Pieces of April

There is something about April...

it is so full of promise.

It is the spring month that really gets me excited.

After months of monochromatic grey-ness, April brings a burst of color

and the land is once again green.

My spirits soar in April.

The winter jackets get put away.

The winter gloves are replaced by gardening gloves.

And most of the time my fingernails have a layer of soil beneath them.

So many things make me smile in April...

and I wanted to share them with you.

Like....

I swear we have the fattest squirrels in the world.

And have you seen this many in such close proximity?

This is the scene beneath our front deck.

The pastures are green again.

All the equines enjoy their time out and about.

Forsythia in bloom...

As well as flowering quince, in front of the old log cabin...

The front pasture is full of violets.

All sorts of daffodils have popped up here and there around the pasture...

making me wonder how they got there.

It's once again time for dust baths.

Elton has dug himself quite the deep tub here!

Amazingly, he will be fairly clean after he shakes this dust off.

The greenhouse is full of young plants, no longer babies,

awaiting transplant into the garden.

As soon as the nights are safe from frost, the work will begin.

Baskets are planted with young flowers.

In a few weeks the flowers will spill out over the sides, filling the gardens with color.

The bees are enjoying the various nectars that are available with everything in bloom.

Back and forth they fly.... from blossom to hive....working, working, working.

The ducks have been quite busy laying eggs.

And I have made it my business to find those eggs,

so that our pond does not become overpopulated... (or over-poop-ulated).

And last, but not least, I need to say a word about the beauty of editing.

As a writer, I have some control over what you see when you look at a picture.

For instance, I can tell you that this is a picture of Moonbeam watching over Ollie

as he sleeps....

and you will say "Awwwww...how sweet."

Right?

But, what I know (and you don't unless I tell you) is that Moonbeam is actually

standing there eating that pile of poop in front of his feet.

And you say "Ewwwww...how disgusting!"

Am I right?

You see?????.....the power of editing.

Those of you who have horses will understand....

I think this is a behavior designed to make us feel guilty.

Like...."you aren't feeding me enough!"

As if!!!

I am sure you agree with Moonbeam....he is one skinny horse!