Spring Blooms

I have plans to post our weekly blooms. I better hurry up and post last weeks. Crocus, Daffodil, and Forsythia (sp?). Here it is Tuesday and I will post this week's blooms later on in the week. It seems something is blooming every week right up until Fall. Still brown in our yard although I have seen about two inches of stems from my Daylilies. The red squirrel keeps sitting in the bowl that St. Francis holds eating all the sunflower seeds. I saw him try to jump from the birdbath to the birdfeeder in the yard earlier. He missed and landed on a bush under the feeder. He leaves the scraps on the ground for the Junco (our snowbirds). No one's told them it's time to fly North. Guess that means we might have another snowfall. I saw a male cardinal taking a bath in the pooled water of our tarp that is covering our hottub. And so what's wrong with the birdbath in the yard? Oh, sorry, I forgot I emptied out the water (and poop) yesterday thinking the rain would have been here by now. Still no baby groundhogs and only one calf at the farm next door. And the swan? She's still sitting on her nest.

Michael and I go on little drives sometimes and we love following the rivers and creeks near us. The Allegheny River just happens to be the big one going through our town. Sunday we happened upon two swans. One was on her nest. The other was floating with some mallards. We didn't have the camera then, but last night we did go back with the camera to get a picture of mama on her nest. She was asleep. We found the other swan floating alone and then as I was taking the picture of the mama, two other swans flew downstream and landed. I got them also. How gorgeous. Michael asked why I was so amazed by these birds. Now where would I see swans in their natural habitat in TEXAS? This wasn't the first time I saw swans here. I did see a flock of about 20 Trumpeter Swans on the Allegheny about 3 years ago. They even made the front page of our newspaper.

ATTACK!

We've been attacked. Look what happened to my brand new Christmas present. Everything was destroyed...the shepherd's hook, the suet cage and my metal bird feeder! My birdfeeder! The birds hadn't even had a chance to try it out. Get the shotgun.

I'm sitting here trying to start this blog and thinking how eloquent and dutiful John Adams was in his writings. I've just spent the morning reading about our country's history of all things. Somehow my maturity, plus my recent change of residence, has spiked my interest in how our great United States began. It's a shame how those college professors bored me to sleep in history class. I wonder if I could stay awake today or if it's best that I study on my own turf and in my own time. Anyway, just a thought, wish I could write like John Adams.

Speaking of reading, I wish I could take my book outside but the temps won't allow it. Still in the 20's at 11:00am but you wouldn't know it by looking. It's just gorgeous outside. The chickadees keep swooping down to the feeder and back to the pine tree. A red squirrel has been on the deck looking for breakfast and of course those pesky crows keep calling each other thru our backyard. Seems to me they are saying VAAALL, VAAALL, VAAALL, instead of CAWWW CAWWW CAAW.

I'm "stuck" at the house today. It's not all that bad. I love my sanctuary. Michael had to take his truck in to the truck hospital last night. He has been hesitant to repair a (uv)???? joint, so he thought. I think that's what he called it. But yesterday, (really I heard it this weekend) this horrible cranking, creaking noise continued all the way to his workplace and home again and he thought it best to get that checked out and fixed. He now thinks it's something to do with bearings (????). What do I know? But the truck is being fixed and he took my car to work. It's just as well because I'm having an urge to visit a new quilt shop in Pittsfield. I really don't need anything more than a thimble but can't resist all the pretty fabric.

One more funny thing before I close for today. Last night, while I was fixing dinner, Michael was reading the paper and asked me , "Do you ever listen to me?" I thought that was a funny thing to ask. I responded with a humorous, "sometimes". He then pointed to a plumbing thingy you have in the tank of the toilet and asked me "where's the floater on that?" I pointed to it and he responded with, "by golly, you do listen to me. You are so smart!" You see we had to, oops, I should say, he had to repair the toilet a week or so ago. I had the sense to turn the water off at the back of the toilet in the morning when it wouldn't stop running. I knew we didn't want the pump for our well to break. He came home that night and taught me all the names of the stuff inside the tank. I'm used to the floater being a large ball on the right side of the tank but he had a different contraption with the floater all together with the rest of the stuff on the left. You can see by this how much info I retained. I just remembered where the floater was, not what any of that stuff was called. It doesn't really matter, just that he thinks I listen and that I'm smart. And what really matters is that he is so loving and encouraging.

Housework...LOVE IT

Today has been an uneventful one. So why am I writing on my blog? I'm actually waiting for the dryer to stop so I don't have to come back down this way again today. The computer just happens to be half way between the laundry and my recliner. My recliner is waiting for me, calling for me. I can hear it. But duty calls. Monday is usually my change the sheets day. That happened. If I'm in the mood, entire upstairs gets cleaned too, bathrooms and bedrooms. I did everything but vacuum up there.

Michael and I have been watching the HBO "John Adams" series on DVD and I was so impressed, I went to the library Saturday and checked out numerous books on Pennsylvania history, the Am. Revolution, travel book of New England and of course David McCullogh's John Adams. Now I not only have my cat quilt to finish but my books to read. How can I ever get back to cleaning the rest of the house?

Speaking of the cat quilt... It's been a while since I made anything for myself. I am determined to finish this quilt before anymore gifts go out. I had seen this quilt made on a TV show and bought the pattern. I made the blocks, then added appliqued cats in various sizes and in black and white fabric. Now I'm in the process of adding embellishments to the blocks and once that is done, the blocks will be ready to be sewn together.

Spring?

Last Sunday, Michael and I went for a drive. Michael is ready to float the Clarion river. He would like to do a two day trip which means spending the night somewhere, tent, fire no T.P. Fun stuff. He has been talking to his friend Stan about joining him as well as Stan's son. Michael would go right now if it wasn't so cold. But our mission Sunday was to find a launching site where he could put in the canoe. That's where Val comes in. I'm the drop off and pick up "man".

We snapped a few pictures of the landscape. Snow/ice is plentiful at home but it seemed to be diminishing where we were. "Lead season" is what Michael calls it. Also, found a group of wild turkeys picking up seed under a birdfeeder around someone's camp.

The high temperatures have been in the upper teens earlier this week. Just yesterday, we had a high of 24. Is Spring near? I'm almost certain. It's 50 now and guess who I saw outside a few minutes ago...my first groundhog of the season. Not much to eat though. Everything is pretty much brown. Still I think I might have to go look for my garden gloves even if I do have to remove some snow from the planters.

Hard To Believe

It's hard to believe that 3 months have gone by and I haven't posted anything here.
I spent that time in Dallas, TX taking care of Terry and my mother. Terry is home now recouping from a gastric bypass gone wrong and my mother dislocated her hip during Terry's stay in the hospital. This blog definitely wasn't on my mind while caregiving. Now that I'm back in Warren, I have many things to do to get back in the "home" swing of things. I have put up the Christmas decorations, read months and months of mail, and I'm still going through magazines that have piled up. Today I spent the entire day reading...emails, magazines, and computer web sites. It took me almost an hour to figure out how to get to my blog. If my friend Paula was home, I would call her for help but she is doing caregiving of her own right now. Her Pop is not doing well and she is helping her mother while caring for her dad. Many prayers are going out for you and your family my dear friend.

Yesterday, I talked to my mother and was told that Terry somehow managed to pull her feeding tube out which required another visit to the ER. Her home nurse also told her she had a hernia in her wound. What next? She sees her surgeon today.