The cheepers are in that same springtime trance. Oreo's rough edges remain well concealed and the pack moves from favorite spot to favorite spot, sometimes getting bread from me...
![farmette-4.jpg](https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8745/17269742006_9704247a19.jpg)
...sometimes getting nothing at all except a dose of the familiar.
After breakfast...
![farmette-6.jpg](https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7722/16673227954_cec0ddae5f.jpg)
...I go to a local greenhouse that I think has the best assortment of annuals. I am confident that the good weather is here to stay. I want to start filling my flower tubs.
![farmette-11.jpg](https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7681/17295210611_d5f2cb518b.jpg)
Today I just look and pick a few small containers. In the days ahead, I'll return to planting.
![farmette-10.jpg](https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7675/17108143460_361de7007c.jpg)
(cheepers! get off the alyssum and pansies!)
![farmette-13.jpg](https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7722/17269752576_cca54c4194.jpg)
(ready to plant)
Then, of course, there's that wonderful afternoon I spend with Snowdrop, whose nickname now is but a reminder of the month of her birth. She is the flower that never fades, never loses its petals. She just keeps on going!
![farmette-28.jpg](https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8758/17109496849_6c81206c7c.jpg)
... rewarding me with fist-in-mouth smiles.
![farmette-36.jpg](https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8746/17293874232_a0aa67c1c5.jpg)
We go for a walk around the lake with her mom and this, too, is lovely, effortless...
![farmette-3-2.jpg](https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7673/16673239374_386e6ca9ba.jpg)
("oh, go ahead, grandma... take the photo!")
And finally, back at her home, we sing. I swear, mouthing words with big vowels really gets that girl going! Her attempt at imitation is beautiful!
![farmette-9-2.jpg](https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7678/17269760076_ec999d12dc.jpg)
Evening at the farmhouse. The cheepers move slowly toward the coop. It's quiet. There is a smell of fresh growth. Of cherry blossoms and new strawberry shoots. And it will continue, tomorrow and the next day. Utterly bucolic.