Leap forward into a familiar routine

Aren't you supposed to do something unusual on this unusual day in our calendar year? I heard on the radio (on my drive to the bakery) that some people put things in a time capsule on this day. To be read at a later February 29th. I suppose to a person who blogs daily, a time capsule seems very irrelevant. I have an ongoing time capsule. Most of which I will never reopen, but so what. I keep on stuffing it with details every day regardless.

Did you catch those words? "Driving to the bakery." I am back to that. First, though, there was the walk to the barn. A first one for me since I've been back. And a sad reminder that we only have two Bresse hens left. 

As I poured out less food than usual into their feeding dish, I thought about the three that we lost. Unie and two Bresse nameless ones. The trauma remains. Each evening, only one of them now goes into the coop. The second one hightails it to the garage and flies up to the rafters to rest there for the night. We have to climb a ladder to get her down (and into the coop, under lock). Last night, Ed was late coming back from his machining work so I did it for him and even standing on the top rung of the ladder I could hardly reach her. Ed has noted that that chicken is going to kill us in the end, in our attempt to keep her safe.

Well, there wont be "just two Bresse girls" for long. We're getting more chickens this weekend. More on that later.

And yes, I then did drive to the bakery. Madison Sourdough. I needed cookies for Sparrow. (He just loves their cookies and only their cookies! Him and Ed! Must be a guy thing.) The bakery itself felt heavenly! The smell, the presence of all those warm breads and croissants..

Here's a fact: those croissants are actually better than most that I have for breakfast in Europe. Why? Because nearly every hotel now serves mini croissants for breakfast, replacing the traditional full sized ones we get at bakeries. Mini croissants may be excellent, but they aren't the real thing. You dont have enough of that soft center to satisfy your croissant craving. So, good, but not great. Whereas Madison Sourdough croissants are the full blown wonderful heavenly breakfast treat. With a milky coffee -- nothing is better.

Notice the flowers on the table. I picked up several bunches at the grocery store yesterday. Spring is my favorite time to buy grocery store flowers. Daffodils, tulips, hyacinths. They're beautiful and fresh and of course, the markers of this next season.

And speaking of that next season, we are so close to it now! We have had a crummy snow-less winter (too warm, too dry), but we are to have a warm March and that forecast starts today! Yesterday's Arctic blast? A thing of the past. We're climbing the temperature charts once again. It's still windy and that brings a bit of a chill with it, but it's also sunny and just so very lovely. We seize the opportunity!

(I swear he wears shorts year round...)

(Lake Waubesa has a thin layer of ice in one small portion of it. Our bigger lakes have no ice at all. In February! Weird.)

 

And look who is back with their beautiful piercing cries!

In the afternoon, I'm once more in line to pick up the kids after school. This is what exuberance looks like!

 

 

(Sparrow, as always, wants his own closeup)

Nothing like a break from routine to get them so very excited to be back here again!

It's a bit out of the ordinary for me to also pick up their little brother later in the day. Ah, the trio of bandits!And a field of blooming snowdrops!

I take them home and return to a pack of deer on farmette lands.

Well, okay, but please stick with the old growth. Leave any new plants alone! (I don't think the deer are especially listening to me...)

And now it's time to reheat that soup and turn on a new show we discovered on my soon to expire Netflix account: Loudermilk. Maybe it's that we are so ready to laugh, maybe it just hit us at the right moment, but we both thought it was witty and therefore very funny. 

Ending February with a chuckle is always a good way to proceed.

with love...