Early Spring

Our beautiful spring weather continues. Easter was a bright, sunny day with balmy temperatures. A lovely day for worshiping, relaxing, and fun family activities. We opted not to go to the early service or breakfast at church, due to the long hours Lyle had worked last week. After putting in 77 hours, he decided that it might be wise to sleep in a bit.

Late in the evening we went for a walk in Falls Park. I thought we might see some ducklings, but maybe it's still a little early for babies yet. We'll be sure to check back soon.

 But look here! See the tiny yellow flowers in the grass? Spring is officially here! (Still no blooms in my yard... but Falls Park is only about 2 miles away, so it can't be long.)

 Lots of water flowing over the dam, but it's still not at full capacity. One side of the gates was not completely open. I expect the snow on the mountains will be melting pretty quickly now, if the sunny days we're enjoying continue.

Happy Spring!

Springtime Fragments

Today seems like a good day for a Friday Fragments post, especially since that's how my schedule has been lately-- fragmented.

However, it's spring! And the weather in these parts has been cooperating nicely. Still no flower sightings, but we are having sunshine regularly. That's always a good thing!

Sunday afternoon drives are one of our favorite ways to relax on the Day of Rest. Lately we've been watching for signs of spring. There is still snow on the mountains and the trees are still bare... but it's shirt-sleeve weather when the sun is out!

 The chickies are happy and thriving in their little brooder box in the garage, but they are growing fast. It will soon be time to move them into their coop in the backyard.

Becky and her daddy got it all set up for them, and she takes them out daily for a play time to get used to their new home. Lots of "chicken spectating" going on in our backyard these days!

Lyle's been working long hours again. The print shop recently got some new equipment that requires construction of a "clean room"-- whatever that is. The equipment came with 3 computers. I was amused at his makeshift "computer lab" as he got the computers up and running, ready to put into place when the room is completed. He said each one had a different version of Windows on it.

In other news, the neighbors are building a new garage, to replace the one that burned down a few weeks ago. We've been watching the progress with interest. (Laura calls me a "stalker" for taking pictures!)

I've also been:

• working
• homeschooling
• preparing for my upcoming homeschool conventions
• studying for the class I'll be teaching for the spring trimester at co-op
• helping out at the print shop when there's something I can do
• thinking about writing (but not getting much done)
• poking around in my genealogy and family history at odd moments
• crocheting and reading in my spare time, as always

And that pretty much wraps it up for this week's Friday Fragments post.

Have a Blessed Easter!

Chicken Update #3

 This weekly livestock report is brought to you by Becky who has been asking me for the past 2 or 3 days, "Mom, when are you going to blog about the chickens again?"

Each day the chickens require training, don't you know? Because, these aren't just laying-hens-in-waiting. Oh, no. And heaven forbid you even think of the possibility of them being meat birds. {shudder} "The Girls" are meant to be pets, if not members of the family. Their egg-laying potential is just a bonus.

Two or three times a day Becky goes out into the garage and carefully gathers her four Girls out of their brooder into a box to bring them into the house for their regular training session and photo shoot. It's too cold for them to be outside much yet. So she spreads an old towel on the floor and watches them carefully to make sure they stay on it during their training.

So far Becky has taught the Girls to roost and to fly. When they get a little older, I'm sure she'll teach them to lay eggs.

I don't think they're quite ready yet. After all, they are only 2 weeks old.

It has been fascinating to see how much they change every day. They aren't as cute and fuzzy as they were at first, but the feathers that are growing in and developing are beautiful. I'm glad we got four different breeds so we could notice the variety between each kind

St. Patrick's Tea

A few weeks ago my daughter decided she wanted to host a spring tea... just for fun! She has a special gift for hospitality and loves planning social events. After much thought and discussion, she decided on a St. Patrick's Day theme. The tea was yesterday.

Laura asked each of her guests to bring a treat to share that was either green or rainbow colored. We had a delectable selection to choose from... and most of it was naturally green, not food coloring. We enjoyed asparagus and swiss tarts, spinach roll-ups, green peppers, Waldorf salad, pistachio bread, pesto salad, kiwi, bananas dipped in (green) coconut, M&M cookies, and coconut M&Ms. Everything was delicious!

She also asked her guests to wear green... and a couple of them took it one step further and wore hats! She planned a couple of fun parlor games and made this adorable "Leprechaun pants" bag of "gold" as a prize.

After the scheduled festivities, we enjoyed visiting for the rest of the afternoon... and managed to finish off the coconut M&Ms.

It was a fun day with sweet friends!

Hanging out in Loveland...

...at the Spring Home Education Fair!