Subtleties

 Early Spring arrives like the footstep of a sparrow... soft and delicate... almost imperceptible, unless you are watching for it.  There is no fanfare, no percussion - just the faintest tinkling of a wind chime on a breeze.  It washes slowly over the land, developing daily.  If observed in a time-lapse, played at high speed, it would resemble an explosion. 

  In real time, however, It's as if Mother Nature, herself, is dabbing a watercolor paintbrush here and there, adding a little color...  and then a little more... and more, until - the countryside is teeming with life and color and vibrancy.

But it all happens so subtly.

And that's where the magic lives ... in the subtle, the barely perceptible, blink-of-an-eye moment-to-moment unfurling of life. 

There is one exception to this gradual "happening", however, and that is the grass. It's as if Spring arrives and announces that it's time to change the carpets.  A switch is flipped and, overnight, the ground morphs from winter brown to electric green.

Great things have started happening in the garden and the greenhouse.  Seedlings are emerging.  Shown here are some of the morning glories that I will eventually add to the garden fence.

Sadly, our birds, with the exception of our almost-wild guineas remain on lockdown.  I fear this may go on until June.  The foxes started hunting early this year and two of our hens became prey last weekend. The only way to keep them safe at this time of year is to keep them on yard arrest.  The ducks, though runners, are sitting ducks for foxes, so they, too, remain safely behind fences.

The guineas, never subtle, flaunt their freedom whenever they can!

I am hoping that I am not the only sheep owner with this problem: my sheep, though lovely in the face....

are absolutely hideous and fetid from behind.  Why?  Why do sheep have to be so stinking filthy (and so stinkin' stinking!) I can hardly wait for their shearing.  They will be clean once again.  Though it may only last a half a day, it will be welcomed!

This weekend is Easter.  We will be spending our Easter Sunday bike-riding with friends.  It is to be a lovely high-60's degree day.  I've gotten a jump start on the bike-riding season by riding an exercise bike inside - so I am quite excited to be back outside riding once again!

Saturday I plan to do a bit of baking, and a little painting...a little daily practice goes a long way.  Here is yesterday's composition.  I'll confess: it took me about 5 tries to produce a bee that looked like a bee.

Every evening (interrupted by animal chores, of course) I work on my knitting projects.  Currently on the needles is this wrap.  It is about halfway complete.  When I finish the dark and light diamond pattern (a third row of diamonds to go...), I will add a ruffle in the goldfish brown show in the striped section.  Each row gets longer, so that is why this is going to take a while to finish.

Have a lovely weekend!!  We'll be back on Monday with more Tales from the Farm!

PS.... Mary, you are so right.  I mistakenly thought that plant by the stream yesterday was Jack in the Pulpit.  Skunk cabbage, as you said.  The Jack in the Pulpits are not up yet.... something to delight on another day!