Growth

It's official, I survived winter.

Today I looked around and saw that I was thriving again.. not just hanging on for dear life.

My house is clean (ish), the dogs are being walked, I'm reading, I'm cooking, I'm engaging with people on purpose.

It feels good.

Breathe in, breathe out.

Spring

I awoke to a most beautiful sound this morning... a bird chirping outside my window.
DO YOU KNOW HOW EXCITED I WAS TO HEAR IT?

Spring has hit me hard... since last week when I saw a patch of grass on a south facing hill, I've pretty much been a bear in heat.
Jeepers.

It was a strange little bird song though, kinda chirpy but not... um.. right.

I poked my head out the curtains to discover the neighbour screwing something into the railing of her porch.

Sigh.

dark

Real spring is back.

Cold and dark.

I've lost all my enthusiasm to get anything done.

How do other people manage to accomplish anything?

I just want to sit around and take pictures of my pets.

It's Bunday Sunday. Spot the bunny?

Spring peepers

It's March.

Still, things are mighty strange on the hobbit homestead this year.

I can hear spring peepers, those cute little frogs. My friend found a Junebug yesterday (dear God in heaven, if this is an early drawn out junebug season I don't know what I'll do). I have daffodils and crocuses up, the strawberry plant has been rescued from the chickens. The sap stopped running. I can see the peony trying to decide if it should wake up (the rescued one)... I hope it keeps sleeping, it's lived through so much, I'd hate to kill it in it's first season of having a proper chance. I worry that we're still going to get snow. Seriously.

Even though this is what I watched for the afternoon....

Shorts. Tank tops. Bare feet.

I'm torn, I don't know what I want.

Drip drip drip!

March is so weird.

This is a photo from last week... 15 mins later the sun came out and melted it all!

I'm very patiently waiting on the sap buckets to fill though. Last year's birch syrup adventure left me exhausted (um, hello! 100 litres of sap to a litre of syrup?? Yes, I made two litres of syrup). But this year's Maple adventure is much more tame (35-40 litres of sap to a litre of syrup). My big plan had been to ask the neighbours if I could tap their trees too.. Next year hopefully.

Time to go chase some chickens around the yard till lunch. I sprouted a mix of seeds this weekend that are looking like they'll be the delicious topper to today's salad. Lentil, mustard, radish, and goodness knows what!

Oh geeze.

I'm writing about salad toppings and weather. I need to get out this week.

Spring... and SPRUNG!

It's spring here!

Robins, Cardinals, Chickens, Wood Peckers... and giant leaping bunnies!

Poor 'Touff. He kept wiping out in the mud in the yard while he ran around. Slightly funny, slightly terrifying. Eventually he figured out that the herb bed was dry and solid and fun to play in (yes, the fence is going back up on it as soon as the last frost has passed). He's a bit of a lug though- and ran into the wall and the boards multiple times.

Yes, I called him a "wingnut".

is it time yet?

SATURDAY, JUNE 19, 2010

if I could wake up every morning and still smell like campfire
my hair
my clothes
having tumbled into bed too sleepy to change
dust on my feet
marshmallow on my cheek
sore strumming fingers...
that would be the mark of a life well lived.

#1234

(actually, this is post 1235)

sorry I've been missing in the blogosphere... it just so happens that I found some pretty paper that feels good to write on, and a pen I like. so I'm back to that.

don't worry, the book (of paper) is nearing the half way point- when it's gone, I'll tire of holding a pen on paper that I DON'T like... and then I'll be back.

Bunnies are fine. eating the house.
the garden is lovely, the weather turning.
Festival prep is in full swing... I'm putting in an hour nearly every day for that...

The trip was lovely, the sand hot, the ocean perfect.
Work is busy.
The Ukulele is bringing me much joy.
I've mostly given up tv, and replaced it with waltzing in the kitchen... although, by myself.
Every guy I've met in the past 12 months ... is also looking for a guy.
not that I'm looking.
not really.
and I'm not joking about the waltzing.
GTI is fantastic as always.
a roller coaster. as always.
there are slippers taking over my house. I hope the market starts soon.
and I'm inheriting someone's worm farm this next month... so, vermicompost will be taking over the house.
I've started my 5 month LOA from job 1... did you know that in the morning, when you wake up, there's time to eat breakfast, shower, do laundry AND brush your teeth? for the past two years I've had to choose between just breakfast and dental hygiene. gross.
I'm feeling human... but I still haven't reached that spot where I can clean my room.

my bedroom floor reflects what my brain is doing.

it's still a mess.

back sometime soon.
hopefully, with a clean room... and a found camera cable.

999f

"I don't care what people you're from.... that's funny"

I have no idea what that was in reference to tonight, but I was laughing too hard already by that point for it to even matter.

Work was rough today... one of the guys is having a hard time... which translates into a lot of emotional energy to support him. Cross reference that to a emotionally .. um.. distanced? co worker... and you get me giving more than I have an needing a drink.

Not that I turn to drink after a hard day.

right.

Today was the busker's festival... much better than last years, last year I couldn't find any buskers. Although, last years wasn't nearly as bad as the winter fair.. where they closed most of main street for a street hockey game... This year, there were buskers, I even caught a show. 

It was HOT. It's been frickin' hot the past two days... nearly got up to 40 yesterday, and I heard 38 quoted a few times today. 

I spent the evening down at the park by the beach with some friends. We were all lounged out in our chairs, sweating after a large BBQ dinner, when out of NO WHERE... the wind changes directions..... and I kid you not... the temperature dropped 15 degrees. Maybe 20. In a matter of ten seconds we went from sweat to frost. At first I thought little buddy had taken up smoking... then I realized I could see his breath.

