Let's Give a Big Shoutout to the Sun....

Well finally! The sun is shining and the skies are clear for two days in a row. Today the temperature is predicted to get into the 60s. The rest of the coming week is mixed with showers and lower temperatures, but for today we will celebrate the season of Spring in proper Spring-like fashion. All two days of it :-)


The goldfinches arrived on Monday or Tuesday joining the house finches on the feeders. And yesterday the house martins returned to their house under the chimney eave. They were here when we moved in and have returned each year since. Beautiful colors and fascinating flight. The trees have been saving their leaves for warmer weather and this weekend might just be the final push. Every day it gets more green here. And the brave tulips which have reluctantly poked their heads out will probably open fully today. I will celebrate by opening some windows to smell the fresh air in the house.

We have company over the weekend. Son Gareth arrived Thursday night to spend an impromptu weekend in the woods. It's great to have him around and share face time. This couldn't be more different a place from Las Vegas (where he lives).

Zoe remains on injured reserve. Her leg is bearing a little weight, but she has a significant limp. We stopped the pain medication as she seemed to be having some unpleasant side effects. Her demeanor since has been more alert and more cheerful. We do notice, however, that she seems to have lost her hearing. We had noticed it somewhat before the injury and perhaps it just seems more apparent now. We're grateful for her loving presence for as long as we can maintain her quality of life.

John is fully recovered from his tune-up procedure and will return to California this week. It has been nice to have him present for three weeks. I am plugging along at work and trying to squeeze in some school time. I'll be glad to have some unstructured time when this course finishes. It has made me see just how full my time is and how important it is to have some opportunities for doing nothing. And on that note, let's enjoy this day...