Back to the white stuff.....

 March 14, 2026

It has been a week of interesting weather. Mild temperatures melted the snow down a lot, to the point where the raised garden beds were bare and black against patches of snow in the yard. The driveway was clear all the way up to the barn. Then came the wind, rain, ice, snow and minus double digits. The surface of that frozen precipitation conglomerate was so hard, we were able to walk around anywhere in the open, and in the bush with just our boot cleats strapped on. On slopes, even with boot cleats, your feet could slip. I don't remember ever experiencing such an hard crust.  

The rain froze onto all the tree branches and the sunlight, glinting through the ice, made sharp sparks of coloured light with the brilliance of diamonds.

The hanging, marcescent beech leaves, coated in ice, clacked softly like muted maracas when brushed against. 

The branches on the white pines were all drooping, and the needles were all splayed out.

There is still ice under everything today, still glinting in the sunlight on tree branches, but on the ground, is hidden by the snow that fell last night. Note the three little free-loaders waiting on the railing.

It is a totally white world again, but look...the pond is filling up! One can just barely see the water/ice level from the back step, where we couldn't see the surface from there all winter. 

Despite this weather, the first Robin graced us with it's presence on March 10, then yesterday we heard the first Red-winged Blackbirds. 

Spinning classes are finished. Our teacher gave each of us some beautiful hand-dyed top to spin. I've spun and plied one skein, and am working through the other.

With practice, I am getting better at getting a consistent, fine thread.

What better way to spend a Saturday morning, than baking? I got the urge to make cinnamon-raisin bagels,

and a batch of oatmeal-chocolate chip cookies for the cookie monster that lives here.

Finally, eight out of the ten geranium seeds I planted have germinated, 

and up in the south-facing window, leaves are busting out on my fig tree!