It's a pretty good life

Being a dog has its benefits.

If you build it, the cows will come.

HWY 101 is being expanded to allow for 2 lanes in either direction, and a median or ditch in between. There were some photos on this blog last summer of the bridges that were waiting for a road. This would be the road.

The new construction is located right next to a cow pasture, and the cows seem quite interested in the whole process. Just look at them. They're riveted on the scene. Wondering just how many loads of dirt will it take to fill the entire road-bed, and what kind of aggregate material will they use to ensure proper compaction? Inquiring cows want to know.

BTW-that dirt hill will be gone when this is all finished. The highway goes through there as well.

A year ago you might recall...

there were pictures on this blog that looked very similar to the ones posted today. A year from now you may be recalling back to around this time and recognizing flowers like these. That's because they are the flowers in our garden, and when a few minutes of sun presents itself and I have a moment with the camera I'm inclined to jump in and capture them in their glory, because they don't last long.

The weekend has proven to be a mixed bag of weather. Saturday was very nice, and Sunday not so much. We do need the rain for the above mentioned flowers, so without Sunday we probably wouldn't have today (that makes philosophical sense, doesn't it?).

The new week has begun, and we are fast approaching the time to plant in the garden. Jeannette is very excited about the little plants sprouting up in the sunroom, and moving them to the garden is going to be a very big event around here. Soon. Very Soon.

A bit of nostalgia

You may recall seeing the St Croix Hydro Plant in previous posts, but I couldn't resist going back and taking a few more shots with a lens that I borrowed from a friend of mine. It has a really wide angle of view and provided a great tool for getting these shots, which I felt deserved to be presented in Black + White, since the building has been standing since 1935.

It supposed to up as high as 30C over the next few days, so it looks like we're getting an early jump on summer. At this rate we'll be wishing for the cold again by mid-July. Ya just can't keep us happy, can you?

The garden hasn't sprouted anything yet

We're waiting patiently for the first signs of life from the various pots that are on the go in the sunroom in preparation for the first full moon in June - that's when you're supposed to be safe to plant to prevent frost from killing off the seedlings.

In the meantime, we've got new tools to help spruce up the flower gardens, and get the rest of the grounds looking well groomed.

Gizmo has nothing to do with the garden, but he was willing to sit for me this evening so here he is.

We have the power.

Not far down the road is a power station that is fed by the river seen in an earlier entry. It's been around for quite some time, but still seems to be in pretty good shape. I stopped by this morning since it was a nice sunny start to the day and get a few shots. I'm not sure we get any benefit from it, but it's cool to have so close to home.

Speaking of feeding frenzies.

Another new addition on the food front is our bird feeder. It has taken a few days for the first recorded signs of action, but we are starting to get some customers. We also have a hummingbird feeder up, but there aren't many hanging around just yet - we have seen one though, so we expect some action there soon too.

This spring is going to be different.

With the addition of a vegetable garden we are embarking on a whole new adventure. Early this morning a strange sound could be heard coming from the driveway. It was a sound that we have not had the pleasure of hearing so close to home - it was the sound of a tractor. The area for the garden is now cut in and tomorrow it will be tilled so that we can begin planting garlic, tomatoes, onions, potatoes, and anything else that might seem possible for us to pull off (or up) this summer/fall.

Truth is, Jeannette has been hankering for a vegetable garden since we visited my Uncle Colin and Aunt Elaine in England. Now it is coming to be a reality, and it's really exciting. We were planning on a big feast on Victoria Day, but we just found out that it takes a fair bit longer than that to actually get a crop. Oh well. The hard work will be worth every juicy morsel.

Spring has now officially sprung

The sun is shining, the birds are chirping, and the flowers are blooming. It is spring.

That means less clothes, more daylight (the sky still had some light in it at 9:00 last night - cool!), and house renovations must be started. Well, 2 out of 3 isn't bad. Shingles on the sunroom, a new porch (that's porch, not Porsche - bummer), and gardening. Oh, and soon, lawnmowing. Yipee! Yahoo!

In the meantime, we are enjoying the plentiful sunlight and warm breezes, and the colourful additions that are popping up all around the lawn - with the exception of the dandelions. We need a new weeding tool.