The Promise of Spring

Spring is just 3 weeks away, my friends!  Take heart!  I think Snowdrops might just be the most amazing flower ever.  These little beauties were up and budded before our big blizzard here, with days of below freezing weather and lots of snow over them.  When the weather warmed and the snow and ice melted, these little darlings were still there, ready to finish up their bloom cycle.  No blizzard was going to keep these little flowers down!  They are now in their prime and I love them so!  This is in our front walk area.

I just love how these have filled up this area on their own.  Yes, we have some Spring garden clean up to do, but it's still too cold.  The walkway is vintage brick and it's edged with cobblestones that were used as ballast in ships coming from Europe and they unloaded them in Portland and loaded the ships back up with goods.  Early Portland streets were paved with these stones.  When they did some work downtown on the streets they took them up. Dayle found the cobblestones in a newspaper ad and bought them for this project.  The man who made our walkway used them for the edging.  I just love that story and wish the stones could tell their story.

Snowdrop heaven.

I thought I'd say hello to the chickens.. they are enjoying the nice fragrant dry orchard grass hay in their run.  It's been so damp that I asked Kristi to spread the hay for them and it looks so nice, too!  The hens look so nice and healthy, their feathers so pretty and their craws are full.

We're getting eggs all winter because Dayle put up a light on a timer which goes on for 2 hours each evening.  The big gold chicken is Buffy - a Buff Orpington and lays light brown eggs.  The Ameracauna that lays aqua eggs is on the back right, her name is Betsy Ross.  In front left is Gracie, as she has gray feathers, another Ameracauna who lays aqua eggs.  The one behind her is Shelby and she lays brown eggs.  I must tell you that the Ameracaunas have been the most consistent egg layers of them all.

Pawwwwk pawwwk.

We have 5 chickens, Hershey, the black Cuckoo Maran, is in the henhouse laying an egg!

The Daphne is still moving forwards to bloom, even after the buds being encased in ice and snow during the blizzard!

The daffodils also survived and the buds are at the top of the leaves and ready for some warmth to open up and gift us with their happy yellow and scented blooms!

There we are.. ready to pop open!

Yesterday was a big day for Buddy.  I took him to the groomer at 10 am, then I went swimming at 2 pm.  Dayle went to the Physical Therapist at 1:30 pm and picked up the newly foofied Buddy after that and then came home for a bit and then took him to the vet for a rabies vaccination and to get his new license.  Isn't he cute?

Today I head off to meet my sister Denise for lunch at Tippy Canoe restaurant on the Sandy River, then we head to Multnomah Falls to volunteer for the afternoon.  Busy busy!  I am taking my red shawl to crochet on while we're there.  What are you up to today?  ((hugs)), Teresa :-)