Happy April!

Dear Reader,

Greetings and welcome to our home. Here in Idaho, March came in like a lion, went out like a lion, and April is following suit! Mother Nature's "April Fool's Day" seems more like weeks than one single day! At least our pussy willows have finally budded out, proving that warmer days shall soon be upon us (We would share pictures of them with you, but none of our budding photographers feels adventurous enough to wade through the snow this morning!).

Our dear Grandma Graham left for parts farther south yesterday afternoon, leaving the melancholic feeling that always comes when those we love leave us, however briefly. Although we are always glad to have the company of our loved ones in our home, we are now breathing the long sigh which inevitably follows such visits, as we try to remember what we were doing before the whirlwind activities of preparing the home and entertaining! The swill bucket will once again feel welcome in the kitchen, and the not-so-lovely diaper pail will resume its former place of residence in the powder room.

At last we'll have a chance to try out our beautiful ink set we found at our local thrift store for $12.

And the girls can continue doing their Frankie and Evangeline "day care". AnnaMarie came up with the creative idea of making carrot tops out of their little hands! The inside of the carrots reads: "I love carrots!"

"When will it REALLY be spring?"

We'll have to get on blowing those goose eggs our neighbors brought us last week (The brown one was laid by one of our hens, for size comparison.), for Easter decorating.

We have been enjoying watching the comings and going of the Ring-Neck Pheasant which has taken up residence in our spruce tree out front, although he is shy of cameras! No matter what the weather, we are grateful for the gift of each new day, beginning and ending in pink and gold, and filled with the wonders of the natural world. Truly the Lord desires His children to be happy in the beautiful world which He created for us. May you take a bit of time to day to observe the life happening around you, and perhaps record a bit of it in a sketchbook or notebook. Little acts like these are very grounding to the spirit, giving one a sense of profound harmony.

Love,

Marqueta

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"We are not sent into this world to do anything into which we cannot put our hearts." ~John Ruskin