Only One Kit

Sienna tending to her kit.

Grand Champion Lilac Haven's Sienna had her first litter (sired by Jailbirds Rupert) due on Tuesday. I had just about given up on her when a single kit arrived this morning at 7:30 am while I was doing morning chores. I checked them at lunch time and mother and baby were both doing well.

Lawn Mowing & Love

Zorro was back for a "visit" this evening. Andrew calls him a transient visitor. Zorro and Pip spent most of the early evening lounging in the yard, enjoying each others company and dining on dandelions. Later they chased each other about and behaved like comedians putting on a show. Pip is pretty animated in her behaviors with preening, stretching, grooming and such. Zorro usually just sits quietly. I love the way the sunlight back lights their ears.Zorro

Pip relaxing under the maple tree.
I sat right out here in the yard with these two and neither of them moved for at least 20 minutes.

Dining on a buffet of dandelions. Ooh this is a tough one.

Seedlings

I bought a 72 pack of those little peat pots about a week ago and planted some things that I wanted to have a head start. Here here are my plants: burgundy cotton, zinnias, autumn beauty sunflowers and sweet Italian basil. Now if it would just warm up again. These will need to be placed in the ground or a pot by the weekend.

In Memory of Jean

My friend (and boss) Joan's twin sister died on March 20th. She suffered a brain aneurysm on March 15. She was 45 years old and left behind 5 children and a loving husband and family. Many people were stunned and deeply saddened by her death and wanted to do some thing for Joan to honor her sister's memory. Colleagues, friends, students and alumni got together and raised funds to have a memorial tree planted by the college in memory of Jean. The tree was placed today near the walkway that leads to our office. It is surrounded by the five little redbuds that Andrew and I planted during the community service project on April 17th (see my previous post). In years to come these trees will serve as a beautiful reminder of a kind and giving woman who loved life and lived it to the fullest; and of the five children she left behind but whom we'd like to think she still watches over.

There's a very special garden
Where the trees of memory grow
Nurtured by the kindness
And concern that good friends show.
The roots are cherished memories
Of good times in the past
The branches tender promises
That souls endure and last.
It's a place of peace and beauty
Where bright new hopes can start
It's memory's lovely garden
That soothes the hurting heart.

Thumper

Meet Thumper. He belongs to Elisha and since she's moving up here to go to college it seemed logical for him to move up here too. :-) He's 8 and hasn't been handled much; for a small rabbit he sure can move fast and he also has some powerful back legs. I got him settled in to the smallest cage in the rabbitry and gave him a big handful of hay. He probably thinks he's died and gone to heaven.

Blended Angora Yarn

I've been saving just combings from my rabbits for last past two months. I had the colors, black, white and fawn French and red and black Satin angora, separated out in the side compartment of my grooming table. Yesterday I decided the compartment was overflowing and after a moments deliberation I threw all of it into one bag and decided to spin the colors together and ply it back on itself to make a novelty type yarn. I think it turned out really nice; especially since I am partial to natural colored yarn.

Senior Prom

Elisha had her senior prom last night. The theme was Star Struck. She attended with Ian again this year. We managed to get photos in the park just before the deluge of rain came in and wreaked havoc. After photos we went into the auditorium-the school had organized a "Senior Walk" -and each couple came on stage and was introduced. It gave us a chance to see everyone's outfits and ooh and ahh over how nice they all looked. It amazes me what lengths these kids go to for prom now days.

Just Keeping Running

Andrew and I had just departed for an evening walk when we heard a stampede of running feet coming up behind us yelling our names. We turned around to find our neighbor girl who is in high school and her friend. They wanted to tell us they were running the mile in the high school track meet; that the meet was starting in a few minutes, and would we come and watch? We told them we would take Daisy on a quick poop round and be right over. It was fun and Clare did well. She can really run fast. I had the intention of getting a bunch of stuff done at home tonight. Oh look a butterfly....

A Little Stinkpot...

