At last! The month that no one calls "winter" anymore. And what a sweet beginning to April! Sunshine and warmth -- your perfect combination for us winter weary Wisconsinites.
Breakfast? Sun room! Yeah!
Suddenly, there aren't just the occasional narcissus sprouts and floundering crocuses. Everything is moving rapidly forward. The growing season is now fully upon us. (And I am in my usual finger wagging chastising mode toward the cheepers, who love my gardens as much as I do, though for very different reasons.)
On these off-season Saturday mornings, my daughter and I have been taking Snowdrop to the Performing Arts Center where there are varied musical performances for a very young audience. Today's show was a little unusual -- a puppet story, done in the traditional Taiwanese fashion. I think it was over the head for most of the kids in the audience and Snowdrop proclaimed not so quietly that she "did not like this song," but it was a fun outing nonetheless: she enjoyed her fish crackers during the show...
... and afterwards, loved her walk with us to the Capitol Square, where we popped into a toy store and she took to the scooter-bike like a kid who was training for the big league.
Driving back to the farmette, I just couldn't get enough of that feeling of a seasonal turning point. This is the time to turn your attention to the outside world.
(So much to admire...)
(So much!)
And we did just that: Ed and I sat down to do out annual planting of tomato seeds. I told him that we really must show restraint and so we limited ourselves to 100 plants.
Toward evening, Snowdrop came to the farmhouse for a sleepover and I had her plant a few seeds as well. Did she like pushing tiny seeds into dirt? Yes she did! Does she know that someday she'll eat a tomato from that tiny seed? She will by summertime.
I was ready to go inside and finish making our pizza then, but she had other ideas.
It took a while to redirect her indoors. I would imagine that many kids in Madison tonight felt like they were finally set free from the constraints of coats and hats and who knows what else. Oh, but it's good to be moving into April at last!
Indoors, Snowdrop is as always happiest when we both play with her. I added a tiny set of Duplo legos, thinking that a pizza joint would get her imagination rolling, and she did like sticking all the pies in the oven, but what tickled her most was the motorcycle that came with the set. Here's Ed, answering all her million and one "what's that?" questions, in this case having to do with the motorcycle.
A quick run with Rosie...
And it's dinner time. As usual during these weekend sleepovers, we watch a nature show during our pizza meal. The number of "what's that" questions grew and grew and grew. Snowdrop is really wants explanations!
(What's most gratifying about the photo above is that it's after 7 and there's light pouring in through the windows. Oh, how I love spring!)
Suddenly I see that it is way past her bedtime and so now I have to turn on the no machine: no, it's not a good idea to go out now. No, the sled wont glide if there is no snow. No I don't think reading thirty books is in order. No I don't think Rosie wants to go shopping just now...
But yes, there is a moon outside and it's shining brightly on us all tonight.
Breakfast? Sun room! Yeah!
Suddenly, there aren't just the occasional narcissus sprouts and floundering crocuses. Everything is moving rapidly forward. The growing season is now fully upon us. (And I am in my usual finger wagging chastising mode toward the cheepers, who love my gardens as much as I do, though for very different reasons.)
On these off-season Saturday mornings, my daughter and I have been taking Snowdrop to the Performing Arts Center where there are varied musical performances for a very young audience. Today's show was a little unusual -- a puppet story, done in the traditional Taiwanese fashion. I think it was over the head for most of the kids in the audience and Snowdrop proclaimed not so quietly that she "did not like this song," but it was a fun outing nonetheless: she enjoyed her fish crackers during the show...
... and afterwards, loved her walk with us to the Capitol Square, where we popped into a toy store and she took to the scooter-bike like a kid who was training for the big league.
Driving back to the farmette, I just couldn't get enough of that feeling of a seasonal turning point. This is the time to turn your attention to the outside world.
(So much to admire...)
(So much!)
And we did just that: Ed and I sat down to do out annual planting of tomato seeds. I told him that we really must show restraint and so we limited ourselves to 100 plants.
Toward evening, Snowdrop came to the farmhouse for a sleepover and I had her plant a few seeds as well. Did she like pushing tiny seeds into dirt? Yes she did! Does she know that someday she'll eat a tomato from that tiny seed? She will by summertime.
I was ready to go inside and finish making our pizza then, but she had other ideas.
It took a while to redirect her indoors. I would imagine that many kids in Madison tonight felt like they were finally set free from the constraints of coats and hats and who knows what else. Oh, but it's good to be moving into April at last!
Indoors, Snowdrop is as always happiest when we both play with her. I added a tiny set of Duplo legos, thinking that a pizza joint would get her imagination rolling, and she did like sticking all the pies in the oven, but what tickled her most was the motorcycle that came with the set. Here's Ed, answering all her million and one "what's that?" questions, in this case having to do with the motorcycle.
A quick run with Rosie...
And it's dinner time. As usual during these weekend sleepovers, we watch a nature show during our pizza meal. The number of "what's that" questions grew and grew and grew. Snowdrop is really wants explanations!
(What's most gratifying about the photo above is that it's after 7 and there's light pouring in through the windows. Oh, how I love spring!)
Suddenly I see that it is way past her bedtime and so now I have to turn on the no machine: no, it's not a good idea to go out now. No, the sled wont glide if there is no snow. No I don't think reading thirty books is in order. No I don't think Rosie wants to go shopping just now...
But yes, there is a moon outside and it's shining brightly on us all tonight.
I got my first sunburn and first mosquito bite of the season. Need to get sunscreen!
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