A Turning Point

Good morning!

And another day starts.  Time to get up, sleepyheads!

This week has brought a turning point here on the farm.  Signs of spring are becoming more obvious (although it's been a chilly week!)  

The naturalized daffodils in the front pasture are spectacular.  These were planted long before we acquired the farm and have gotten more beautiful and plentiful with each passing year!

Last year I added an additional hundred bulbs to other areas around the farm.  Someday, they, too, will multiply and add spring beauty to this already beautiful land.

The forsythia has finally bloomed.  I love these yellow shrubs against the backdrop of our 250+ year old log cabin (not our home).

Aside from the showy changes that spring brings, there are also many subtle changes. 

The bramble that guards the edge of the woods has begun to leaf.

The hayfields are striped in maroon swaths of hairy bittercress... a very interesting "weed", whose leaves are edible - though slightly bitter,  they can be used as micro greens.

This particular plant has the ability to cast its long, slender seeds quite a distance from the mother plant and so it spreads prolifically.  If you have ever touched one of these plants when it has gone to seed, you will know of exactly what I speak.  Merely brushing against them causes the seeds to catapult through the air - landing feet away.

The willow trees now are draped in the sheerest yellow-green blossoms and the start of tiny leaves.

And the once grey-brown wooded hills now blush with a tinge of red maple blossoms.

Yesterday, I, too, reached a turning point and returned to the woods for a walk... what a balm for my soul!

Forrest was especially enthusiastic about a few of the trees.  Apparently some new critter had left its scent there... perhaps a bear?  That, indeed, would be a new smell for him.

It's a quiet time for fungi right now.  Spores lie in wait for warmer, moister conditions.  Eventually the woods will offer a treasure trove of different mushrooms.  In a few weeks, morels will herald a new season of foraging.

What is of interest are the myriad mosses that start to perk up at this time of year.  We found one we had not seem before - a shining clubmoss:

And another curiosity that I have noticed is the plethora of cracked nut shells that can be found on top of each moss-covered stump.  It's almost as if the forest critters use these velvety, green mesas as their dining tables... with no worry of cleaning their tables when they finish.

The woods, themselves, suffered many losses this winter. 

 Most of the few remaining hemlock trees (already unhealthy from the wooly adelgid infestation of recent years) succumbed to the fierce winds that whipped across the land with winter storms.    Like weathervanes, these trees were forced to sway in all directions - causing their trunks to shatter and sending their upper limbs to the forest floor.  Yes, the woods are transitioning, slowly, from evergreens and mighty oaks to beech, and birch and other smaller varieties.  These trees have the best chance of surviving because the deer will not eat their saplings. 

 Curiously, the parchment leaves of the birch trees still quake in the tiny zephyrs that meander through the woods.  I assume it will take the emergence of this year's leaves to help this species lose its winter chemise.

I've once again joined Hubbs with barn chores - still avoiding any lifting and bending.  But,  oh, how good it feels to get back out and contribute to daily life on the farm!

Hubbs bought me a lovely gift that I wanted to show you.  

What an enchanting way to enjoy my daily cup of tea!!

To those who celebrate the Easter holiday... may you have a peaceful and lovely Sunday.

We will be enjoying an egg hunt and brunch here on the farm with local family.