A week of April gone already.  I wish these Spring months would last  longer.  Why is April a short month when it is one of the prettiest of the year? 

Easter came early this year.  We had three of our grandsons all weekend.  This is the quietest they were the whole time. Notice the smiles?!!?? Put a boy in front of a camera and you never know what will happen.

Took them to our church’s Easter egg hunt where they made crafts, ate lunch and hunted hundreds of eggs.

Four handsome men ready to go to church.

Been working on a couple of quilts.  Cutting hundreds of squares for ninety blocks.  I really enjoy the process.  Now that it is getting warm out I am spending more time outside and not in my shop.  I miss my shop when I am outside and when I am in my shop I think what I should be doing outside in the yard and garden.

David took the cover off the pool.  Right now it looks like a dirty, muddy river.  Hard to believe in a few weeks it will be pristine, sparkling water again.

Hard to believe this vast wasteland will be full of flowers and green grass again.  Looks pretty barren right now, doesn’t it?  I always think this is the ugliest time in the garden just before all the perrenials come up and brighten the landscape again.  Season follows season and it never changes.  Warm weather will come with scudding white clouds and bright blue skies and warm, balmy breezes.  I know I am probably one of very few who thinks winter went too fast this year.  I was actually glad we had one more real snow before winter bid adieu. I kind of like it when you can’t go out and can stay inside and drink hot chocolate and watch movies on television.  When it is warm, I want to be outside as much as possible.  My tomatoes will be ready to plant in a few weeks and then the rest of the garden and there will be no rest keeping the garden watered and free of weeds. Well,  I try anyway.  About July I loose all interest in weeding when it’s ninety degrees outside and the weeds are growing faster than the vegetables. I tell the vegetables to fend for themselves and go into the air conditioning.

Meanwhile the chicks are growing bigger every day.  I can hand feed them now and they come running when I call them.  Soon we will take them outside in their pen where they can scratch for bugs and worms in the warm earth.  They are going to love it.  The pen is getting rather cramped for them as they grow bigger and bigger.  Sorry for the poop in the picture, but I just look at it as good fertilizer.  Do you know chicken poop is high in nitrogen and is good for the garden?  You have to let it “ripen” for a while before you put it on any plants as it will burn them otherwise.  I have a compost pile I will put it on until it is ready to use.  Chickens really are the perfect pet and animal.  They demand very little attention, eat bugs, lay eggs, aerate the ground, provide fertilizer and, if you would do so, provide fried chicken for the table.  My chickens are not getting eaten, but will be egg layers.  Fresh eggs have yellower yolks, taste better than store bought eggs and you know they are fresh when you gather them every day.  Anyone could keep a couple in a pen in their garage with very little trouble and you could have fresh eggs every day.  It’s a win-win situation.

Hope you are enjoying Spring and all it has to offer. Bye