April 21st marks our one year anniversary. It has been busy year and as with most years at this time in our lives it has zoomed by.
I love living in the country. We are living within nature, much more aware and apart of it. We live surrounded by fields and trees. Sunrise and sunset are a part of everyday life as is the flora and fauna. I step out the door and walk into the forest and the fields.
It is safe to say we are settling in. A trip to Saskatoon every 4-6 weeks gives us enough contact with family and friends that we are not missing them so much.
The internet and telephone take care of contact between visits.
Having gone on about the beauty of the country, I must say it has become a truly ugly day. Rain, wind driving the rain and about 5˚C. We were out for a short walk this morning, we knew the rain was coming and I wanted to get a crocus picture for you.
Take note of the hairs on the crocus. They are bent almost completely backwards in the wind that is roaring down the ravine. The crocuses are about 4" high at best. If the sun would shine I know they wouldn't be so afraid to stick their heads a little higher above ground.
Earlier in the week I was out for a walk and picked a few pussy willows as well. Now I did not have pruners with me so chose smaller branches but they to seem to be stunted and are also waiting for some sunshine and warmer temperatures.
Pat spent a number of hours last fall moving soil and changing where the runoff from the snowbanks will go. It was a happy day when they started to melt and the water went behind the garage and then down into the ravine. Last year it went across the driveway in front of the garage.
We still have runoff and road issues but that is another day's problem and post. In this picture you can see the little river coming from behind the garage and gurgling it's way down the hill.
We had all our children, grandchildren and their dogs visiting over Easter weekend. We built snow forts, slid down big snowbanks, flew kites and admired the very early crocuses all in the same weekend.
Pat's mom, a couple of his siblings and their families joined us for Easter dinner.It was just warm enough that we ate on the veranda. A wonderful day.
One last photo, a Nana's prerogative.
Only six days between posts, there was excitement around here this morning.
It was about 6:30 and I was in the guest room/Linda's exercise room. I was in front of the east window and noticed the back of an owl in the tree below me. I was off in a panic to get the camera and calling to Pat as I scurried. I was sure he would fly away before I got back. We managed to get some pictures with both of us taking credit for this one although we aren't sure who took it. I managed to hit the window with the lens fully extended which he heard and swivelled to look. How fortuitous.
In profile as well.
It was pretty exciting for me, I have seen Great Horned Owls fly over but I have never had a chance to photograph them and observe them for awhile. This guy/gal was still there when I left 45 minutes or so later.
We were also interested to note that there were about half a dozen Blue Jays in the same tree. The Horned Owl didn't move although it did seem that he was watching them, his head slowly rotating at times.
I love the blue of his back against the rust coloured lichen on the tree.
Very windy here today, a good enough excuse for me to stay inside and sew. A beautiful day yesterday we had our first tea of the season in the veranda.
As I organize my self to do a post I always go back and read the last one I have done. It orients my thoughts and keeps me from repeating myself. It has been a month since my last post. When I started I tried to post weekly and the time between posts has gradually lengthened. I think monthly will be my new norm. The renovating has slowed down and/or it is taking longer.
We were in Saskatoon for Brooke's fourth birthday. It was a great time. She wanted a
"dance party" complete with disco ball and that was what she had. After an hour of many children under the age of five all dance partying I was looking for a calmer place. With foresight we had arranged coffee and a visit elsewhere.
Two hours later Zarchary and Heather hosted the family birthday dinner as Brooke, Ian, Carmen, Heather and I all celebrate our birthdays in March. Another great time and a chance to visit with Heather's family.
Last weekend I was to a quilt retreat with a couple of friends from my new neighbourhood. It has been a number of years since I have done this and it was great. No thought to meals, dishes or anything else that might interfere with me and my sewing machine. We were at Wolfe Creek Circle Square Ranch. Fairly basic accommodation but served some of the best food I have had at a retreat. Too much as usual but I won't go into that.
For quilters only: Shirley of Shirley's Sewing Room demo'd a ruler for pineapple blocks that is the slickest I've seen. I am in awe of the person with the math brain who designed it. I won't go into detail here but if anyone is interested get in touch and I will give you more details. For the Smarter Than you Think crowd it has the little grey square that you can click on with your "smart something" and watch a video about the ruler. I think Clive might be onto something he just didn't choose the right examples for me!
Back to the more general topics.
We have new flooring in the living room and dining room. The old hardwood wasn't too bad but by putting in new floor we were able to do move a furnace duct, fill some holes and do some levelling. I really like the new floor, particularly the texture you get in oak.
Also it might just be my imagination but to my eye the wider boards make the room look wider which is a good thing.
Pat has started on the kitchen counter tops so far so good, they should be done by the time I post again.
We have had some warmer days. There have been moments where I am convinced that spring is on its way. The squirrels have been spotted in one of their favourite spots and there is brown grass visible.
It snowed last night and this is the view from the front step.
Wayne Miskolczi of CBC radio weather fame assures me that the temperatures will warm up and the snow will melt. It just takes a lot longer if you still has a lot of snow cover. Do you think we fit into that category?
I long for the sound of running water, pussy willows and crocuses on the south-facing side of the ravine.
