They say it’ll rain tomorrow.

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Lungwort.

Another really nice and sunny spring day here. Started a bit cloudy but warm so I didn’t feel I had the right to complain 🙂 No cranes in the field though but I could hear some trumpeting in fields further away.

We walked down to the creek but in the opposite direction to what we normally do. It would have been nice to walk to the older forest but the ground is so wet around there that rubber boots are a necessity at the moment. The sun started to shine while we were out warming up the air quite a lot so after a short while it felt too much to wear an anorak 🙂

I continued to weed in the garden, today only nice weeds but yesterday I started to rip up stinging nettle roots. I could see the first shoots for the spring and decided I would at least slow them down this year. The shoots are edible after heating them up and can be used as a sort of spinach. People who do that always lies about those new shoots and say that they doesn’t burn, lies lies lies 🙂 🙂 🙂 So yesterday my hands burned and today they itch something bad 🙂 🙂

Besides that very little has happened here. Can’t say I remember what I’ve been doing but at the moment it does feel like I could have taken a long nap and still hadn’t rushed to do what I have done today 🙂 Tomorrow we’ll have a much cooler day and they’re saying we’ll have some rain as well, we barely got anything last time they said that. It’s not like we really need it but nature will love it anyway 🙂

It is time for that last cup of tea for the day and after that I have no idea 🙂

The cranes had arrived outside the cottage when we were back home again, they didn’t like to see me so they flew away 🙂 🙂

Have a great day!

Our nesting couples are here now :-)

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The new neighbours cat. The photos can come from today but also several days back, sunny photos are always nicer 🙂

It was warmish and cloudy this morning when we went out in the garden. Four cranes were walking in the field outside my garden, two left when they heard us but two stayed. The problem was that I only could photograph them through the branches on my catalpa tree 🙂 I did get a few reasonable good ones though.

I had forgotten a few things last time I was at the supermarket so I went there again this morning before our morning walk, I like to go there as early as possible so that very few other customers are there. They tend to annoy me when they start complaining when there’s only one cashier even though they already are second in line 🙂 🙂 🙂 Anyway I stopped by the lake to take a few photos of the cranes there and once again I was too lazy to get out of the car 🙂 🙂

The clouds blew away in the petty strong wind we’ve had since yesterday, a steady wind with few gusts  so it was quite nice to walk in the forest. I took a look at the small trees I’ve placed in the patio and so far they look really good, even if we would have temperatures below 0C (32F) at night the cottage itself will make sure those temperatures won’t reach the plants.

Besides this very little has happened here, the dogs and I had pancakes for dinner (well they had their own food first, I don’t think pancakes would be especially good to have as the only thing to eat 🙂 ). I think I can see flower buds on the apricot trees in the garden. Apricots are really hardy but they don’t change their habits just because they live in a harsher climate, they will flower at the same time as they do everywhere else they grow naturally 🙂 So if they start to flower soon I’ll need to cover the trees with some cloth so no frost takes away eventual fruit. Easy at the moment but one day they’ll be big trees 🙂 🙂

I’m not sure if I’ve missed all the Germans (and Dutch) because there’s only “normal” sized motorhomes by the lake. Could be that I’m a bit early because it looks like most cranes will come in April, yesterday there were 9300 cranes by the lake.

It is time for that last cup of tea and then watch some tv 🙂

Have a great day!

Hold Your thumbs and cross Your fingers!

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These photos are a bit old now but it was nicer weather when I took them than it was this morning 🙂

 

We had odd weather yesterday, we were supposed to have rain and we did get some misty rain but that was it. Instead the air felt sort of thick (no mist or fog) so it did drop a lot from the roofs anyway, really odd 🙂 It stayed that way until noon today when the sun broke through the clouds and dried up the air.

I was preparing for going to my job coach when a number called that I didn’t recognise at all. Normally I just check the number and if it is from specific telephone companies I just block them because it is always someone trying to sell me things. Today however I answered and a good thing that was 🙂 Next Tuesday I’ll go to a place where I’ve applied for a job and have a tour of the factory 🙂 I have no idea if I am one of several people doing this or if it means I got the job but just to be able to actually go to a work place feels good.

