Pressure

Finally, there's another thing we can check off the dwindling list of renovation items not finished.

The water pressure here has been poor. We have county water, but the piping runs about 300 yards from the meter out by the highway to the house, and it runs downhill and uphill twice along the way. Two lovely shower heads were included in the renovation, but the trickle of water that has been the reality when showering has been disappointing. Not to mention that you could not run the clothes washer while showering, nor the dishwasher. Finally, after a couple of false starts asking vendors to provide estimates, we found a plumber willing to do the work and as of two days ago, now we have good water pressure! They installed a small pump plus a reserve storage tank. I don't know exactly how they work ---- Brad does ---- I only know that the end result is what I had been hoping for. Yay! Now we don't have to be apologetic to our guests about the lack of water pressure.

I found a nice stand of Solomon's seal in the woods and couldn't resist clipping a few pieces to bring inside. The peonies that have been here for years are doing very well. There have been a few wildflowers or weeds blooming in the woods that we have enjoyed too. The asparagus production has slowed greatly. This seems a bit early as we usually get two months of harvest. The sun has been absent for much of the past week. Maybe when it comes out we will get another spurt of new stalks. I hope so!!

Wren

We have a very industrious wren, or pair of wrens, who are intent upon building a nest on the driveway porch. There have been at least 10 days where we have had to remove the nesting materials they amass overnight in the light fixture.

Here is an example of their handiwork, done in less than 24 hours. Unfortunately, for the little birds, we removed it all.  In past years, these people-friendly birds have also often nested in hanging, potted plants on our porches. So I put up the first one of those for this year. Maybe the wrens will find that to be a good home.

Our first hummingbirds for the year arrived on May 2. This was quite a bit later than many feeders in town. We believe that the same birds return here year after year. This would be the first spring that the feeders were put up so early. In the past, when Hanshill was strictly a summer place, we would clean and open the house in the latter half of May. So I suspect our hummers are late arrivers, as well as late departers. We are glad they have returned.

I Love Spring

We're enjoying the full effect of spring at Hanshill. We've gone from daffodils to redbud and dogwood trees in bloom. Next came a viburnum which I have dubbed the Amherst county junk-fruit tree. We are not sure of the exact variety. Everything is now incredibly green and fresh. The couple of nights earlier this month when we had freezing temps and frost, the young crepe myrtle trees that we planted three years ago were damaged. We don't know if they will survive. Other trees we have planted are thriving: maple, dogwood, weeping willow.  Our three new rhododendron bushes are in bloom and the new Indian hawthorne and hydrangea bushes are sprouting leaves.

Spring birds have made themselves known: chipping sparrows, robins, towhees, phoebes, and cowbirds (ugh).  Our 20+ goldfinches continue to visit the feeders, with the males now looking spectacular. The white-throated sparrows have not yet departed --- at least not all of them. Wrens are attempting to build a nest in the light fixture on the entry porch. We clean out the debris every day. Bluebirds have laid eggs in 4 houses along our fences. Asparagus is in high season and we are picking it roughly every other day.

Pollen has been quite evident for the past few weeks. We are hoping that the rain of the past couple of days will bring an end to this annual spring "problem." We are ready to pull out the furniture for the eating and drinking porches, but had been waiting for the pollen to finish.

Our grandbaby and her Mama are coming down from Michigan this week to check out the spring conditions first hand. Charlie is in Italy for 3 weeks with the Navy Reserves, so the girls, including Stella the dog, are coming for an extended visit here! Yay!!

Below are some highlights of the last month.

On these first two pics, you may recall that we took a shot from the same angles when we had the big snow back in February.

The house as seen from the pond road near the garden.

Daffodils are all gone now, except from my memory.

The next variety is the latest-blooming one we have. It was planted by Murnie in the 1930s near where she also planted the spider lilies. This is a species daffodil, not a cultivar. (I only recently learned the difference.) The identity is N. Poeticus var. recurvus and it may well be the ancestor of some of the poet's eye cultivars. Here it is in the woods:

And here it is up close:

It has a WONDERFUL smell and is a very pleasing daffodil.

The next few shots show clippings from the "Amherst Co. junk-fruit tree." As I said before, it is believed to be from the viburnum family, but has not yet received positive identification.

The leaves are small.

My sisters gave me some cool vases for my birthday. They look a little bit like crooked chemistry beakers. I have found a couple of neat ways to use them and here is one of those ways.

Spring is my favorite season.

Frosty spring morning

Sure enough ---- the cold weather is not yet totally behind us. We had frost overnight. The front yard looks so pretty this morning having just been mowed.

The cold temperature gave us one more opportunity to enjoy the woodstove this spring.

