No more excuses !

Getting the satellite connection was a huge step forward. No more being 'dumped off' half way through a post. It was generally observed that I was short on memory, so a recent implant has solved this problem and I am operating at great speed. One step is rarely enough and so we have installed a router that means that those in the cottage will in future have all the benefits of high speed internet on their wi-fi enabled portables. No need to sit in my smoky room for internet access any more !
On the low end of the tech. spectrum, Joe has re-attached the two pieces of siding on the side of the farmhouse that got blown off during the winter. When we were reduced to one piece of eavestroughing on the front of the house ( see picture in last post) it was time to review the whole business of gutters. A local firm came and did the installation. Front and back, one continuous piece, so no more more dripping over the doors. Quite reasonable and the whole job was done in about an hour and fifteen minutes. Two additional downspouts and water barrels and we have an additional supply of water for the flowers !

The mowing season has started and yesterday I did most of the main lawn, around the vegetable garden and in front of the cottage. Rain stopped play, so I will try and get some more done today. Every time I set-out to do a bit of planting I am reminded that we will still have frost at night so I postpone for a bit longer. Dawson, our great neighbour, tells me that the land is still too cold and that the seeds won't germinate. He is usually right.

Another five dead trees have been cut down from the fence line in the field behind the farmhouse and I'm waiting for the ground to dry up a bit to get in and remove all the brush and debris.

The swallows returned and appear to be in full production mode. There is considerable traffic in and out of the work barn. Gabriel continues to study bird life from her vantage point in her room and it seems that every day she finds a new addition to her growing list of sightings.

Any day now the apple trees should blossom, along with the lilac, and I fear that the tulips will be long gone before the Tulip Festival is supposed to begin. It never ceases to amaze me how quickly we go from the dingy greyness of April to the lush verdant green of May. The delicate, shimmering green of the tree leaves is, I think, especially beautiful and so refreshing.

I hope that you are all getting a chance to smell and feel this incredible season of re-birth, of nature at its most powerful.