I've never experienced anything like that before. Thankfully MamaWho had some extra sweaters, and we bundled against the cold best we could.

Where's ma'touque?

How to grow community in three easy steps

Step One:: Dress like twins

Step Two :: use really big equipment, just because you have it.

Step Three:: convince your friends to put together your new Bbq!

Now... off with you... use what you've been taught.

(photo credits for the last two... KS)

oooOOooooo

I feel human again.
well.. like a human with a sunburn anyway.

What a perfect August day.... errr. April?

There was much love and community happening in the 'hood today, pictures and story coming soon. I need to jump into that towering bed of mine.

sight and sound

It's true.... not only did I HEAR a robin on a walk this week.... I SAW one too.


Spring... your turn.


I am trying to reprioritize some things in my life right now... some of them are making me grumpy. I don't like being grumpy, it's the biggest waste of time.

Bunday Monday

Extras today... because I feel like it.

oops.. didn't quite get that right ... missed the sunbeam....

belly wiggle, belly wiggle
mmm, that's better

Day of Laze....

Other than the walk and the time I spent wandering around outside on our deck... I've been enjoying a day of laze today....
How lovely...
Well, other than the worry about Fynn Pants. He's pooped a little today, and I keep pushing the watered down food into his throat.... he seems to enjoy the parsley... I have to poke him in the mouth with it till he gets annoyed- it's like I'm tricking him into eating. And I caught him trying to eat the litter today... I wonder if that's what set him off? It's the same old newspaper pellets I've always used, mixed with the pressed pellets I've always used... I don't know why he'd start eating it randomly.... it's not even a new bag.

and now I know

And you know what?
it's not quite "flip flops on your bike" weather, but it sure is "step on the first snail of the year" weather.

2006
2005
2004

(ok, so not all links may have to do with the first snail squash of the year... apparently I didn't think it necessary to record for all of humanity before last year)

Another great first .... campfire. I was reluctant to bathe before leaving for church this morning... the smoke was still clinging to my hair and making me smile.

poor toes

I discovered for the second morning in a row... that it's not quite "flip-flops on your bicycle" type weather.

small change? spare change? project change....

So, I've decided as per my "feeling guilty over the environment" stage passing.... I'm going to not feel guilty, but feel good about the things I can do to make a change, and I'm going to try to make a change each month in my life that will impact the way I live (however small) changes that will impact my "footprint" size...
hey... there's a huge difference between a well fitting shoe and one that's half a size too small... If I can make even a half size difference that'd be cool with me.

SO on that note... what am I changing, what have I changed?

Last month was April... where the frig did the month go?

So, last month the roomie and I moved the bucket.

huh?

we moved the bucket into the tub.

huh? you're not back to bucket baths again are you?

we moved the bucket into the tub to catch the drips. And to catch the water that we waste while we run the water to the right temperature before a shower. I catch about one bucketful before I get it right. And then I leave it there to catch the drips from the faucet while I shower... and that crazy trickle after I turn off the water.... It surprised me how much was "going down the drain" (har har har). So... I've lots of options on this bucket of water I'm producing each morning... my plants are getting lots of water now.
AND (and this is my favorite) (as partly stolen from Mandamanda)
As we're already subscribing to the "if it's yellow let it mellow" train of thought.... That bucket of water is going towards one fill up of the back of the tank after a flush.... pretty neat. pretty simple.

So... what about May?

I'm getting a brick. For the toilet. Knowing full well that the landlord would never go for a better toilet... I'm putting a brick in the tank to decrease the volume that it holds... in my experimenting with the bucket, I noticed that the bowl was flushed fully after 2/3 of the water had gone thru.... that's 1/3 a tank of wasted water.
Also...the bike is on the road...

bubbley

So while the worms were drowning in my driveway yesterday morning, I dragged myself to my car... with the intent to drag myself to work....

Never before in my life I had a flat tire... So last week when my tire got a little soft and I actually had to go put air in it, I was a little nervous! One week later I was putting more air in it! horrible. And I don't want to buy a tire. (my new mantra)

SO, back to the drowning worms.

I walked to my car and the first thing I note:: my tire is not flat.
Thank you God!
I walk a little closer and the next thing I note:: there is hissing.
The rain drowning the worms is now pointing my ears to my tire... the rain drowning the worms is all over my tire....
The rain drowning the worms is now bubbling and hissing.... at a giant nail stuck in my tire.
sigh.

It's ok... my mantra helped... it got patched last night.

little green friends

I have a few new friends... I'll be checking in on them on occasion. Just to see if they need anything.

In celebration of Earth Day this year my house group decided they were fed up with the garbage picking up that generally accounts for the participation of their peer group. They wanted something a little different, soooo the suggestion was to see if we could plant some trees.
GI Nette called up the town to search out some options and low and behold! The town was in need of a few good men (and women) armed with shovels!

So, an army of tree planters was formed, and we marched together to fight global warming (and soil erosion). By the time the rain came pouring down we'd planted a little over 125 trees and had decided that perhaps tree planting was a new way of life.. at least for a few of us....

I'll be stopping in every once in awhile to encourage my little trees to grow... everyone needs some lovin'.

got it all wrong...

So last week in a desperate attempt to bring on spring... I wore my flip flops... and it snowed.
This morning when I woke up the sun was shining, but having learned my lesson, I layered up and found the socks.

Should have worn my flip flops...
SPRING IS HERE!