This place makes coffins and back in the days Falköping had six such makers, today I think this is the only one left. I just took a little look on Google and it seems it’s the only one in the entire country, can be wrong but it looks that way. So I need You all to hold Your thumbs and cross Your fingers next Tuesday 🙂 Very little has happened here otherwise, Cranes fly above our heads all day long and they are so many down by the lake that the sound from them is like a wall of sound 🙂 Even though it is hard to tell that sound comes from Cranes I still like to hear it in the morning 🙂

It is time for a cup of tea and then go outside for a while before the sun sets and it gets a bit chilly again. Yesterday I placed a couple apricot tree, a peach tree and  four quince trees from the cellar out in the patio. I would have brought out more if it wasn’t for the monster kitten and Malkolm rushing through there when they chase each other 🙂 🙂 🙂 I’ll see if I can moves things around to get some extra space for a couple of more trees 🙂

Have a great day!

 

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Another really nice morning, chilly but sunny and no wind. The wind will arrive a bit later and with it it will bring clouds and perhaps some rain as well. Works good for me since I’m planning to sow winter lettuce. It can’t germinate when it is warm weather and can live long in autumn even after frost. It is a bit more bitter in the taste though.

We are now not allowed to throw clothes in the normal garbage bin, all clothes must be recycled. I can’t say I’m against it but it does give some problems because even though we have one of the most advanced cloth sorting machines in the world they still can’t use it. The problem is, if I understand it right, that there’s a sort of fibre it can’t sort away (some kind of nylon relative I think) so instead we’re sending our clothes to Lithuania where they sort it by hand. If anything is of good quality they’ll sell it but if it’s bad they burn it instead. Well that is something we could have done ourselves.  What to do with an old stuffed blanket? have no idea to be honest, it’s more or less just stuffing left and is that counted as cloth fibres? Have no idea so now I have two big sacks I’ll have to have in the wood shed until I can figure that out 🙂 🙂 🙂

We met our new neighbours on our morning walk yesterday. I’m glad to say that they like both my dogs 🙂 🙂 Malkolm would be a given since he can behave somewhat but it can’t be easy to meet a dog that screams like insane and pulls the leash so hard that I almost lost my balance 🙂 🙂 🙂 But perhaps what’s more important is that their tiny little white dog actually loves both Alma and Malkolm, sh’e tiny but still throws herself towards them 🙂

I let the kitchen door stay open as soon as the sun shines towards it so all the animals can go in and out as they please. Malkolm has a tendency to jump over the fence to get down to the swamp behind the dog yard but now I have a weapon I use against him 🙂 As soon as I notice that he’s gone I just shout out “where’s the kitten?” Takes only a few seconds before he’s back and worries if he can’t find her 🙂 🙂 🙂 So far she hasn’t wandered off especially far though, just around the cottage and the entrance stairs 🙂 🙂 I even forgot to check where she was yesterday when I closed the kitchen door for an hour. As soon as I opened it again she came running in 🙂

I’ve kept on working (don’t like to call it working when it is something I enjoy doing and for free 🙂 ) in the garden. The aching isn’t that bad afterwords as I thought it would be 🙂 Ok it hurts in the legs and my back but it is sort of a good pain. Yesterday when I was about to boil some potatoes for dinner I found a few sprouts that I’ll plant in pots until it is time to bring them out to the vegetable garden or plant them in buckets or big pots. It takes a bit longer for them to grow new potatoes but they usually give a few but big potatoes.

Plum tree doesn’t decay easily after the tree is dead. This plum tree died well over ten years ago and today I finally managed to remove the last pieces of the stump.

                                 

I have a plum tree that I only planted so that my former neighbours would get plums on their tree but since my recent neighbours took that tree down I really have no use or joy in keeping mine. It just gives a few plums each year and at least half starts to mould already on the branches. So yesterday I debarked it close to the ground about 20 cm (8 inches) wide. That stops any water and nutrition to go up to the top of the tree and will also stop the tree from giving loads of root shoots. It’ll have to stay like this for two years now, if I cut it down before that those shoots will pop up everywhere and I already have enough of shoots in my garden as it is. It will look sad but I think I’ll plants a fast growing clematis there this summer so it’ll cover the tree next summer.

It is time to open the kitchen door and have a cup of tea while sitting on the kitchen stairs 🙂

Have a great day!

