Progress

The shawl is done! It was started April 1 and took many hours of knitting. It was Louise's first real attempt at knitting lace and knitting it from a chart.

 The pattern was a knit along on Yahoo with eight clues (pieces of the pattern) a week apart. Now to figure out how to wear it!

One of the raised beds is filled with herbs and lettuce. The bleeding heart is blooming prolifically, and the new rhodedendron plant is covered with red blossoms. We have put humming bird feeders up in the back yard and they have been busy. The window boxes are waiting for some lobelia, which seems to be scarce in the greenhouses this season.

Family Gathering

Here

 are 

some photos 

from a gathering at Portage yesterday, May 24. The get together started with sun, but then some dark clouds and rain blew in, followed by wind that created waves making the lake look like the ocean. Our favorite pictures are of Ryan eating corn, and then the look on his face when he had finished it. Games were played, visiting took place, and good food was eaten by all. As you can see, it was a corny day!

Sunny day at Portage

Spring seems to be slow in arriving this year, as the temperatures remain cold and the wind is relentless. Today we had sun, but it doesn't feel like mid-May. We have a future salad or two growing in the first raised bed. The peas are up and the onions have survived four frosts in the past week. We went to Portage today and discovered that the hummingbirds have found and are using the feeder we hung a couple of weeks ago. There are also birds living in the bird house we put up last year. In the woods we found a Trillium in blossom. The wind has taken down more trees, one on the road and another cluster just off the road. 

Meghan's Day

This lovely young lady has a birthday today. We just want to share a few of our favorite pictures of Meghan over the past few years, as she has grown from a cute and sometimes mischievous little girl, to a bright and happy ten year old. She is an amazing young lady and we wish her a wonderful birthday!

Glorious Day

Today was another beauty! We ventured up to Portage, as you can see. The ice is gone, and the lake looks very appealing today. We delivered a load of fire wood, and for those of you who think Louise just knits, there is proof now that she also stacks wood. The supply of wood is enough to get through another season of cool mornings or nights. Gary raked the debris left by the water, which had been midway up on the lawn. On the way home we spotted a moose on the Castle Hill Road, leisurely having his lunch on new green bushes. To top the day off, the pictures of the red tulips from yesterday was the weather picture on WAGM news this evening.

A Day in May

There is a chill in the air as there was in the water this morning at the Motor Inn, but it is a beautiful day! The red tulips are in full bloom today. Steve takes a very intelligent look outside to see if it is summer yet. Gary struggles along with the wheelbarrow and the piles of compost and dirt, filling the raised beds. These beds have been a dream for many years, and this year it will come to pass. Dale came this morning and they finished the shelving in the garage. As you can see, things are being organized. It has been a lovely day, and a productive one.

At Last!

Today was the day we have waited for so long. It was warm, sunny, and a glorious day. The farmers are in their fields planting, and the buds are just starting to turn that golden green on the trees. Gary has a new resource - a large pile of composted cow manure. We have a couple of pictures of it here. The snow peas are up in the garden, and the tulips put out their first blossoms today. We have some of the seedlings outside starting to harden off. Gary and his friend, Dale, built shelves in the garage yesterday, and we have started to fill them up. We've had lots of company today, and a nicer day doesn't exist.

Hard work

Gary spent today gardening. As you can see, he has planted onions and peas. We also moved the seedlings outdoors for the afternoon to get some real sun. They look better for the fresh air. The forecast is for at least five days in a row of rain, so Gary worked really hard today to get as much done as he could. The Topsy Turvy move killed the tomato we put in it, so we have decided not to grow them upside down. We are really enjoying  the color of the daffodils this spring. The tulips will be next. Louise sat outside and knit on her shawl today.

Getting ready for gardening

It has been a busy week with appointments and working at school. The weather has been either wet or windy. Today is no exception as it rained last night, and it is chilly today. The biggest accomplishment of the week is the raised beds. Matt had those done and delivered on Thursday. We also received a truck load of loam, and Gary and Matt are planning for a trailer load of compost next week. We did succeed in hanging one tomato plant with the topsy-turvy container. We will see how  that grows before we decide to do more. The plants are growing fast. The daffodils are in bloom, as you can see. Gary planted squash, cucumbers, and pumpkins  that have now germinated. Space is at a premium  in the kitchen, and the place smells like a greenhouse.