Happy Resurrection Sunday!

We hope you and yours have a blessed Resurrection Sunday.

I Think It's Right Around the Corner...

I went for a walk this afternoon up around Buck Horn Lake and saw lots of promising signs that Spring is about to burst upon us...

The ferns are sending up their bright green fronds, the snow has melted from under the trees, and the lake has changed from the glistening white ice to a deep grey.  It won't be long before the inky black of the waters below start to show and then it will be 'ice out' which will be a true sign of spring.

I startled 3 white-tailed deer as I made my way around the lake.  A few minutes later another bounded across my path and into the woods.  The other day I watched a deer wade across the cove of the river.  There is definitely a healthy deer population this year. 

The chickens keep escaping from their pen to forage among the dead leaves and scratch through the flower gardens.  Raven believes her job is to herd them back into their pen.  She chases each one to the fence and waits until it flies over before going to herd another hen back to her place also.  It's so funny to watch.  If they don't go back to the fence, Raven will put her paw gently on the hen's back and look over to whomever is outside as if to say, "Please help me with this disobedient bird!"  Once all the hens are back in the pen, Raven proudly wags her tail and searches for more 'wrongs to right'.

Spring?

Yes, I, too, am wondering where all that wonderful spring weather is.  The snow has faded from the lawn, but there is still the remains of a 'snow beast' in the backyard and my daffodils are at a standstill after that last blast of winter.

Jonathan and Ian have been busy digging a pit in the garden.  Jonathan thought he'd dig a tunnel from the garden to the swing set, but then decided that he needed help.  Ian didn't agree to helping, but between the two of them they get enough mud caked onto their clothes that they are emptying the pit even if they don't use a shovel!

Dwalin the goat kid is growing like crazy.  He loves to run around the backyard following Marc as he does his chores.  Mavis (the mother goat) is doing better after a slight surface infection of the udder.  We had to give her antibiotic injections twice a day--I NEVER expected my medical training to be used on goats!

We're still looking for a new location for the Unadilla Artisan Guild.  Wayne is working on another cut glass design and I have 3 quilts in various stages of completion.  The other artisans are busy, too, and we all look forward to the day when we can open a shop again.

The quote of the moment...When discussing the importance of Palm Sunday at church, the question was asked what Palm Sunday was.  Jonathan quickly answered, "Jesus rode a donkey into Jerusalem."  Ian added, "The donkey's name was Eeyore."  (Now, I bet that's a bit of information you hadn't heard!)

A Taste of Spring

The thermometer was in the high 40's this afternoon and the sun was shining but the most exciting thing was the sound of a red-winged blackbird singing!  Spring can't be far away when we start hearing that beautiful song.

I was able to ply some yarn on my spinning wheel while sitting on the side porch enjoying the beautiful day.  Raven had a great time 'hunting' in the field (going from woodchuck hole to woodchuck hole trying to find the critters).  Marc let Dwalin (the baby goat) out of his pen and run around the backyard.  There is nothing as cute as a baby goat jumping and dancing around the yard.  Jonathan pulled out the baseball and bat.  I think we all have a bit of spring fever.

An Even Bigger Surprise...

This morning Katelyn went out to the barn to do her chores and came back in with a quizzical look on her face. "Dad, did we get another goat yesterday that I didn't know about?"

"No...why?"

"I think Mavis had a baby during the night." Wayne got his coat on and went to the barn.  Sure enough, we had a new kid in the barn cuddled up against 'Bit of Honey' the merino/cormo ram. 

The 2 youngest are discussing names, but from what I hear, Marc has decided on a movie character's name "Dwalin" (from the Hobbit). 

By all accounts (especially the blat!) this little guy is strong and healthy.

I think we better go check on those other goats to see if any other surprises may be arriving.

Surprises...

Each Monday Jonathan has adaptive aquatics (swimming lessons one on one for special needs children) with his instructor Sandy.  Ian wanted to have swimming lessons, too, but since he has always had an aversion to water in his face, we weren't ready to invest in swimming lessons until he could get his face wet without screaming.  Sandy told him to come with Jonathan each week and she'd let him spend time in the shallow end of the pool to 'get used to the water' while she worked with Jon.  Over the weeks Ian would get a little braver and try some of the suggestions Sandy made.  A couple of weeks ago Sandy had her underwater camera at the pool and took some pictures of the boys.  As you can see, Ian isn't having any problems with his face getting wet!  This last Monday while working with Jonathan, Sandy asked Ian if he'd like to try touching the bottom of the pool while using the 'fireman pole'.  Ian agreed and did his best, but his ears bothered him as he went down.  Sandy then suggested that he try swimming to the ladder (about 6 feet away) while staying along the edge of the pool so he could grab hold of the side if he needed to take a break.  He swam to the ladder and asked if it was okay for him to try to swim to the end of the pool (at the 11 foot deep end!).  She nodded and as I watched in amazement, Ian swam to the end of the pool with just a couple of stops to catch his breath.  He's now telling me that he thinks he's ready to try the diving board!  I guess we don't have any more excuses for him not to take 'official' swimming lessons.  (I can't seem to get the picture to load right but you can get the idea...)












On Valentine's Day we received another surprise.  Wayne had been talking to the salesman we have purchased our last few vehicles from about the possibility of finding a replacement for our van.  I have put a LOT of miles on the faithful van and we were beginning to see a need for more frequent garage 'visits'.  The salesman had a van that was a year newer than our current van with a LOT less miles and features that would make our many trips more comfortable and less 'worrisome' for Wayne when I was out transporting children here and there.  They had a perspective buyer for our current van.  By the end of the day, the decision had been made...we were getting the new van and by Friday evening the new van was in the driveway.  I asked Wayne how he was going to top this gift next Valentine's Day. 

January passed...and then February...

I had hoped to have new pictures of a freshly painted and cleaned shop by now, but that hasn't happened.  After a month of waiting and scurrying to get all the necessary paperwork to the insurance company, the landlord's insurance company contacted us Thursday and denied any coverage to any of the artisans displaying their wares in the shop. (It's a long, discouraging story that I won't bore you with.)  If you're in the market for insurance, we can tell you which company NOT to do business with!

Soooo that left us with a store full of very dirty inventory needing to be removed asap so the store can be cleaned.  Today several of the artisans and some friends converged on the store and removed more than half of the inventory.  Tomorrow afternoon there will be another group finishing the task.  Our garage is full of furnishings needing to be cleaned, the porch has merchandise to be sorted and considered for potential cleaning, the mudroom has boxes of office supplies and pottery to be sorted and cleaned, and the laundry room is busy washing fabrics used for displays and clothes dirtied from working in a sooty store all day.

It would be very easy to view all of this through 'soot-tinted glasses' but last night we met with the majority of the artisans and were blessed by their positive attitudes and encouragement to learn from our mistakes and move forward--together.  There have been tears and frustration, but the laughter and hugs of support have brightened the difficult days.   The masking tape sticking to the rubber gloves while trying to secure protection around a framed print had us all laughing as the poor victim couldn't get her hands apart.  Removing a dust mask to have a clearly delineated area of the soot from the protected area gives a source for many jokes.  Locking the keys to a borrowed neighbor's truck IN the truck...on the front seat...in clear view left me a bit chagrined. (the other set of keys were with our neighbor who was out of town for the day)
 Now at the end of the day, the neighbor's truck is back in its garage, the day is winding down, and after spending the afternoon with a great bunch of people, I can say, we are truly blessed.  More hard days are ahead, but as one of the other ladies stated today, "This is a blessing in disguise and we will see that blessing in the end."  Until then we'll keep pressing and finding the things to laugh about in the midst of the soot.