Tuesday, March 23, 2010

Spring Has Sprung

Well, it's officially spring as of this past weekend. "It's the vernal equonix!" as my seven year old told me. (That's how he said it!) Unfortunately in Minnesota, a date on the calendar saying spring is here, usually just means we've got another few weeks of winter left.

March this year has been unusual for us, lots of sunny days in the 40s and 50s, some rain and NO snow. It makes me a little nervous for how April is going to be. But I'm loving this weather while we have it. I don't care a lot for the extreme temperatures, so spring and fall are my favorite seasons.

There's so much to be done in the spring. I'm trying to go through the boys' clothing, putting away things that are too small and for cold temps and bringing out some bigger stuff and things that are more appropriate for these warmers temps. For those of you with multiple children, you understand how much work this chore is. Plus we're planning on having a garage sale, so I'm trying to stockpile everything that's going to be sold. I LOVE getting rid of things and it's even better if we can make some money in the process.

The boys have been playing outside every chance they get, getting covered in sand playing in the cold sandbox and riding bikes and trikes all around. They also didn't mind the many puddles the melting snow created. We saw our first bluebird of the season yesterday and today both he and his mate were all over the deck and flying around right by the window.

Springtime in the country means a horridly bumpy dirt road and planning and preparing our garden. We're opting for smaller this year and hoping to have less weeds since Paul's getting a new mower with a bagger and we can put the grass clippings in the garden. The chickens are laying again (yay!) and digging up the garden quite nicely. Only the rooster has been getting out of the garden so far which means that my new landscaping is again in jeopardy. I'm wondering if they will leave it alone once Paul moves the coop out of the garden and farther from the house.

I anxiously awaiting growth on both the landscaping plants as well as Felicity and Jeremiah's trees. I don't think the trees faired well over the winter and they may need to be replaced. I was hoping to do some landscaping around Felicity's headstone, but we found out on Sunday it's not allowed because things get in the way of mowing. We may try to place a permanent flower holder but drill it into the cement base so that it won't ever be moved.

Along with the itch to get things cleaned and organized, I'm thinking about doing some painting. I crave color, as weird as it sounds. We didn't do any painting when we moved in and so we have off white walls everywhere except the downstairs family room which is a buttery tan color. Maybe it's a midlife crisis?! I guess if painting is the extent of a midlife crisis, Paul will be getting off easy!

2 comments:

Diane Shiffer said...

We're having an oddly early spring here as well... and I also am looking towards April with trepidation as a result. Gracious, we've had snow for Mother's Day 'round these parts... I'll be shocked if we've seen the last of winter by now;)

Ashly said...

Hi Rachel,

I just caught up on some of your posts and I'm so glad to see your precious Caleb! He's adorable!!

Just wanted to say hi! Glad things are going well. You have a beautiful family! I also just read Felicity's story (again) and I'm also thankful for her and so sorry she's not in your arms.