Soon

This week we saw the Sturm und Drang side or our elusive Spring in the form of gale force winds, hail, thunder and lightening and tornadoes. Yep, you heard that right - we had tornadoes in our neck of the woods this week. It was nothing compared to the utter destruction experienced in the South but it all set us quite on edge and gave us pause...Mother Nature really is in charge.

The removal of our maple was postponed again this week. In the wake of the storm damage every tree service in town was called to the neighboring town of West Danby to help pick up the pieces and clear the roads and power lines. I certainly understand but now it's starting to get a little tricky for me.

Since it made it through another season and there are leaves on it now couldn't we just keep it with us a little while longer?

This week the wind blew off any hint of that reddish brown color on the trees and now every shade of green you can imagine is apparent on the hills and in our woods. The birds are so happy and relieved. Me too.

In our little patch of earth we've got bleeding hearts

forsythia

hyacinths

hydrangea

and roses all popping out.

Ever seen a red maple bloom up close and personal?It is a miracle.

Last night I heard students from our String Quartet Seminar pour out their hearts in amazing performances of Beethoven. Six quartets, spanning his entire life heard at one sitting. What a feast! It was inspiring on so many levels. Later today it'll be Stravinsky's Rite of Spring followed immediately by that great Scottish singer Jean Redpath. I've wanted to hear her for years. Tomorrow we're off to auction and then on Monday it all begins again, only this time it's the final week of the term.

Soon there will be more time for this...

Winding Up and Down

We had enormous thunderstorms this afternoon - the first of the season. They were the kind that rattled the windows and shook the walls. Eventually the rain came down in buckets, the ground soaked it right up and the sun emerged. It was heavenly. I foresee a bumper crop of forsythia and a fabulous hydrangea season!

If I had more time today I could've easily lost myself here...instead I had one of those crazy busy days that only just ended a few minutes ago. Go, go, go. We're winding up the semester at the college and getting geared up for juries and exams. We're also thinking ahead to next year's class of students. Looks like I have four new violists for sure and likely one or two more. Life just got a little bit busier. Good thing there's a big break before it all begins anew!

Peter has been working on manners with Pippa lately. Every now and then she needs a little reminding about sharing.

P has the patience of a saint.

Eggs and Beans

In honor of the season we brought Easter egg-colored furniture into FOUND this morning along with a bowl full of jelly beans. Can I just say that after several months of low-sugar/low-carb eating I wanted to just jump head first into the bowl and wallow around in there for a few hours. Instead I restrained myself by sneaking fistfuls each time I walked by the counter...they're still on my mind.
Soon it will be time for rhubarb punch.

I can hardly wait!

Hello and Goodbye

It's decidedly gray and gloomy outside today (soggy too) but the grass is a delicious shade of green and there's a hint of that lovely reddish brown color in our woods - a sign the trees are getting ready to bloom. Daffodils, hyacinths and squill are all in full flower and the forsythia are ready to pop any day now. Hello spring, we've been patiently waiting for you.

We had an appointment to have our sugar maple taken down on Friday and while we were waiting for the arborists to arrive we said our final goodbyes. The giant white pine near it has developed a big old ugly tree ear at its base along with a huge crack in the crotch. It's already cabled up at the crown and seems likely we'll have to remove it too. We'll select new trees this week and won't waste any time planting. On Friday we waited in vain for the the arborists to arrive...

They never did.
Guess it'll be another week of goodbyes.

Launching

One of my favorite auctions takes place this weekend. It's three auctions at once including one which takes place out in the middle of a field with the auctioneer calling from the bed of a big red pick up. I always feel like this auction signifies the beginning of the summer buying season. I rode out to take a took a quick look this afternoon and though it's a little smaller than last year there's plenty I'd like to buy.

I'm not sure I need this, but it definitely makes a statement...

I'm most certain I don't need this but I couldn't resist that face
Now who doesn't need this? It could solve the whole leaving-the-toilet-seat-up-thing...

If it's old, rusty and crusty it's out in the field just waiting for a little TLC. The forecast is calling for lower 50's with rain but this is actually a little better than last year and I'll take it over sleet any day!

Back at home the greening is continuing on scheduleand we've actually got a few flowers already.
Lillie and Pippa are chomping at the bit to get a bit of fresh airand who can blame them.

We just completed Week XII of the semester. Only three more to go. It's a tricky time of the year and we're all just a little ragged around the edges these days. After bragging that I hadn't been sick all year I've come down with a doozy of a cold - raw red nose, sinus drip, hacking cough...and these are just the highlights! This also the launching time of the year. After four years of hard work my seniors are ready to either go out into the world or on to grad school. It's been so inspiring to see their many successes and victories but if I'm really honest it's all a little bitter sweet to be pondering next year's class without them.

Picking

Let the season begin! The on-site auction season that is. These out of the way, rural sales are my favorite. Yesterday we ventured two hours south to Jersey Shore, PA for a day of great buying, fabulous people watching and delicious food truck eating. The forecast predicted 60 for the high temp but we decided we wouldn't leave warmth and comfort to chance and instead suited ourselves head to toe in thermal underwear, fleece, hoodie and coat. Too bad one of us didn't realize it might be muddy...

The sale was held in the back yard of a decrepit old house. The number of additions on the house nearly rivaled the number of old falling down out buildings out in the yard. As we arrived the auction staff was still pulling boxes out from the basement, the barns, the chicken coop. It was a picker's dream. There were enough boxes of Christmas decorations to easily fill our car three times over. Seems the woman who lived here had many hobbies and interests

We scored a spot under the tent and stayed gavel to gavel. Highlights of our haul include three AMAZING cased images (two daguerreotypes and an ambrotype), two beautiful photo albums FILLED with great photos and one of the best (and biggest) boxes of vintage linens I've gotten in a looooong time. We bid on a lot of furniture but prices were just a little to rich for our blood. I did however come home with a vintage beer cooler disguised as a single wash tub

and not one but TWO pairs of old moss covered concrete porch urns.

I can't wait to fill our booths at FOUND with garden themed items.
Better get myself ironing and tagging...

Noise

There is singing of all kinds going on in our neck of the woods these days. In fact the chorus from the creek is so loud it nearly drowns out the honking geese on their way back north. Soon these delightful early spring sounds will give way to the late spring sounds of the indigenous porch sitters - clinking of wine glasses, crunching of guacamole and chips and of course the sounds of enormous satisfying sighs relishing the wonder of this magical place. It's going to hit 70 on Monday. I'm not quite sure I'll know what to do with my middle aged pasty white self!

Now that the snow has melted along the sides of the roads it's easy to see just how bad we need a spring cleaning. There is all manner of stuff lying by the roadside but there is also some interesting litter. Take these for instance. How do you suppose a pair of shoes ends up in the ditch, lying so neatly side by side?

Or this single house key

How'd it find itself in this place?

I'm pretty sure this is the missing "9" from our mailbox...

Back at home our lilacs are ready to burst,

the rhubarb is ready to unfurl

and the trees appear to be gearing up for allergy season.

The vegetable garden is showing obvious signs of neglect from last fall but fortunately the asparagus doesn't hold a grudge and I expect we'll see those precious spears poking out of the ground in a few short weeks.

Yesterday we received the estimate for the removal of our maple. I can't even begin to imagine how bereft our house will look and feel after it's gone. We knew this was coming but like the death of a loved one, you're just never really prepared when it finally comes time.