Ozark Springtime

Days like today remind me why I live in Missouri. I got an email from a Minnesota friend this morning, complete with photos of their EIGHTEEN INCH snowfall.

Um, no thanks. After a dreary, rainy week, the sun is shining here today. The lawn needs its third mowing of the season, then I'm headed out to get flowers for the garden!

This year, the redbuds are subdued because of the late-season ice storm. However, the dogwoods are as gorgeous as ever. I want one for my yard!

Friday Night Date

My idea of a Friday night in: a movie on the DVD, a bowl of popcorn fresh from the cast-iron pan and a glass (or perhaps 3?) of wine. The only way it could be better is if I had company other than "that dog" on the couch with me!

It's sweet, anyhow.

I have not blogged much this week. Had some news on Tuesday AM that threw me into a bit of a mood for the rest of the week. Time's a-wasting...and I am over it now.

Back to my hot date....

Creature Feature

I have zero motivation to blog today. The nice weather and some unexplained restlessness means I have a short attention span.

I'm ready to get back to work on the show circuits -- this is probably the longest I have been home for a while. I am getting excited for this summer, as I have trips planned for the Springfield Mile, Michigan, Chicago and Maine.


As my regular visitors may have noticed, I have been taking more pictures lately. Despite dropping my camera when I was hiking last week & breaking the battery compartment lid, my camera is still functioning. It's nothing that a bit of duct tape can't fix.


To keep a trend going, I am starting a weekly "Creature Feature." Last week, it was a scorpion that seemed to freak out a few people. Give me a scorpion, a spider, a bug over a snake any day. (You definitely WON'T see any snake photos on this blog.) This week, the photo offering is much more tame. Hopefully, Alisen won't mind me pimping out her goats!

I got lucky with the time of day for this photo & captured a gorgeous spring evening. This pic shows one of the newest additions to the goat herd:

And another cutie:

Baby Daddy:


Hope you are having a great Monday!

Happy Friday!

It's Friday, it's raining, and I couldn't be happier.



Spending the day indoors -- catching up on reading, drinking hot tea and working on some projects for the Art Festival.



And I have new pink boots, which makes it fun to go out in the rain!
They brighten up an otherwise dreary day. I broke them in with a spirited game of fetch with Baxter. He's getting good at it -- and as a reward, I got him a "flinger thing." It's like a catapult for those tennis balls (check out www.chuckit.com), so I can throw them further, longer. It's a good way to wear him out a little when it's an "indoor day."

Off to the studio to play and create. Tomorrow, I'm celebrating Passover with friends. Bring out the Manischweitz!

Scorpions, spiders and snakes....

All of those creatures can be found here -- and all have been in my house. It's the snakes that make my blood run cold.

I worked on my front porch this morning, just picking up things and moving things back outdoors for the summer season that's finally on the horizon. Cleaning seems to rouse the creepy crawlers out of their hiding places, and this year is no exception: I found a scorpion!

It's not that big, but I don't want to find out if the bite is still painful. I tried to take another photo so you can get an idea of how little it actually is, but "he" wouldn't cooperate. He's now captive in a jar, ready to be someone's pet. I already have enough animals and don't really cherish the kind that bite.

It's shaping up to be a gorgeous day here, so I am outta here to hike up the hill and do some rock hunting. With all the flooding we've had, some neat rocks (fossils, rocks with holes, driftwood, "beach" glass, crystals) are out there waiting to be found.

Box of Sunshine

The baby chicks are here! Early, and in cold, windy weather.



After quite a few logistical gymnastics, Alisen, Caleb and Huxley got the chicks home, all 200 of them. They now have hundreds of fuzzy, peeping chicks under heat lamps in their front porch. The porch is their temporary home, since we are getting near-freezing temps the next couple of nights.

Here's the box of sunshine:

And a cutel lil peep:

But don't get too attached to these -- they are going to be true free-range chickens featured at a dinner table near you. Yum.

Check out the Tributary Farm blog for even better pictures: tributaryfarm.blogspot.com

SOS

This is what Baxter & I woke up to this morning:

Yeah.
Completely stuck at home -- I can't even walk to Alisen's house because there is a raging river between our houses. We will probably go outside and check things out, wave at each other across the creek.

Hey, it could be worse, it could have been a tornado. Then we'd really be up the creek.
I guess I will surf the Internet for those pink rubber boots I've been lusting after.

A new perspective

It's definitely spring here in the Ozarks. The first tulip bloomed on Sunday!

I was bitten by the yardwork/landscaping bug this weekend. I spent all day Saturday weeding and prepping flowerbeds. The tulips are up, and the hollyhocks and purple coneflowers are working their way toward blooming.

I was even more ambitious on Sunday.
I've never really liked my patio. While it's big and roomy, it was all closed in with lattice and cedar shakes. You couldn't appreciate the view, very little sun would get in, and it just felt claustrophobic. Notice I'm using the past tense?

It was my dad's idea to take down the lattice and several rows of the cedar shakes. Armed with a ladder, drill and some determination, I set out Sunday morning to semi-demolish my patio.

The end result:

While it needs a coat of paint or sealer on the supports and some trim at the top of the shakes, I think it looks much, much better. And the light that comes into the kitchen is a bonus. Plus, now I have a great sunset view:

(Note the spiffy Christmas lights. No redneck comments, please!)

One for the Books

Yesterday, my friend Brenda posted this blog.

I have to admit...I fell for it for about 12 seconds. Then I emailed her to call her on it.
But the stinker she is, she didn't reply to me for hours -- which only led me to begin to wonder if she was really having twins.

Good one, B. It's a good one for the baby book!