This past weekend was a good one, albeit chilly. These ups and downs have us on our toes awaiting spring! One day it’s 70, the next 40. On Friday morning we awoke to a thin dusting of snow covering everything. But the small warm spell from last week meant a whole lot of laying at the boys’ school! One of my favorite things about Wednesdays is checking to see if we have won the “egg lottery,” and finally this past week, we did! Such beautiful eggs — chocolate, creamy brown, and pastel green… it’s easy to imagine one would have no need for egg dies this Easter with hens that lay a rainbow of eggs like these! Oliver was particularly proud to show off part of his school’s bounty this week.
Though chilly, this past Saturday was sunny enough to enjoy the zoo. Emil and Andrew are missing from these photos because they were attending a birthday party for our next-door neighbor in a different part of the zoo. We wanted Emil to attend without his big brothers because it seems they are always flitting off to play dates, circus class, and birthday parties without him — it’s easy for him to feel left out. He had a blast and came out of the party marching with his head held high! 
Cheeky in more ways than one
And finally, my personal favorites at the zoo — the hippos are back out! They head indoors during the coldest winter months, so we were so happy to just sit and watch then swim around and around for awhile. There is something completely mesmerizing about them, I can’t explain it! 
This week we watched the light change, growing brighter and hanging around longer into the evenings. We listened to new songbirds outside our windows and observed daffodils blooming in our garden, tiny buds appearing on our apple and peach trees. Next week we will remove the leaves and till our vegetable garden, add organic matter and chicken manure, and plan out our garden space for the upcoming growing season. We’ll gather seeds and clear out dead debris and keep dreaming of the warmer days of spring.
Hope you have a wonderful Monday!
Where do you get manure etc to till into your beds? I am so thrilled it’s almost gardening season. I paced my lot several times yesterday. Roll on Spring!
Right in your neighborhood, Maggie! Bowood Gardens sells chicken manure, you just have to ask because they don’t keep it out usually. Glad you’re back, lady!