It's been embarrassingly long since I've posted anything.  Today is the day!  The big kids finished school early so that Thomas is sledding and Catherine is reading; the little ones are building a huge tent across the living room, and it is s-n-o-w-i-n-g.  Hard.  Steven and I were going to do some work outside, but we've reconsidered.  So here I am.

Inasmuch as snow is the topic of the week around here (we've had perhaps a foot or more during that time), I'll share snow photos with you.

It's not just that it snowed yesterday.  We had enough snow cover already that it felt like the yard was being filled up with snow this time.  The bottom rail of fences, garden benches, the antique plows in the front yard...everything is being swallowed up.  

A snowy dog house.  I don't think she can get in at this point.  (The roof has a pompadour!)

A snowy dog.  It's hilarious to watch Desi try to take a potty break in deep snow.  She loves to eat snow as she runs around.  Right now it's conveniently just about mouth level for her.

Anna discovered a fun spot under our patio dining table.

Anna and Thomas are sledding down the other side of the hill in a snowstorm.  

That round thing under snow is a wagon wheel, just for sense of scale.

My handsome husband after clearing the driveway with the snow thrower.  He investigated clearing the walkway to the front door, but the snow is too deep.   He's standing in the attempted pathway.  We'll see it again in a month or two.  

Thomas discovered the empty cavity under the picnic table and dug a secret passage to it to keep it hidden from his siblings.  He's kneeling next to it.  The tabletop has about 18 inches of snow on top, and, of course, the bench seats are under the snow somewhere.  

Can you figure this one out?  I looked out the window and laughed.  Thomas is digging a fort under the snow while Anna is playing (well...eating snow, actually) a few feet away.   Anna always eats snow.  

Our Cat -- Penelope?

We are in the business of animal acquisition around here:  several fish, 6 chickens, a dog, a short-lived outdoor cat named Odysseus, and what we hope will be a longer-lived girl kitty.  She'll also be outside because we need her to hunt some of the chipmunks that are running amok around here.  We have not formally decided on her name, but Penelope seems to be the leading contender.

She'll live in the house for a month to learn that we are her family, then we'll keep her in the barn for a month so she'll learn where her home is.  Once we're sure she's clear on all that we'll allow her to come and go as she pleases, assuming she's big enough to live outside by then.

She is really tiny, really cute, and has really sharp claws.

Vacation in New York

Here are some shots of our vacation in New York with Steven's father and his family, as well as Steven's sister Lori and her family.  Everyone had a wonderful time catching up, and our children really enjoyed their cousins.  Look for photos of the turtle races, one of the surprisingly charming events of the trip.

Preparing for the Turtle Races.  You could bet on the turtles.

Anna and Millie act as turtle wranglers to get them in place.

The turtles are clustered around the flag at the center of a large square, and the race begins.

...and we have a winner!  The man calling the race did it just like a horse race with a wonderful announcer voice.  Some of the turtle names are great:  Willie B. Soup, Howie Wowie, Can't Stop Karen, Betty Davis Thighs, Nick No-Neck

Growing Things

We moved into our house in November when the leaves had turned and dropped and winter was upon us.  We had some idea about the major plants and trees on the property (apple, pear, peach, maple, blueberries, and strawberries).  However, we had no idea what our place would look like in the spring and summer.  Here are some pictures taken over time so you can see what we are blessed with.

As flowers die back and bushes lose their blooms we have more flowers poking their heads up, so things are still changing even in July.

I don't know how I have managed it, but I have no photos of our heavily laden blueberry bushes nor the apples-in-progress from our many  (7?  8?  I forget) apple trees.  We have picked over 10 pounds of blueberries so far and have many, many to go as the season progresses.

Raised strawberry beds make picking easy.

One of our apple trees in bloom.  

Apple blossoms have such a pretty pale pink blush.

We have official raspberry bushes like the one shown here.  We also have volunteer raspberry and blackberry canes that have taken over part of the blueberry bushes, which is not good.  I don't look forward to hacking those out, but the blackberries are so very tasty!