...turtle that is. Isn't he cute? This particular specimen is likely to be an advanced age as well evidenced by his the size of his shell. Stinkpots, also called Common Musk Turtles, occur in any waterways with a slow current and soft bottom. They get their name from, you guessed it, the stinky odor they emit when they feel threatened. Males are aggressive and will readily bite. Andrew said this one was not pleased at having been captured and that it did try to bite him. (They have a long neck and can reach all the way back to their back limbs). Andrew caught this one inadvertently as he was netting some fish while he and his colleague were doing a program for 30 high school students on the fish species of Big Darby Creek.

Asparagus Quiche

I love asparagus! When we were kids and mom worked on Saturday dad would drive around the back roads during the season and we would hunt asparagus. He would drive really slow down the road and when he saw a plant my brother and I would get out of the van and pick all we could find. Alas the back country road's near mom & dad's house have long been gone-lost like everything else to development. I get my asparagus from the farmer's market in Pickerington now. We like it steamed, fried, grilled, on salads, in quiche...you get the picture. Hope you try and enjoy the recipe below. Omit the bacon if you are counting calories. It's still good.

Ingredients

• 1 pound fresh asparagus, trimmed and cut into 1/2 inch pieces
• 10 slices bacon cooked crisp
  
• 2 (8 inch) unbaked pie shells
• 4 eggs
• 1 1/2 cups half-and-half cream
• salt and pepper to taste
• 2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese

Directions

Crack the eggs into a mixing bowl and beat them slightly with a fork. Add all the rest of the ingredients (except the pie crust) to the eggs and stir with a spoon until everything is moist. Pour mixture into two unbaked pie shells and bake at 400 degrees for about 30 minutes or until eggs are firm and crust is brown on the edges. About 320 calories per serving.

Lilac Haven

The purple lilacs are blooming at Lilac Haven. This is my favorite time of year. (Unfortunately the white lilac bush that we planted last May and had to move this past fall did not bloom this spring). All the buns got groomed yesterday which gave them all a chance to get out and enjoy the sunshine. Most of them don't have any wool to speak of right now but I gave each of them some attention and trimmed their nails as needed.Our lilac bush

Martin

Lilac Haven
Daisy (keeping me company).

Belle of the Ball

We were having a gathering of sorts in the yard this evening, grilling out and enjoying a fire. Pip decided to make a grand appearance in the midst of our party, coming out from under the lilac bush with a flourish. She stayed long enough to have a little snack and for me to capture a photo of her. I think this is my favorite of all the photos I have captured of her over the years.

Tree Planting Project

The Cardinal Corps, one of our student service organizations at the college, had a tree planting project today and 50 trees of various sizes that needed to be planted. We arrived at appointed 9 am hour and the only other person there and ready to go was the student who organized the project. Andrew and I volunteered to help because there were 5 redbuds to be put in over by my office that I wanted to have a hand in planting them. (Later this spring I will explain why). Anyhow we also planted 5 river birches and 3 magnolias near one of the dorms in order to complete the plantings on this side of campus. It was pretty chilly this morning and the wind was blowing. As we were leaving we saw the other 38 trees still flagged and waiting to be planted. It will be interesting to see how many of them get in the ground by Monday. LOL Everything sounds like a lot of fun when it is being organized but when it comes time to actually do the work its a different story. Tree planting is back breaking work. A little redbud waiting to be planted

Here I am freezing in the wind

Andrew loves this stuffView of the redbuds looking toward the dorm where the other 7 trees were planted.

Wild Plum

Lots of beautiful blooms in the woods this time of year. These photos are of a wild plum tree. According to Ohio Trees, Bulletin 700-00 -When in bloom, the trees are a mass of white, highly fragrant flowers. Flowers appear before the leaves in April or May. The fruit is globular or rounded with thick, red to yellow skin that ripens in June or July. Early settlers of Ohio valued wild plums for jelly, plum butter, and preserves. I think the blooms are spectacular.

Virginia Bluebells

It was a lovely afternoon in the woods. Lots of wildflowers starting to pop. Among my favorites is the Virginia Bluebell. The folklore holds that if you could turn the bluebells flower inside out without tearing it, then you would eventually win the one you loved.

