Thursday, March 15, 2012

Chatter . . . .

I'll be away for a few days . . . .

The Iris in yesterdays post are gone- the deer came through last night and chomped them all down to nothing- so sad.

we are in the 70's today and everything is greening up and budding like mad.

Enjoy the lovely weather  in the north east this weekend.

Cheers!  and Good Bye to the Shovels!!!!  See you next year . . .maybe you never can tell.

Wednesday, March 14, 2012

Pi Day 3.14.12

Today is national Pi day the kids are celebrating at school.  Yoda has a special shirt and I have baked Pies for the high school teachers.  Needed to show you what is blooming right now at Chestnut Hill. Everything will be early this year. It is to be 70 for the next 6 days- this is crazy.  The sun feels fabulous outside- so badly want to go for a walk but am sitting to do some typing for work! Hope everyone gets outside for a little bit of this wonderful weather.  Enjoy!!



Tuesday, March 13, 2012

Postcard Swap 2012




So in January 2012 I signed up for a postcard swap.  This was hosted by : Shannon at :http://musingsonrealities.blogspot.com/  It was great Fun.  Now the past several years I have participated in iHannas Post Card Swap, this year however I could not make the timing work in order to participate in it.  If you go to her link and scroll down you will see lots of cool work by her and links to others that are participating.  Art House Co-Op is also hosting an 4x6 art exchange.  Go here to check that out.   4x6 is a great size to try out new techniques or ideas. Mine were a collage on a watercolor base. I will also post images of what I received. I exchanged 10 postcards. I think I received about 8. It is great fun to get real mail!!  Give it a try sometime.

Monday, March 12, 2012

Girl Scouts turn 100 (1912-2012)






Were you ever a Girl Scout?
What did you learn - what was its impact on your life?
Today they are celebrating 100 years of Girl Scouting, "we grow girls strong, come grow with us".
I have been a Girl Scout more of my life than not. 41 years by last count.  I started in Brownies and stayed in as a girl through 12th grade. I earned the Gold Award and I traveled Internationally to Finland and Iceland  for GSUSA.  I then had my own inner city Troop when I was first out of college and following that my daughter joined up  and I helped with or was assistant leader to her troop.
I learned an immense amount about nature and the out of doors, I learned many outdoor skills, even survived on an uninhabited Island in Lake Michigan for 7 days with just the clothes on our backs.  Hard to say at times if I learned more skills or more inter-personal skills.  The friendships I made and the skills and fun we had are key to who I am today. 
 The CupCakes in the first photos are part of the 6 dozen we made for a Court of Awards late last week. Exciting and sad as the Seniors which  includes my daughter shared their experiences and said goodbye to a chapter of their lives.  It was clear though that they were all the  richer for the experiences that they had by being part of Girl Scouts. Time spent outdoors and in Community service is always character building.  Congratulations GSUSA on 100 years and may you have another 100.

Sunday, March 11, 2012

More Spring, bring it on!!!just what we love, a full Sap bucket!

Just what we love, A full Sap bucket!!!

Winter Aconites in the Sun!

First Crocus

We wonder who might like to live in here?
Spring is such a wonderful time, filled with bright colors, longer days , more sunshine, and the Earth waking up in all her royalty.  The bees were out this week working the Winter Aconites.  The sap was running nicely and of course then there is the MUD.  It just would not be spring with out the mud. What are the signs of spring where you live?  Do you notice any cool places that might be homes to bugs, beetles or small animals?

Saturday, March 10, 2012

Other rock wall finds . . . .






Due to glacial deposits and the proximity to Lake Ontario  we are blessed with lots of rocks in and on the land around us. There are many dry stone walls, rock walls as a result. These are walls that are constructed with out any use of cement or mortar.  We find ones like this often and this one has collapsed in places over time.  These are formed more by a farmer throwing rocks all in a similar area and the resulting mound becomes a land marking barrier.  On this day we stopped to look at many of the rocks.  It is an optimum time without snakes to content with or bees.  Also all the greenery has not started so the most we have are dry leaves. We looked for fossils at Moss patterns- note another Heart shaped rock with moss. We looked at moss and lichen covered rocks,  knowing that the bare spots were where there was a quartz deposit as the moss and lichen tend to grow on the soft rocks. The last photo is of Witch hazel which is now in bloom and also called Winter bloom.

Friday, March 9, 2012

Heart Rocks




Walking in the nearby Park and exploring an old rock wall.  While my daughter was looking for other cool things- ( more on that next) I was looking for Heart rocks.  We have a jar of small ones that we have collected on beaches.  They are always  amazing to me, cleaved and weathered and looking just perfect, but also very blended in and if you were not observant, then you would nt notice them . Hope you  enjoy and maybe if you look - you will find some too!

Wednesday, March 7, 2012

Spring Snakes


So as I go to the basement to get my muffin tins to bake the 4 dozen cupcakes I need to for Girl scouts . . .. there at the bottom of the stairs was this little fellow.  As they say . . .you know its Spring when . . .  the baby snakes start coming out.  This is a Milk Snake some call it a Rat snake.   You find them on farms to keep the Mouse/Rat population in tow. Where our Farmhouse is just about 200 years old . . . there are no longer the big barns but the snakes remain. Every year. . . . This snake type is not poisonous but they are aggressive. They can rattle their tails and they bite and they do have teeth even at this small size.  They always rattle me when I find them as I am never expecting them.  This little guy was already headed up the basement stairs- yes, they can climb well.  Out out out he went to the garden where he belongs!!!  Today is a sunny beautiful day few and far between in the Northeast- get out and enjoy it.

Tuesday, March 6, 2012

This moment . . . . .

This moment . . . . . .
...I am thankful for brighter and lighter days , the sun is back at least some days.
...I love hearing the teakettle chortle on the wood cook stove- tells me just how well the fire is burning.
....Making everything green in the house getting ready for spring and St. Pattys day!
....Planning a Potato Party for March celebrations.
.......Sewing binding on Quilts like crazy
...Finishing up baskets for Ronald Mc Donald House Silent Auction at the Gala event
......Dreaming about Quiltaway in Canada in a few weeks- fun girlfriend time with Fabric and food!
...Getting ready to make 4 dozen cupcakes for a Girl Scout event.
......Loving all the signs of spring outside each day- especially the early morning birdsong but not the late night Skunk visits.
.... Liking Monday Nights are "Breakfast for dinner" nights and kids or Dad cooks- great way to start the week.
.... it is mud season
 . . . . enjoying the slow and steady rhythmic activity of boiling down our sap.
 . . .constants like laundry and cleaning floors are there daily
 . . .planning an April getaway  - maybe somewhere warmer!!!
....loving Hot Tea morning, afternoon , evening.
....loving getting great mail in the mailbox form the Post card swap I participated in 
 . . .enjoying the never ending mess and projects of teens spread to every corner of the house.



Planning ahead for upcoming celebrations

Loving that sunshine whenever we get it

 First snowdrops are back!!!

 always a project . . . . with small pieces . . .