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!

Comments

jean said…
Spring is indeed a wonderful time. I have never seen that many squirrels in one place at one time. The pink bush behind them is beautiful. I grew up with donkeys and just love them. All the flowering scenes are gorgeous and no matter where the daffodils came from, they are very "spring".
How good it must feel to the chickens to go dust bathing in the warmth, again. Your greenhouse plants look lovely and ready to go. Love your ducks and horses, and it's okay if Moonbeam eats poop - LOL! May your bees bring you much honey this year!
Country Gal said…
Spring there is farther ahead then here , Our spring has been very slow this year but as the month comes to an end I see more of spring popping up now ! Lovely photos . Today it is chilly and raining here! Thanks for sharing . Have a good day !
Nancy said…
I love every single photo so much. This totally made me smile big this morning!! I have tree and squirrel envy right now, I have to say. And we also have poop eating horses. Of course ours happily share with the dog too. :)
Anonymous said…
Oh ya... Moonbeam is starving to death. Fairly obvious. LOL
My horses and donkeys still have a little to graze on so they are happy. We are keeping the donkeys in their paddocks most of the day because they get too fat otherwise. But they don't like it one bit. I keep telling them it's for their own good, but they aren't buying it.
Unknown said…
It is indeed beautiful there! Things are just starting but I do have daffs.

My girls are doing the dust bath thing big time too. Love those baskets of flowers, can't wait to see them later when they are full. I love the basket idea, too.

Silly Moonbeam...sounds like Dash and cat poop!

I am hitting the road again tomorrow, so have a great weekend.
Junebug said…
To the tiny petite Moonbeam, ewwwwww!!!

I love this time of the year when are the flowers are bursting with blooms. We are getting some really nice weather but I know a frosty mooning is still to come. May 15th is the date to start planting the garden from a very wise women called Mom.

Enjoy your day, hugs!!

Robyn said…
Love the photos...Your home is so beautiful. As for your horse eating the poop? Dogs do it too and I have 7 dogs so I get it....Lol
Patty Sumner said…
What wnderful pics. I am with you, Spring is great! I get excited about all the color changes. I just had to laugh out loud at all the "poop" stories...Yes, editing makes everything look better...lol I am enjoying all the beautiful colors around me too. Have a great day and blessings!
Kris said…
Yep, who doesn't love Spring?!
Silly horse!!
xo Kris
Anonymous said…
I love April, too. Everything's so new and bright.
Can I ask what you lined the basket with for the flowers? I love the idea of planting them in baskets. Something different besides all the clay pots all over my deck. Thank you!
Oh, and I don't have a horse, but I have a dog who eats poop. Why do they do that!?!??!
Carol
Unknown said…
Oh laughing so hard! I grew up with horses but didn't remember that part of it LOL I know one of our three dogs keeps our back yard clean - we call him poop breath LOL Thanks for always sharing - I look forward each day to reading your blog!
jaz@octoberfarm said…
as much as i hate to see winter leave, the spring colors draw me in. it never ceases to amaze me how quickly things come to life. i was expecting to see that moonbeam had made a deposit on ollie's head! horses do poop with utter abandon!
This N That said…
I didn't see a skinny horse in that picture..
Lovely basket...pretty flowers..
My squirrels are fat as well..Yours look like they are eating droppings from the bird feeders..
Elton looks so funny..Did he reach China yet??
Suzan said…
You KNOW it's really spring when the forsithia blooms!! And the bees start buzzing!! Have fun playing in the dirt again!!
Meghan Grace said…
I've never seen so many squirrels in one place either! I know that some people think that they are pests but I think that they are adorable! Your pictures are lovely! Hugs, Meghan
Ha ha ha! The power of editing! Nice one.

I have rogue daffodils, too - I never know where the come from. In the oddest places, too - like in the front walk or in the middle of the lawn. Odd. But lovely...
Ellen in Oregon said…
Well the Maven of Bee Haven Acres fooled me good today.
I was so happy as I scrolled through the serene nature photos thinking about pretty flowers & cute fat squirrels & butterflies.
It was like I was on a mini-vacation and almost as good as REM sleep which I rarely enjoy.
Suddenly the editor decided to make an editorial decision & switched topics to talking about horses eating horse poop - right in the middle of my lunch. You should have your ankles severely nipped by one of those fat squirrel for doing such a nasty thing. I think Moonbeam would agree, because you have permanently associated his good name with a revolting habit that only people who own horses should discuss as far as I am concerned. Moonbeam feels very outted right now. He had no idea that his private shame would be publically revealed on his own human ladies' blog-Oh, the shame that has been brought upon this poor misguided horse!
I wouldn't turn you back to Moonbeam any time soon. He might have a little surprise in store for you too.
Lynne said…
Something pretty wonderful when we turn from gray to green . . . great photos . . . wow . . . way too many squirrels for me! The forsythia and other blossoms certainly made up for the horsey TMI . . .

We are looking forward to the first of seventy degree weather for 2013 next week. We turned from gray to green in the past few days! Happy days . . .