Spring is sprung.

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Still rather cold nights but after follows sunny and spring warm days. It was supposed to be windy all day but it seems the wind lost its breath after noon, so both me and my neighbours have been outside in the garden today and when my neighbours are outside none of the dogs can hear my voice or understand what I’m saying 🙂 🙂 🙂 Not even the monsterkitten was interesting enough for Malkolm to keep an eye on 🙂 🙂 Then again she mostly lays on the kitchen stairs sleeping in the sunshine 🙂

It was just above 0C (32F) when we went out for our morning walk and there was still frost on the trees and snow on the ground where the sun can’t reach it. Cranes flew above us and the small birds in the forest sang their spring songs. We saw a deer out on the bog but it was too far away for Alma to start screaming 🙂 🙂 🙂 I didn’t mind 🙂 she screamed enough when we passed the new neighbours 🙂 🙂

I’ve been busy in the garden for three days now and I must admit that I have some training sourness all over my body 🙂 🙂 I’ve done the first more serious weeding both in the vegetablegarden and the bigger one that used to be for vegetables as well but I last year decided should be a sort of flower meadow. Well I failed badly last year but can see signs that it might be better this year. If I had wanted it to be filled with only our wild flowers it would take lots of year to be successful, so instead I’ll have any kind of annuals bees like and also a few perennials. Plus I have lots of garlic growing in there as well 🙂 Perhaps mice, voles and deer will stay away from it if I have 🙂 🙂

So I’ve now filled my composts till maximum and I still have more to remove, well that’s a problem for later. I have lots of vegetable seeds but perhaps I need a few more flower seeds, annuals.  Still lots of time for that since nights will continue to stay below 0C (32F) for quite some time more and one never knows what April will be like, could be anything from summer warm to snow storms. So my body is aching but in a sort of good way 🙂 I slept unusually well these two last nights though 🙂

Last years model, new one is approaching soon.

Since something bit off big parts of my Pawpaw seedlings last autumn I bought five more seeds this winter and they arrived three days ago. These seeds are really tricky and even though I managed to get five small trees last year means nothing, I’ve read that not even in nature are the success rate higher than 25%. So all I can do is to hold my thumbs and cross my fingers because they might just as well rot instead. If any start to grow I have no idea how to make them survive next winter since what ever it was that bit them off did it in my cellar. To be honest it could just as well has been a certain monsterkitten that did that job 🙂 🙂 🙂 She will not be permitted to be in the cellar next winter 🙂 🙂 🙂

I know I’ll have to weed it soon again but the big job is at least done. I’ll have potatoes, some kind of cabbage, beans and most likely some peas in there as well.

The coming meadow, I hope I’ll get a better result this year. Why the fence You might ask? Dogs I’ll answer 🙂

The garlic seems to like it, these are just a few of them.

This is a perennial Hollyhock and I do hope more will show as spring is going forward.

It is time for that last cup of tea and perhaps I’ll have one of the newly baked french rolls just waiting in the kitchen 🙂

Have a great day!

Cranes.

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There’s nothing like a bath in icy cold water 🙂

I wasn’t going to post anything today since very little was supposed to happen but then I needed to go to the supermarket to do some shopping.  We did have our morning walk before I left though and it was a really nice walk. Just above 0C (32F), no wind and sunshine so it warmed up pretty quickly. The Jays were arguing and we had lots of Ravens above us, something must have died nearby so they didn’t have to fly to the roads to see if they could find something there.

Looks much like life, doesn’t it? everything goes straight and just like it should and then it takes a turn one didn’t expect but hopefuuly it will turn back to what it was before 🙂 🙂 🙂

This is actually how one can see if the mound is made by a vole or a mole, a mole makes these lumps while digging but a vole just push out the sand as it is.

I brought the camera with me this time and stopped by the lake. I checked the statistics and yesterday there were 3900 cranes by the lake. Lots of them in the fields as well but still far away to how many they can be 🙂 I’ll stop there again before the season is over. After that the ones without a partner will walk around in the fields around here so I’ll show photos of them all summer.

