IT'S FINALLY HERE! SPRING, THAT IS!

I think we've finally crossed over into the wonderful new season called Spring. Let me show you a few pictures and I think you'll agree. All the old timers in central Wisconsin have been moaning about the extremely long, wet winter (snow and rain), and, believe me, they are humming a new tune now that the days are in the low 50's. It's amazing how attitudes change.

Our pond was free of ice last week. Only shortly later, the pussy willows began to blossom.

Karol and Sarge (now OUR dog...with full time responsibilities) can now enjoy some rest on the pier.

AND THE BIRDS ARE BACK.....

 

As soon as I hear "flicka, flicka," I know that spring is surely here. When the ground has thawed, they search for grubs and bugs.

This year the white-throated sparrow came right up to our kitchen window. They have such a nice song with "old, Sam Peabody, Peabody, Peabody."

While the gray, black, and red squirrels are with us all winter, their behavior changes in the Spring perhaps because they've begun to raise their young ones.

Brogan Albers, graduate of UWSP, active participant at Peace, a year-long English teacher in China, stopped by to talk about his engagement to Jacskie from the Philippines. We enjoyed some good conversation over good, central Wisconsin pizza and beer.

This afternoon I stopped by Andrew and Suzanne's new cottage. No swimming yet, but kayaks and paddle boat and canoes were out in the water. Not pictured is Rachel who was out in a kayak.

Still another sign of Spring is new life - Black Angus calves.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And perhaps the most obvious sign of Spring are the flowers. Yesterday the first daffodil opened.

The crocus are small, but very easy to see.

While the pansies are from the garden shop in town, when planted in hollow oak stumps, they become extremely attractive.

These forsythia will open their buds tomorrow.

And let's not forget the garden. The radishes have just popped their heads.

s'

Strong stalks of rhubarb are bursting out of the ground.

The garlic spent the winter underground, but now with the weather above freezing, the garlic quickly grows.

The onion sets, planted as soon as the frost left the ground, have developed a root system and are beginning to send out their shoots.

I hope too that you are enjoying Spring

Spring for me is a wondrous time of the year. As I watched the snow melt and the green begin to show, I was also blessed to celebrate Easter. Easter is the BEST as we remember Jesus bringing life to the world through His death and life.

THE BLOOD MOON

It's tough not to have a telescope when you want to photo a unique object in the sky. It was tough to get a clear, up-close shot of this unique moon - sitting in earth's shadow for several hours. But I did wake up in the middle of the night (2X) to get the following shots. I share them for what they are.

The moon was really special, and, while I don't think it really looked like blood, it did have a rust-colored texture about it.

This was the coolest!!

Last night, I took a picture of the regular moon.

Here, it looks as if I have captured both moons in one photo. BUT, the photo was taken the night after the blood moon. I took it through the double paned glass in our great room. Interesting effect.

One more photo of the sun reflecting off of the snow. This morning, April 16, it is once again snowing. Even now, I AM BEGINNING TO WONDER IF THE REAL SPRING WILL EVER GET HERE.

JUST WHEN ..........

I thought that all of the snow had departed for parts north, but this morning, I discovered that some had decided to stay - 5 inches of it, filled with a great amount of moisture.

My only regret is that I didn't plant grass seed - this snow would have been perfect to germinate the seed to fill in the lawn. Oh well.....Spring will still come, maybe just one week later.

AND JUST A FEW BIRD SHOTS........

A pair of mallard ducks rest at the edge of the open water on our pond.

There are four different kinds of birds on this feeder. Can you identify each one of them?

Slate-colored junco

House finch or female purple finch.

Downy woodpecker.

American goldfinch - female.

IT'S TIME

The time has finally arrived. The huge snow piles and cover have melted with the warm sun, and only shaded spots of off-color white remain.

And so, you guessed it...it's time to get going on the garden. I've planted onion sets and plants, radish seed and curly kale seed.

It's been fun to get my hands back in touch with the earth. Here I'm planting onion sets. But now, I'm a bit distressed. One weather forcaster said that on Monday night it was supposed to be 14 degrees. I'm thankful that the sets and seeds are underground.

And Sarge just soaks up all the sun. I guess we have officially adopted him now since we paid the $8 for a Town of Sharon dog tag. He's been chasing the smells and foods out in the wild, so I have to keep him on the leash when I can't be watching him closely.

Abram (left) and Asher enjoying the swing set in the back yard (Wexford, PA).

The girls (Taylor -left; Elizabeth - center, and Miriam - right) had a "hoot" painting my toenails.

Karol doesn't miss a trick. Here she's learning a bit about lacrosse, catching and throwing the tennis size ball with the lacrosse stick. We had the opportunity to watch the girls play a game (they won).

NATIONAL AVIARY, PITTSBURGH, PA

This morning on Caleb's second birthday, we had the opportunity to visit the National Aviary and then proceed for lunch to an Indian restaurant. This afternoon is for relaxing.

The largest aviary in the United States.

HERE'S A SAMPLING OF WHAT WE WERE ABLE TO SEE.....

 

 

Hornbill

 

American Kestral

Guam kingfisher - only 100 remain in captivity. They are currently making plans to set aside land areas to again release the kingfishers.

Mice come in the exhibit from the outside. Likeable little guys.

Fruit bats.

Caleb's second birthday was a lot of fun. Here with Grandma as the face of a bat.

Lunch at MINTT, an Indian restaurant. And the food was excellent.

Back home after the morning trip, before Caleb's nap, romping with Sarge.