Our First Harvest

Affectionately known as Larry Boy, we found this in the garden last night & ate it with dinner - I swear it grew overnight. Excuse the funny face, Gordon was acting normal...silly.

Out Like A Lamb

It seems I go into blog-hibernation in the winter and barely post between January and April. I guess I'm just not as inspired to take pictures of the festivities such as the Super Bowl, the State of the Union (especially in the state it is in), Valentines Day, President's Day, or even St Patrick's Day - although I did capture one cute picture of Gordon, and he is wearing the green - it is just very subtle in his plaid shirt, Mr. Cool: I'm just not as inspired to take many pictures, but then, something happens...SPRING. Flashes of color appear - like this bright fellow who caught my eye through our storm door...not a great picture, but I never seem to have the camera handy when our shy bluebirds visit so I'll take this one. The door itself has turned pretty colorful I must say, and the color has been needed because this spring is pretty late in coming!With the slightly warmer days we attempt to get outside more, even braving a cool picnic...complete with hot cocoa and marshmallows to fight off the chilly breeze.I start sticking the brightest colored pansies I can find around the house to encourage the rest of the plants to start blossoming soon.

This quince is the first, and what a splash of color it made this year, the blooms even surviving our late snow falls and frosts.From the first colorful blooms I can't help but grab my camera and try to capture that feeling of freshness and rebirth.And then this happened and spring officially arrived - the first soccer practice...ever...and on an evening that shorts could be worn (although after the sun went down it was pretty cold on that field, thankfully I took his coat.)Listening to the coach...who has never coached kids this young and used a lot of terms and directions that went completely over their heads, but made it hilarious for his wife and I and the other parents to watch the chaos that ensued.Waiting to practice kicking a goal.He looks so serious, but he wasn't really, he was laughing and just having fun playing with the kids.Practicing as goalie.

The first game is about 10 days away, they've only had this one "practice" due to bad weather the next week, so it should be very interesting!

I can't believe tomorrow is the last day of March. March. I can't believe it will be April, I'm very glad spring is here, but still...it is April already? I've spent the first three months of this year getting this house ready to go on the market. It is finally time, I meet with a realtor this week, and I hate that. I don't want to leave Greensboro...I think I've said that a few thousand times now, but I guess it is really going to happen. I'm finally done with the home projects, I even did some electrical work with replacing switches and the front porch light - and I am pretty proud of myself. My hands look pretty rough, having been abused by the grout, caulk, paint, and cleaners I've been using, but now all I'll have to do is keep the house ready to show. That's ALL I'll have to do...did I mention I have a 4 year old and a husband leaves a trail like the path of a tornado wherever he goes? Well, if it takes a while to sell the house, maybe I'll get to appreciate the full spring and summer, and maybe even fall again in our little home that I love...not that I hope it doesn't sell...well...its complicated.

This weekend has been quite difficult. Gordon got sick, stomach virus - in the night Friday night. Let me tell you I've never seen anything like it. It took 4 loads of laundry to get BOTH of the twin beds and all the stuffed animals and pajamas and towels clean. Then we had a reprieve on Saturday as he was completely better. Then Sunday I got "it" all of a sudden around dinner time. In the middle of storm after storm passing over with tornadoes hitting the area south of here and passing very close, I was trying to keep one ear listening for "the freight train" and one eye on the radar on TV, but had my head in a bucket most of the night until the wee hours when both the storms, and my stomach, finally subsided. I'm still feeling sick and unable to eat, but a little bit better each day I think. I'm thankful that Gordon's turn with it was so shortlived though, and especially grateful that a friend took him for the day today to her house to play with her two boys - giving me a much needed and appreciated break. Thank God for friends like that! So now that I'm recovering I'm sterilizing everything in this house that I can think of - my parents and sister arrive this weekend to celebrate Easter. I'd hate to send them home with anything more than some jelly beans and reeses peanut butter eggs!

Winter Wonderland

The snows are long gone...in Greensboro at least, but the day after it fell the sky was bright & the sun so intense, it made the crisp snow & shadows so pretty The snow just sparkles when it is so bright. And if you look closely you can see all the little critters have left foot & feather prints in the sugary snow.

It really does look like frosting...until you go anywhere and look at the ugly piles of dirty snow on the road side. At least here in our back yard it was still pretty.

It looks good enough to eat!

I'll have to come back here to this date's entry sometime in July or August - just looking at it gives me goosebumps!

This little titmouse was happy that I filled the bird feeder before the snow fell.

Looks like Mr. Rabbit was in the yard bright & early.

And sorry for the odd glow in this one, he was so dark in comparison to the bright snow I couldn't get the camera set right. But I thought he was funny enough to share, the way he was putting his foot in one of my foot prints.

These next two were from the snowfall up in Virginia at my mother in laws home.

And finally here are the pictures from my parents. They were totally snowed in from Friday the 18th until Thursday the 24th and risked a scary drive down the mountain to make it to Greensboro for Christmas eve.

This picture is of downtown Waynesville, my favorite small town ever. The picture was taken by a photographer in Waynesville, Ed Kelley, at Ridge Runners, you can see several other breathtaking pictures he took of the snow on Main Street at this website, it is well worth the visit! It makes me want to move there & live in the Norman Rockwell-esque town of Waynesville. http://www.theridgerunner.com/snowville/index.html
Next up...Christmas! (Hopefully before the year is over!)

More Fun At Home - Leaves Galore!

He is loving the leaves

First, a little "fluffing"Then the wind up...race around that tree and...CHARGE...Whhhhheeeeeee Again...

Look...a leaf...imagine that!

Whhhhhhheeeeeee...

Thinking up another approach...

A simple JUMP!Yahhhhooooooo! I wish I was a kid again and could leap into a pile of leaves with so much gusto!

Absolute leaf loving joy!

Leaf peeping?Laughter, so good for my soul

I'm so in love with this sweet little boy

Next we took a "nature walk" in the back yard. Gordon's favorite plant, the lambs ears, so fuzzy (and so easy to grow)

Some bittersweet, a different kind from what grows wild and is invasive, unfortunately, I can't remember which kind it is...but I ordered it from a catalog a few years ago.

The compost bin...how glamorousLooking back to the house, our own little natural forest area...ie, I don't do much landscaping back here!

Some holly berries up close

Our little neighbor comes ah visiting

A new kind of tree? I just thought it was interesting, a leaf attached like it was grown out of the spruce I'm easily entertained. Our little bird house...it has had a few residents over the years...

Striking an American Gothic pose...suburbia version Busy arranging his "treasures" (chosen leaves, "flowers", green tomatoes, buckets, diggers, balls)

This is your rake Mommy, and this one is mine.Fast as fast can be he's off again OK - ONE more jump...I think he made the most of it, went in screaming and came out laughing!Not happy to be coming inside...A look at all the green tomatoes he picked the other day. And on another recent evening:

Ghost Gordon...we were making our cheesecloth ghosts (seen in previous post!)We carved (I use "we" loosely) the first pumpkin...my first attempt at a "cannibal" Jack O Lantern...Halloween is almost here! Posts yet to come - this past Saturday's hayride and farm visit. And I'm sure oodles of pictures to come this weekend as we possibly go to the North Carolina Zoo Friday and then of course the big event - trick or treating & a party...so much fun. I can't believe October is almost over.