Soon there will be loads of these parked here and You always know when the Germans arrive because their mobile homes cost just as much as a house 🙂 🙂 🙂

The rest of the day we’ve been spending in the garden. The monsterkitten was a bit more brave and walked around to the other side of the cottage, not close to the gate though because Malkolm wouldn’t allow that 🙂 She’s still only walking around the cottage but that won’t last for long 🙂 and than I need to keep Malkolm close to me so he doesn’t follow her 🙂

It is time to make that last cup of tea for the day and to check the dinner for tomorrow, it’s cooking in the slow cooker right now and the cottage is filled with the smell 🙂

Have a great day!

A day outside for the monsterkitten.

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We’re having a really nice day here, a bit frosty in the morning but temperatures rose when the sun did. So today we’ve had 11C (51,8F) 🙂 There is a wind blowing but it isn’t that cold and like most days it can’t reach my garden.

We walked down to the creek and I must say that Alma is getting better and better walking well. Malkolm is just the opposite but that could be that I only notice it now when Alma has started to calm down 🙂 🙂 🙂 We could hear lots of cranes but couldn’t see any, the big migration north has just started and soon I’ll be able to see them flying over us as soon as we’re outside. The doves have arrived too, I do like their sound in the morning when we go outside.

I took a look at my small vegetable garden yesterday and since the weather is so nice I decided I would start removing all the weeds today. This early in spring I can only see the biennals and the perennial weeds and thankfully they grow big enough in autumn that they are easy to see now. It was mostly Aarons’ rod, a few dandelions and also small stinging nettles. The Aarons’rods grow so big that they need to be removed and I did remove most of the dandelions as well, left a couple since I like the leafs in a salad.

Also stinging nettles are nutritious but to be honest, they spread like wild fires and no matter what people say they do sting badly already as tiny plants. Wild raspberries is a bit of a problem here, they too spread fast but then again those berries are probably the tastiest one can find but not in my vegetable patch 🙂 🙂 I also found some carrots from last year so the dogs and I shared them 🙂 🙂 All these weeds filled up that small compost I bought last summer, the black one that one can and must spin around to make it work properly.

Where the Pawpaws grow. Doesn’t look much but they have survived the winter, all green beneath the bark 🙂

It was so so full now that I barely could spin it 🙂 🙂 It works amazingly good, it’s just made of some kind of plastic that also insulated really well. They say it works down to -11C (12,2F) and I believe them. It’s counted as a warm compost and during summer it gets really warm and I put my hands in it now when it was cold and I could still feel warmth in there. I’ll continue tomorrow with more weeding and thankfully I do have a big compost made from the same material that still has some space it it 🙂

She didn’t look too happy when she looked out the door 🙂

Malkolm never far behind.

The monsterkitten was allowed to walk out from the kitchen door by herself today. Can’t say she was especially enthusiastic in the beginning, lots of going in and out at the beginning 🙂 🙂 She did get more brave after a while but as soon as the dogs thought she had wandered a bit too far (4 meters as most wich is much the same in yards) they started to make sure she walked back to the door 🙂 🙂 🙂 We’ll have much the same temperatures the coming five days so she’ll have plsnty more times to explore the garden 🙂

Alma was also keeping an eye on her. An exciting day for the monster kitten and she’s been sleeping all afternoon 🙂

Time for dinner I think, have no clue what I’ll make but after that I’ll make a pot of tea 🙂

Have a great day!

Northern winds.

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The path down to the bog.

Warmer this morning but with an annoying wind from north but warmer, despite northern winds so why complain 🙂 Also today it took some time before the clouds flew away so that the sun could reach us.

Lots of water in the small creeks.

I met our new neighbours today and can happily tell You it’s a younger couple who loves how quiet it is here. Very easy to talk to as well so that’s a relief 🙂 We met them on our morning walk when they were out walking with their tiny white dog and I shouted to them that Alma most likely would scream as obsessed but that she’s harmless 🙂 🙂 🙂 Yes Alma did shout and pulled the leash but gently greeting their dog and so did Malkolm. I told them that Alma is an escape artist and that they most likely would meet her when they walk out of their home but that she also most likely would run away from them after a sniff or two 🙂 🙂

The path down to the bog.

Lots of water in the small creeks.

