Sorry, just can't help myself.

I know... every one sees signs of spring. I, for one, can never get enough.
Spring is simply my very favorite time of year.

These have been here in the yard since my great grandmother planted them, sometime after the turn of the century... well, the turn of the century between the 1800's and the 1900's. Though I never had the pleasure of meeting her, I've been gifted annually of many things that her hands planted. Not sure what these are, even, but they're delightful. I've tried a number of times to identify them, with no success.



Delicate apple blossoms, the promise of apples in the fall.


Nothing says "Spring" like this...





This is a very simple, plain clematis. Sweet and old fashioned, it tumbles over a shepherds hook, above the fish pond. Palest of pink, in the earliest days of spring, it's always a surprise to find it in full bloom... none of that a bloom here and a bloom there for this plant... it's covered, quite suddenly, and a lovely sight to behold.




This is a deciduous Azalea... in a most vibrant orange. It's simply stunning every single year. I was introduced to this plant by my Uncle Hugh, an amazing gardener and a generous kind soul who played an important part in my upbringing.

First fruits!

Well, not fruits exactly... fresh lettuce, like nothing you'll ever taste from a store.
This is Park's Organic Mixed Salad Bowl. Tonight for dinner we had a homemade cheese pizza and a salad that was simply a bowl of this beautiful greenness and a small amount of dressing.


One of my first memories of growing anything was radishes. Spicy and with a bit of a bite, I love them simply washed and dipped in salt. These first radishes vary widely in size. The reason that I picked the smaller ones are that their green parts were already displaying the desire to 'bolt' or set seed, meaning it's time to eat the radish or simply leave it and let it go to seed.

There's nothing quite like picking dinner from the garden, especially that first time in the spring.
Both of these veggies can be grown by anyone, anywhere. Lettuce mixes and radishes are happy container plants if you don't have a 'back forty' to turn. Give it a try this spring and see how good they taste~!

Kitties !

Spring isn't right on a farm, without that amazing moment when you find the kittens.

Farms need barn cats, for a lot of things, like rodent control, but most of all, they give the place a sort of 'je ne sais quois'. You need a cat, or four, for all the moments in life when you NEED someone to climb up in your lap and purr. (and frankly, sometimes you need a cat that will lick your sleeping husband's bald head, but that's the subject for another post)

So, Sunday morning, after a week of watching 'sis' approach near exploding scales of cat pregnancy, this is what I found...

And these are the babies at 24 hours. Fat, lazy, well developed, laid back little pussycats.


Side note... "Sis" was tossed out on a country road (yes, MY country road!). I saw her for TWO days before I could no longer drive by. When I stopped the car and opened the door and stepped out, she climbed right up my leg, screaming her little head off. I was convinced she was probably rabid. She naturally came right 'home'.

How she came to be named sis... uhm.... she's a little loud, and very persisitant, insistant and intense. She's bright and always on the go. She's effective at her 'job' here on the farm. About 10 minutes into her life here, as the boys stood and scratched their heads, one of them (who shall remain nameless) said "geez.... she's just like sis..." and the rest, as they say, is history.
With deepest apologies to my darling daughter, who's qualities far outweigh those of the 'sis cat' and whose presence in our life is without doubt central to our very life breath.\

Same song, second verse....

So, every morning, I take the kid to school, and drive back through the park. I've done this for... well...19 years... and there are NO dull boring mornings... none. I LOVE where I live. I love the morning air, the way it feels and smells, and the softness of it in the earliest of spring.

Anyway,,, yesterday morning, I was driving back home and it struck me that the fog rolling off the river was doing so in the brightest of sunbeams.. which is a little different. The light was beautiful... and the air was crisp and really cold for April. It was just a little bit above freezing and I shivered while traipsing about the river bank.

So, I'm sharing what I saw with the notion that we can find beauty in every place and all around and that we should take a moment to 'collect it' in our minds. To drive on by and miss this would have been a waste... to start my day with three minutes spent soaking it in is one of those 'quality' moments.






The road hone...

Life...

Sometimes, life's adventures take up more time than allows for writing.

Here on the farm, we've recently dealt with illness, much rain, a new job, death of a much loved animal and some general re-evaluating and restructuring life and times as we know it.

More about those things later, perhaps, but in the meantime...

...signs of spring on the farm.












Beautiful reminders of how life cycles around fresh and new each spring... pale green, fragile in appearance, but actually strong it it's desire to preserve itself for the future.