Virginia Bluebell by Miranda Lambert

Carrying the weight on the end of a limb
Your just waitin' for somebody
To pick you up again
Shaded by a tree can't live up to a rose
All you ever wanted
Was a silent place to grow

Pretty little thing
Sometimes you gotta look up
And let the world see
All the beauty that your made of
Cause the way you hang you head
Nobody can tell
Your my virginia bluebell
My virginia bluebell

Even through the snow
A flower can bloom
You just need a little push
Spring is coming soon
Umbrella in the rain
They'll roll off your back
Better watcha can realize what you have

Pretty little thing
Sometimes you gotta look up
And let the world see
All the beauty that your made of
Cause the way you hang you head
Nobody can tell
Your my virginia bluebell
My virginia bluebell

Put a little light in the darkest places
Put a little smile on the saddest faces

Pretty little thing
Sometimes you gotta look up
And let the world see
All the beauty that your made of
Cause the way you hang you head
Nobody can tell
Your my virginia bluebell
My virginia bluebell

New Bathroom Floor

Our house needed a lot of work when we moved in 13 years ago. I've hated the bathroom floor since the first time I saw it but there were other things I hated more so it had to wait until today to get replaced. We used Trafficmaster Allure which is completely waterproof and looks and feels like real wood. The color is blond maple. We prepped Friday night and it took 12 hours to install in the bath and the half bath. I still need to paint some trim but we are 90 % finished.

The old yucky linoleumAndrew hard at workIn progress
Finished

It's a Tough Job...

...but someone's got to do it. A honey locust with two dead limbs was the focus of Andrew's work today as high winds made it necessary to remove them so they didn't blow out and do property damage. You can get some perspective on the height of this tree by looking at the roof of the house in the first one and the top of the trees in the background in the second one.

Magnolia Blooms

The neighbors down the street have a huge magnolia tree. I was outing walking earlier in the week and couldn't resist sticking my nose right down in a blossom and inhaling the scent. I also had my camera with me so I snapped a couple shots. Magnolia's are often associated with the southern states where they thrive nicely because of the warm weather. We have a fringed magnolia in our yard but the blooms only lasted a couple days this spring. On a somewhat related note a friend loaned me a really good book called Saving CeeCee Honeycutt by Beth Hoffman. It's her first book and it takes place mainly in Savannah, Georgia in a setting which prominently includes a magnolia tree.

Daisy's Day Out

Daisy's groomer, who had groomed her for 6 years, had a baby and moved away. Since we were traveling a distance anyway and I didn't care for the woman who was hired to replace her I scouted around for a new groomer. I am happy to report we found a new grooming "salon" about 5 minutes from the house and a mile from work. Daisy went today. Sara told me that Daisy behaved well and she didn't seem to be in a big hurry to flee to the car when I came to pick her up so it seems as though this should work out. Doesn't she look cute?

HaPpY EaSteR

Happy Easter! We got a visit from Pip and PJ (Pip Junior). My parents and brother came to dinner and we had New England boiled dinner (a family favorite) and we ate way too much candy. The Easter Bunny aka Pip in the sage.PJ, who has been with Pip since last summer.I actually took the time to color eggs this year.

Yummy New England boiled dinner with ham.

CANDY!!
And just for fun I thought I would share this vintage postcard that I bought earlier this year at the Scott Antique show.

First Float Trip of the Season

We did our annual first float trip of spring down Big Darby today. It was cool, windy and cloudy but we still saw an abundance of wildlife including wood ducks, herons, geese, mallards, three kinds of turtles, a couple snakes, darters in breeding plumage and a huge tadpole. My college friend, who is a 5th grade science teacher, came along to refresh her field i.d skills and we had a nice time catching up since we hadn't seen each other for several years. (And it was just like old times since we spent the majority of our time in college learning species id and field sampling methods.) The rest of the group, for various reasons (none of them sound) baled out. Their loss. LOL

Beached canoe...

because luckily I saw this coming up before it "strained" us. Andrew will be removing this early next week.
Just ahead of the strainer was a nice spot to capture (and later release) rainbow darters in breeding plumage.

Male darter

Gravid (full of eggs) female darter.

Ginny with a baby painted turtle. Awww.Here is a close up of the little guy.

Huge bullfrog tadpole in a viewing container.