They told me that they have chicken and that the rooster crows all the time. No problem said I. I mean roosters do that and I like the sound so that was nothing to be worried about 🙂 They had also already noticed that the wild hogs comes close to their cottage. I didn’t tell them about our wolves though, better to save the exciting things to when they’ve settled 🙂 🙂 🙂 

One really doesn’t want to sink down in that mud 🙂

We walked out to the bog to see if the ground still was frozen enough so that we could walk out to my favourite island but it wasn’t. The ground was frozen all the way to where we’ve just passed the creek and that’s where the sun had reached. If I had had rubber boots I might have been able to go out there but I think it is Alma who chewed through my old ones and I’ve never bothered to buy new ones. The sun slowly started to break through the clouds on our way home but not fully until we’ve had come home, so we’ve spent a lot of time in the garden instead 🙂

I’ve baked some rolls so it is time to have that last cup of tea for the day and then try one of the rolls 🙂

Have a great day!

Snow is slowly melting away again.

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A cold night followed by a sunny morning today, there was no wind when I let the dogs out after we woke up and no wind when I drove to the supermarket. I prefer to go grocery shopping early in the morning when the place hasn’t that many costumers, very few customers are younger than 60 at that time in the morning 🙂 🙂

The weather seems just right for the spruce cones to open up and start spreading their seeds.

There was no one before me when I reached the cashier and no one followed after me when I was done 🙂 It showed in the traffic as well, I didn’t have a single car behind me when I drove back home. I looked towards the lake but could just see photographers with lenses bigger than I thought was possible I guess You need those big ones if You want to photograph the first cranes of the year, later on one can use any camera because the birds walks just a few steps away 🙂

So our morning walk started a bit late and the wind had started to blow but just a little, that has changed now, it’s not like it’s a storm passing by but I think I can say that the wind was a bit brisk 🙂 We walked mostly in the forest though so the worst thing that happened was that big chunks of snow fell down from the trees and covered us in it instead 🙂

The new neighbours are moving in today, they have a small lorry or perhaps I should call it bigger pickup truck? I’ve just seen the vehicle but not those moving in so we still have no idea what they look like 🙂  I guess that if the morning walk is at the right time tomorrow I’ll see them sit in the kitchen having breakfast when we pass 🙂 🙂 The beekeeper removed the hedge when he moved in so we can see straight in to the kitchen when we walk by 🙂 🙂

It is time for that last cup of tea but I ‘ve just had my dinner so I’ll skip anything edible this time, I won’t even have a banana this time 🙂

Have a great day!

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It was cold this morning when the dogs, monster kitten and I woke up. -14C (6,8F) but there was no wind at all so when I walked out in to the shine from the rising sun it actually felt rather nice even though I only wore a sweatshirt and sweatpants. It didn’t take long before I could hear drops dripping from the roof.

Still I can’t say that the snow did a lot of melting during the day even though it did become rather warm. Today the birds started to sing again and I could hear cranes from fields not too far away. I could also hear Alma the entire walk because today she decided that whining in a high pitched tone would make us all happy 🙂 🙂 🙂 She did behave very well otherwise. Instead I had to scold Malkolm because he decided that if Alma was supposed to walk without pulling the leash someone else had to 🙂 🙂 🙂

I haven’t done much today though, applied for some jobs and been outside in the garden every now and again. The snow is slowly melting around the early spring bulbs but that’s it. This is the time of year when newly plants die, the ones planted last autumn that is. Their roots haven’t spread down properly  in to the ground so if the ground still is frozen they’ll dry out pretty quickly when the warmer weather comes, that little soil that they brought with them from the pot will dry out really quickly and since the ground is frozen it can’t get any moisture from it. So just before the cold weather would arrive I was outside watering everything I planted last autumn and those plants that live on the border to what they can manage. All I can do now is to wish that I watered enough.

Everything down in the cool cellar are now getting tiny leafs, rather annoying since I can’t bring anything of it outside and since one of the plant lights I had broke so it is a bit too dark down there now. Can’t do much about it though, not until the nights a get warmer. As soon as they’ve gotten used to be outside they usually can take a night or two in a row without getting damaged. Doesn’t look like that will happen in the closest seven day 🙂 🙂 🙂 I think I have one peach tree, five apricots, two red mulberries and lots of quince seedlings and even though mice? (could also be a monster kitten 🙂 ) have chewed on all the giant sequoias it still looks like four of them have survived, cross Your fingers and hold Your thumbs for good luck 🙂

It is time for that last cup of tea for the day and I hope that it will warm up quickly tomorrow morning (after a pretty cold night again) so I don’t have to scrape ice from the car before I’ll go to the supermarket 🙂

Have a great day!

