does it do that so consistently? Soon another bloom will brighten a couple days.

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Outside at our townhome, the sedum I left for the birds fed another as well. Can you tell who else liked it?

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Glad to see it go to good use!

Up north we have ample snow as well – ample as in higher than the bottom of the doors the last time we made a day trip. But soon the wonder of the thawing woods will arrive. We’ll see how our fall planted bulbs fare, and if the asclepias and coneflowers made it through the weedy hugelkultur garden and the long winter. Dare we plant daylily seedlings? Still undecided.

The Robins Return

Over the past couple days we’ve seen a few more robins in the trees. Today dozens at a time were flying in.

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Tonight we’re having what is supposed to be the last sub-zero night of this long winter (-6°F). I hope they were able to tuck into warm places.

Snow is on the way for the weekend, but the temperatures are slowly warming. Soon we will see kids out wearing shorts on 40°F days! It’s a sure sign we are all ready for the massive mounds of snow to start melting.

Our daily visitor

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Last summer we had baby cardinals in our green space. It was so fun to watch Mom and Dad come and get their food, fly to feed the hatchlings, and then we’d hear chirping. Throughout the winter we have had a pair of cardinals who come to eat early in the day and then again late – about 5pm. Today they are here again. So beautiful! Such a treat! They are definitely well fed!