Another morning a couple of weeks ago, the scenery was totally different. It was foggy and there was lots of moisture in the air. I woke up to a world of little cotton candy balls, or that's what they looked like. Here's one up close.

And here is the pasture. Would you ever know there were so many spider webs just hanging around to be walked through?? That's the roof of the (former) rental cabin in the distance. Enlarge for full effect.

This view is near the tennis court, but across the road. Rather eerie to see! They were all over King Road too, along the roadside.

Faith's next passion

Faith's outdoor recreational interests seem to vary with the seasons. Back in the fall, she brought home deer legs and assorted small animals.

A few weeks ago, when the Schwarze family was here and we took a walk to the pond, Faith managed to capture a healthy wood duck in or near the pond.

She was so proud of her catch, and she kept it by her side in the front yard for most of that day, like it was a favorite stuffed animal toy. After nightfall, and when we had made her come inside, Brad disposed of the (dead) duck.

That memory must be fresh in her mind. Yesterday Anne and I went for a walk to the pond and as we approached we could hear lots of "honking" of several Canada geese that seem to have taken up residence. When we drew closer, much to our surprise and amusement, Faith was in the pond, swimming, trying to catch up with one of the geese. There were 4 of them there, with one guarding a nest on the island. The mate must have been the one Faith was pursuing, because it led her on several "wild goose chases." When Faith would get a bit close, the goose would just fly. This went on for a good 30 minutes and we figured the dog would be totally exhausted. It was comical.

I took Brad to the pond today to see perhaps a repeat performance. We did get one, though not as dramatic because the other pair was not present, so it was just the one goose swimming around, with one on the island. Anyway, here is Faith again on the hunt.

Daffodils galore

The daffodils have just about finished blooming now --- they came in early due to the unusual warm weather. I wanted to take specimens with me to the annual Garden Club of Virginia Daffodil Show, which was held this week. Many of the blooms came out early. For two weeks I stored daffodils in our refrigerator. For this method of preservation to be successful there cannot be any fruits or veggies in the refrigerator, because when maturing they emit a gas that is poisonous to the flowers. We kept a cooler in the kitchen, to which I added new ice each evening, to store our food items for two weeks.

The daffodils took priority for those two weeks. Brad was a good sport about this, but he WAS happy when I was packing to leave on Tuesday night to attend the Daffodil Show in Gloucester, Va.

He got his fridge back!.
 Today I was not feeling like doing housework, so I played around with leftover blooms that returned with me after the Show. Many were/are my blooms, but many are also extras that were collected/gathered for use in the artistic arrangement by my garden club, Hillside. We had a great inventory of flowers to choose from as we created our arrangement. Anyway, here is what I did this afternoon, choosing to "play" rather than do chores ("work.") It is such a beautiful time of year!

Afterglow

Two weeks ago this afternoon, the wedding weekend concluded. Nina, Charlie and Evie left here around 1:00 to catch a flight from the local airport. After the beautiful brunch that my siblings/spouses put on, Eddie and Kelly hung around for much of the afternoon and finally left around 5:30 to head to the cottage on the Chesapeake Bay they had rented for an abbreviated honeymoon. Once they have accrued more vacation time at work, this summer, they plan to take a real honeymoon trip.

Their wedding was perfect and I have just been so full of emotion it has been difficult to put it all into words. I will try to share bits and pieces in a few posts to come.

Brad and I have a running joke about purchasing the last "____________" we will ever own. For instance, this has been said about certain tools, this home, and hair clippers. He's said that about the last two lawn mowers he purchased, and I am sure there are yet more lawn mower purchases in his future if he lives to the ripe old age we hope for.  This past Christmas I gave him the last school backpack he will ever need, since he should retire before this one wears out. So, anyway, when Nina was here for the wedding, one day I was making biscuits. I pulled out my ancient, rusty-screened, flour sifter and made the comment about how badly I need a new one. The thing is roughly 35-40 years old and probably came from Woolworth's or G. C. Murphy's. I declared that I need to buy a new one, and when I do it should last for the remainder of my baking years.

Well, so cute of Nina, I opened a package from her today to find this beautiful stainless steel flour sifter that will in all likelihood still be in good condition when I hang up my kitchen apron for the last time.  I love it!

So with great ceremony the one that has brought me thus far in life bit the dust this afternoon. It served us well!

Time to let it go!

And another nice gift that came my way today was a beautiful photo of Brad's and my nuclear family with descendents. He visited the professional photographer from the family wedding and was able to pry loose from them this wonderful shot. It's just a matter of days, or maybe only even hours, before we are able to see the full complement of photos from the wedding, but this one is a good beginning!