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Lets hope the new neighbours are good ones.

It continued to snow here well in to the after noon today, thankfully the flakes were tiny so we didn’t get that much more on the ground. The snow actually started to melt on the south side of the cottage during the day but tonight they say will be nasty cold, down to -10C (14F) It will rise to above 0C (32F) during the day though but Saturday will be even warmer so I changed my plans on going to the grocery store tomorrow and go on Saturday instead.

We’re getting new neighbours again. The Beekeeper moved since they rented and the owner was too greedy to give them a fair prise. All we know so far about these new neighbours is that they’ll be renting and possibly buy later but I’m afraid it will be the same outcome again. The place isn’t worth half of what the owner wants to be payed for it. I do hope they like dogs since they most likely will have a visit from my two 🙂 🙂 🙂

The monster kitten hasn’t shown any interest at all in going out to the cold snow again 🙂 🙂 I think that one time will stay in her mind quite some time. I guess that she will mostly stay indoors next winter when it snows again but then again memory can be short lived so she might go out the first time it snows again 🙂

I was filling in a job application today but hit a wall 🙂 They wanted my high school  grades! It is soon 42 years ago that I graduated from high school and I know I have them somewhere but not where 🙂 🙂 🙂 It sort of feels like they only look for young people 🙂 🙂 🙂 If I find them I will fill in the application anyway. I have a very small cottage with few places to store anything and yet I can’t find anything here 🙂 🙂 🙂

It is time to bake some rolls and have that first warm one with a cup of tea. Is there anything tastier than that first warm slice of bread, preferable with cheese that slowly melts?

Have a great day!

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow.

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The snow started to fall already yesterday afternoon, just tiny flakes but with time they grew bigger and multiplied as well. I’m not surprised because this always happens after the first crane has arrived 🙂 🙂 🙂 I’m not a fan of it though, I would have preferred it to stay green and nice. The weather sites seems to agree that this is the last snow for this time and from Thursday and eight days into the future we’ll have cold nights but fairly warm and sunny days, none of us will believe that’ll happen until it does 🙂 🙂 🙂

The wind today is a bit nasty so we had our morning walk in the forest where it couldn’t reach us. All birds were quiet, even the jays and ravens seems to have thought this weather was just too much 🙂 Yes I admit that it does look pretty with snow everywhere but it is enough to see it in photos and post cards 🙂 Back in the days warm weather like we had just a day ago was quite unusual in March. March was sort of the last winter month and April could go either way. Just around 21 years ago we still had winter the first of May when I opened my garden centre. It was so cold that I couldn’t bring out any spring flowers.

Now days it’s rather unusual to have winter at all in April, the only exception in recent years was last April when I brought home Malkolm, we had had spring temperatures for quite some time when easter came and Malkolm as well plus a snowstorm we haven’t had in years 🙂 🙂 🙂 40cm (16 inches) of snow here but not far away they had 90cm (36 inches) during one day 🙂 🙂 🙂  I don’t miss the old winters but they were more predictable. Winter now days seems to be shorter but more intense when they come.

Since the wind can’t reach my garden I thought it would be a good idea to let the monster kitten meet snow for the first time 🙂 Well I would be lying if I said I think she likes it 🙂 🙂 🙂 She just stood still looking at all this white garbage on the ground and falling from the sky. So I brought her to the apple tree where she was the last time she was outside with the rest of us, she didn’t like that either and suddenly she started to shiver so I put her inside my jacket and brought her inside again. I think I honestly can say that there’s at the moment no risk she freely would go outside again until the snow is gone 🙂 🙂 🙂

Spring flowers are thankfully used to setbacks in the weather but I was surprised to see this spring iris in bloom now.

It is time for a pot of tea and perhaps read a book or see if they show any interesting re-run on tv. I can also take a nap even though last night was the first night in some time that I slept really well.

Have a great day!