April stuff

How good it is to step out, step in, do one thing out there, come back inside to finish your coffee, go out to do something else! In winter, you need to brace yourself and layer on the wraps for that blast of cold each time you leave the house. Now? You're in step with the weather. You are made of stuff that can join with the forces of nature. In out. All is one and you are part of it!

This is what April feels like.

Morning walk with the animals...

Breakfast with two of my favorite animals...

And then we do this dance of working in and out, not quite yet immersed in planting, but setting the stage for it!

One task that we have is figuring out where to put my strawberries -- the ones that came too early!  They're doing well out there in the mudroom and tomorrow I can put them in their permanent homes. But where?

They can't go in the ground. Chickens, groundhogs, rabbits, squirrels -- they all eat our berries. But last year I put out two pots on the picnic table and covered them with netting. That worked well enough, though netting and berries are a tricky combination. Everything gets tangled up and picking out berries is tough going. Ask Snowdrop, who did manage to reach for and consume our whole crop of fraises de bois! So yes, I'll use pots, though maybe I'll rethink the netting. But I cant just put them on the picnic table again. Ed wants to keep that mostly clear for his outdoor work.

Initially I thought we might put up a board over sawhorses, but finding a sunny spot for this set up is not easy. Ed offers another idea -- why not move some of the tree stumps that he sawed up and use them as "tables" for berry baskets? 

I like it!  

We work on this for a while. Tomorrow I'll plant (and take photos).

In the back of my head I have that nagging thought that I really should be working on taxes. On my quick pause inside, I get the papers together. It's like prepping the strawberry pots! The stage is set. I'll fill in the forms.... another day. (Insert sheepish smile here.)

In the afternoon I pick up Snowdrop, but not at school. She is home today because, well, school's out for the day. I'm getting used to these frequent school closures but I can only imagine how messy this is for most working parents. 

She is here, enjoying the coming of spring almost as much as I am...

She looks a little concerned here and I ask her why the hesitancy. Bees -- she tells me. She likes them, but  at a distance.

I look closer. Bees? Awesome!

And then comes evening, only it doesn't really feel like evening because the sun is now setting at 7:31 p.m. which is amazing and wonderful all at the same time. Honestly, is there anyone in the northern hemisphere who does not love April?!