sunny day projects

Although we've had many cold and snowy days this Winter, this month has been so very different from last February.  Then we found ourselves buried in snow and ice, bundled up and hunkered down with a wee new babe and sleepy eyes.  Seldom did we venture out except for wood and sometimes groceries.  But now?  Well, the last several days have been sunny, clear and warm and have gotten us out working on projects and letting the sun warm our bones.  I keep reminding myself (though I'm believing it less and less...) that we do indeed still have a good bit of Winter coming our way.  We are still barely less than 2 months away from our last frost date, after all.  And yet I'm planting seeds in my mind, letting my bare feet get out and play a bit, and hanging diapers on the line.  I'll take it.  And I'll welcome the wintry days ahead as well.  I'm not done with fireside soup and tea just yet anyway.  And Claire still needs to take a debut sledding trip~  Oh yes, those days are coming (I think) and are still welcome around here.  But these days, we are up to some good outdoor projects:

I know, mom, the bangs are getting ridiculous.... but she won't keep a clip or headband in her hair and I just CANNOT cut her hair yet. (after all, she's still a newborn for crying out loud!)  So let's just focus on the cuteness factor of my little girl being pushed around the yard by papa in a (dirty) wheelbarrow.  Cute, huh?  She likes outdoor projects, too.

this is me wearing my clothespin apron while I hang laundry for the first time in months.... what you can't see is that I'm also wearing a big smile

aha! proof that I really do sometimes pitch in on those "we" projects that usually really mean "Mike's projects".  It's really all about timing and naps, though.... I like working on these things, it just doesn't work out so that I can very often.  But this bookshelf (a 14 foot long shelf to be placed all the way across the top of our living room wall above the mantel) has been on my list for months...

(smile) A better compost system, in place.  We (really, we) dumped out a garbage can full of a rather sludgy, anaerobic mess of scraps this afternoon, mixed in leaves and a bucket of chicken poo, sectioned it off with some handy perfectly sized boards that were lying around the shed, and voila!  A compost conundrum solved.  The conundrum being how to keep Wolfie out of it while at the same time having it open for easy turning and access and keeping it at least somewhat pleasing to look at.  As pleasing to look at as decomposing food and chicken poo can be, anyway.  I am pleased.  Now we have our "sitting and stewing until Spring" bin to the left, and our "fresh new start" bin to the right, with a handy dandy leaf corral that Mike fashioned out of wire to the far right.  Throw in scraps, throw in leaves, dump in poo.... compost!

stewing mess below leaves on left, "fresh, new" rotting scraps on the right.... pretty, eh?

strawberry bed that we (I mean Mike) built... awaiting soil and strawberry plants that are now dormant in the crawl space

that there man has been hard at work replenishing that there woodpile for next year...  I feel like I should note that he splits nearly all of our wood the old-fashioned way, by hand.  Michael Perry, a favorite author of ours, says "firewood warms you twice~ once when you split and stack it, and once when you burn it"

Of course, we have to stop for snacks from time to time.... If you want to make Claire very, very happy all you have to do is give her an apple.  You must not, however, attempt to take the (dirty, slobbery, covered in all sorts of yuck) apple away from her until she's done with it.  If you do, she will unleash her fury upon you.  It can be scary.

mmmmm mmmm good~  (oh look, she ended up with chubby little wrists, after all!)

Oh you know, just taking a relaxing break to eat and catch up on the latest news...

hello from mama! Happy Sunny Days!

Is it possible that I've not yet mentioned on here that our little one is now walking?  Yes, walking.  It started almost a week ago, and it has quickly progressed from a few unsure steps to making it clear across a room all by herself.  Wow.  Our world is a changin'!  Look at that big cute cloth-diapered bottom.... yep, she's got some junk in her trunk, for sure!