What I've been up to in April
1. Research and reading.
I didn't get as much writing done on my blog break as I would have liked (but those 5 pages are good). I did, however, refresh my muse by reading lots of good books, across a variety of genres. Here are a few stellar examples:
2. Intense nature study.
Springtime always lends itself to observing nature, so our Aprils are naturally full of planting seeds and watching daffodils bloom and tulips blush with color. This year, we had a few semi-surprises:
A mama and papa wren decided to build their nest in our hanging planter, just outside our dining room window! We did our best to keep the toddler exuberance down ("Don't scare away the birdies!") and were rewarded by Jenny and Jack deciding that our front terrace would be a nice place to raise a family. (They're currently incubating, but I'll be sure to post some fledgling pictures!)
Caterpillars--these guys/gals arrived as little centimeter long larvae. I will never stop marveling at God's creation...that, without a parent present, tiny caterpillars come out of their minuscule eggs with the instinct necessary to grow into beautiful butterflies. We humans would die of terror before willingly wrapping ourselves in a cocoon and dying to our previous lives before emerging as something new and unknown.
And chickens! We've been toying with the idea of raising backyard chickens for a year now, but the fact that we now have daughters old enough to collect eggs (also, seriously craving having pets) convinced us to make the leap. We have a French Marans named Smudge; a Silver-laced Wyandotte named Silver Lace;three two Barred Rocks named Smartie, Snow White and Sweetie Pie; (a cuckoo Marans named Snow White who used to be disguised as a Barred Rock, apparently); and two Buff Orpingtons named Sunshine and Daffodil. Did I choose the Buff Orpingtons because they were the type recommended by one of my favorite fictional characters (Judy in Daddy-Long-Legs)? No. (Actually, I didn't make the choice.) Do I take inordinate pleasure in that fact? Yup.
3. Collecting egg recipes for later this summer when we will have lots of eggs. Any ideas?
4. Staring at these toes. Seriously, I could while away the hours just admiring Maddie's chubby limbs and digits.
5. Miscellany: homeschooling, cuddling, housework, planning baby showers, planning next year's homeschooling, hanging diapers on the line (weird contradiction: I don't enjoy laundry, but hanging cloth diapers makes me happy), practicing Bach on the piano, bemoaning the existence of ticks and poison ivy (Why, Lord? Why?), knitting, getting ready for May.
May is a busy month. Apparently everyone in our family decided to be born then. (I exaggerate, but seriously: 16 birthdays or anniversaries, plus Mother's Day. That averages out to one every other day.) And this is when I decide to come back to blogging. Why yes, I am crazy. Thank you for asking.
I didn't get as much writing done on my blog break as I would have liked (but those 5 pages are good). I did, however, refresh my muse by reading lots of good books, across a variety of genres. Here are a few stellar examples:
Springtime always lends itself to observing nature, so our Aprils are naturally full of planting seeds and watching daffodils bloom and tulips blush with color. This year, we had a few semi-surprises:
A mama and papa wren decided to build their nest in our hanging planter, just outside our dining room window! We did our best to keep the toddler exuberance down ("Don't scare away the birdies!") and were rewarded by Jenny and Jack deciding that our front terrace would be a nice place to raise a family. (They're currently incubating, but I'll be sure to post some fledgling pictures!)
Caterpillars--these guys/gals arrived as little centimeter long larvae. I will never stop marveling at God's creation...that, without a parent present, tiny caterpillars come out of their minuscule eggs with the instinct necessary to grow into beautiful butterflies. We humans would die of terror before willingly wrapping ourselves in a cocoon and dying to our previous lives before emerging as something new and unknown.
And chickens! We've been toying with the idea of raising backyard chickens for a year now, but the fact that we now have daughters old enough to collect eggs (also, seriously craving having pets) convinced us to make the leap. We have a French Marans named Smudge; a Silver-laced Wyandotte named Silver Lace;
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| Silver Lace |
3. Collecting egg recipes for later this summer when we will have lots of eggs. Any ideas?
4. Staring at these toes. Seriously, I could while away the hours just admiring Maddie's chubby limbs and digits.
5. Miscellany: homeschooling, cuddling, housework, planning baby showers, planning next year's homeschooling, hanging diapers on the line (weird contradiction: I don't enjoy laundry, but hanging cloth diapers makes me happy), practicing Bach on the piano, bemoaning the existence of ticks and poison ivy (Why, Lord? Why?), knitting, getting ready for May.
May is a busy month. Apparently everyone in our family decided to be born then. (I exaggerate, but seriously: 16 birthdays or anniversaries, plus Mother's Day. That averages out to one every other day.) And this is when I decide to come back to blogging. Why yes, I am crazy. Thank you for asking.
Loved the recap of April and the photos. The chicks are soooo adorable!!!! I detest eggs but I know how to make a very delicious South Indian egg curry. Once in a while I enjoy a spiced fried egg with a tortilla.
ReplyDeleteI love hanging clothes out.
And while we ask why Lord, mention mosquitoes please. As soon as it turns nice here, the skeeters are swarming. Evil. Absolute pure evil.
Darling, May *is* here! I hope you will make a lot of happy memories and skip a few birthdays if you must.
Egg curry? I'm curious! I'm only recently learning to appreciate eggs in any form other than the typical fried/boiled, which I didn't care for as a kid, though I don't mind them now. My dad makes a delicious Korean dish with a fried egg on top of fried rice and vegetables.
DeleteYes! Mosquitoes ARE evil, along with their cousins, black flies. Lord, deliver us!
Around Easter they have baby chicks at Rural King and I meant to take little main in to see them and missed it! Such cute little chicks, have fun chicken farming! ;) And those are such precious little toes. I used to nibble on the little man's all the time...
ReplyDeleteYes, mothering does bring out our inner cannibal, huh? I wonder if little children ever get nervous when we say things like, "You're so cue I could eat you up!" ;)
DeleteYour break sounds lovely. And chickens! Enjoy the endeavor.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Barbara!
DeleteThe chicks sound fascinating. You are quite a bit ahead of us in the spring department, apparently, although I did see one daffodil yesterday that braved the 45 degree temps.
ReplyDeleteOh, my! Well, spring is definitely here though we had a day in the 40's last week, too. Normally we have fields of daffodils by St. Patrick's Day, but I didn't see a single one until April this year.
DeleteHope it warms up for you soon!