Spring has Sprung!

It was a gorgeous day! The weather was picture perfect. I truly believe that we here in New England are finally on the other side of Winter and have slowly and gently moved into Spring. I saw my first close up of a Cardinal the other morning. He was breathtaking..I think I saw one from afar early last week but I can't be certain. This little guy was up close and personal. I caught a glimpse of him in an unbudded bush of of my backyard deck. At first I was only able to see the side of him which was a deep brownish red with almost a pearlescent glow about his feathers. Suddenly he turned towards me and it nearly took my breath away. There is no shade of red sufficient enough to describe his coloring. It is one of those moments where you realize what you are seeing is such a gift. His red breast proudly puffing itself out in a stance that I can only call majestic..almost regal in stature. I am of course assuming that it was a male Cardinal. I assume this because it seems that most beautifully vibrant colored birds tend to be of the male persuasion. All of this grandure of course, is meant to attract the female species. Well not sure about our fowl feathered female counterparts but it worked for me! If only it could be that way for all of us ladies. Have the males be the ones who need to fuss over their appearance while we can remain plain in every way possible. Would be nice. We all could learn a thing or two as well from those male penguins and sea horses who have gone a step further to actually birth and/or take care of the little ones like a mother would do...if only, but I digress here..back to Spring. Hubby and I took full advantage of the perfect weather today and began projects on our 'honey do' list! We spent much of the afternoon painting the trim on the exterior of the house. Never having owned a house before we could not wait for the good weather to arrive so that we could finally do all of those homeowner things..puttering around the house..creating great curb appeal..raking and what have you. I think after today I've come to the conclusion that all those things are much better in theory and thought! It was all I could do to keep my mind off of my current needle felting project and try to focus and enjoy painting the house...it was a stretch! This in no way changes my appreciation for the house and all that we are happy and lucky to have it's is merely the understanding that work is work! You can dress it up, wrap it, call it something completely different all you want but bottom line is it's work! But thinking back on the day's events I can be nothing but happy because I actually ow a home that I can paint and with that I have a beautiful backyard that my dog can romp around in at her leisure and my kids can finally have more that one friend over at a time if they so choose....and the weather, well, I remember a few short weeks ago just wishing, wanting, hoping for the endless mounds of snow that had taken over our outdoor space to disappear so that we could enjoy outside. There isn't even a small glimpse of these piles of slush ever having been on our lawn so for that I can't be unhappy! Dare I say I am grateful? Absolutely! My parents will be visiting us in a few short weeks. They are arriving from Seattle and they will have a chance to see our new house. I know they'll love it and appreciate all of the nature and space we have carved out for ourselves. (never seems to matter what age you get to be..having your parents approval will always be an important priority!) The best part of them coming is of course our getting to see them and spend some time with them as we only get to visit with them once a year or so if we're lucky. But the visit is two-fold for me as far as what is the best part. Becasue they are coming to our home and will be staying with us for some of their time here this gives me that kick in the ass motivation I have so needed. All the loose ends of unfinished tasks and projects will finally get done becuase I want them to see what I have been envisioning and that has to include those things to be physically finished. That sense of accomplishemnt will go a long way over the next few weeks. I do have a suspicion that some of my crafting projects will have to go by the wayside a bit though. I have been staying up 'til all hours of the night to stay caught up but I don't think that can continue much longer as I am getting very tired and bitchy I've been told..So, I'll enjoy what I can and when I can and be sure to remember the process behind all of this work and remember to enjoy it along the way and the weather too!