Saturday, April 25, 2020

Spring, Spring, SPRING!


The Ridge 
So, it happened during the wee hours of Saturday, Apr. 25th. While we were still sleeping. The temperature rose to an almost balmy 2C/39F by 7:30, when we got up. Spring is here! What made it even better is that the sky is solid (SOLID) blue and Mother Earth has blessed us with beautiful, warm sun to start our day. Pinch me, on second thought, please don't.

A beauty of a day
We had our sink baths, they’re acceptable in a pinch, and came downstairs for our coffee and tea together. I decided to wait for my walk and take a more leisurely one after my drink. Instead, I sat and read all of our friends’ blogs and made comments while there. Some of you made me laugh, some got me teary-eyed, some congratulatory and others proud of what you accomplished in one day.  Most importantly, you are all well and healthy and that is the best report of all.

Turbine Lane
Bill was once more encouraged by the weather and after checking that we were still okay for propane, drove Ptooties over to the Acreage and turned the water off. That takes less than 30 minutes and when he returned, he said ‘you should be out for your walk, it is gorgeous’. I finished my Scrabble games and slipped into my runners and puffy vest. I can’t believe the difference a day makes. Lastly, I grabbed a grocery bag to tuck in my pocket.


It was an awesome walk and I texted Bill not to worry, that I would be longer than normal. I truly didn’t want it to end. Only 2 vehicles were on the road the whole time I was. It seems weird, it is Saturday after all. I’m glad I had the bag with me as by the time I passed Turbine Lane, it was almost full of beer cans, bottles and a whiskey bottle. It is obvious that this should be called ‘Joy ride’ road instead of Baptist church road. LOL I didn't find one Bible or hymnal.

Arriving back with my bag of recyclables

My walk was an hour today and almost 3 miles. That felt great. The cool air in my face when I turned east on North Line was refreshing. Again, what a change. 😊 I stopped to show Bill the bag full of '$' and after showing me his plans for the cargo trailer, he walked up with me to show me where he’d like to put the free cupboards we picked up. I opened up the doors to the Bunky, even the inside one, letting sun get in there before going into the Suite.


The evening primrose that Donna dug up for me
They'll go nicely on the corral hill we are trying to fill with plants

Eating lunch and I saw our muskrat making his trek across the pond
Inside, it was 11:30 when I made brunch. Same as yesterday and that will get us through until supper time. I took ribs out of the freezer as we’ll be able to do the final 5 minutes on the Weber today. Finally! 

Bill working down by the Hangar
T-shirt weather has arrived!
After dishes, Bill made a phone call to Rona in Hanover to order a sheet of plywood and more screws to finish the floor in his trailer. That was easy, they said it would be ready in 30 minutes. Shortly after 12, he was on his way. 

Bill had an audience
The neighbour's cat is often over here
I wrote what I could on this post and brushed my teeth before going outside myself. All heat was turned off around 10:30.

I love our birdhouse (not resided in, ever)
We got it from Bill's Dad when they sold their duplex in Goderich
about 4 or 5 years ago.
I decided to go out with my big camera and putter around, taking some critter photos and maybe reading. As soon as I stepped out, I thought to take advantage of the nice day and work on the small garden up on the berm instead. We have 3 bags of black mulch left from last summer so I took one up the hill along with a 4-pronged garden fork. I removed stones and grass and weeds that were beginning to grow. When Bill returned he went down to the Hangar to continue working.

On a little spot of grass, Mama turtle was laying eggs
I'm sure of it

And you know who was out sunning
I spread a thick layer of mulch over the dirt and around the hostas, rose of Sharon and tiger lilies. Hopefully, they will take off now and not be choked out by weeds. Donna and Gerry had arrived at the Acreage around 11:30 and we said we’d pop over later. At 2, it was later, so we took a diet soda over and sat outside their Landmark 5th wheel and visited for a couple of hours. I think we’re all going a bit stir crazy and this felt really nice and safe, sitting at a distance in the warm sun.

Father Goose was exploring the pond while Mother sat on her nest

He seems quite happy
Those babies should be born soon
Around 4, we came home and Bill worked in the Hangar for another hour and I sat outside with my next book. It’s called Memory Man by David Baldacci. This time the story is about Amos Decker, another interesting character. I got out the spices to make a rub and spread it liberally on the 2 racks of pork ribs. We wouldn’t need much else with all of these but that’s okay by me! We also have some leftover potatoes and corn in the fridge to warm up.

Chippy has a field day with the dropped seeds
the little patch of garden on the hill
all mulched up

These are my two Ontario trilliums! Yay!

The hostas are coming too
When the ribs had cooked for 20 minutes and after the NR of 20 minutes, I spread sweet and sour sauce on Bill’s portion and brown sugar/bbq sauce on mine. Bill grilled them on the Weber for 5-10 minutes, long enough to make them ooey, gooey and crispy. We were eating late, around 7 but the wait was worth it. They were delicious! We cleaned up dishes and with that many ribs I sure didn’t need dessert. We sat in the living room for a while before Bill went upstairs to watch a movie while I finished my blog and read.

Just getting a start on my ribs
 This was an awesome day. The sun was brilliant, warm and without any doubt the bright spot in our Saturday. Now that we’ve reached double digits, it got up to 14C/57F today, we are hopeful for the upcoming days, weeks and beyond. I hope you’ve had a good day too.

Clouds moved in late afternoon
but it was still a pretty sky
Good night!

Thank you for your visit and stay well!

14 comments:

  1. Yahoo, I keep the warm weather continues for you!

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  2. Finally you had spring like weather. Actually better than what we had here in the southern part. I am trying to be helpful about the birdhouse. Noticed some of the landing sticks are missing, because the birds cannot fly right in. Also presume there are several levels inside and it is not one large hole. Is the birdhouse high enough mounted? Couldn't see from the picture. Perhaps the entrance holes have to be enlarged for the types of birds you have there. Perhaps mount it underneath the roof on the wall of the shed. Hope you get some occupants to watch.

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    1. The birdhouse is very old but if Bill can get his ladder up there maybe we'll try adding some landing sticks. Thanks! I don't want to move it right now though, it is up high in good view from our Suite. It is a dead tree that it is on and the tree is a bird favourite. I've seen birds go in but they never stay. :) I appreciate the tips!

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  3. I told you I sent some good weather your way. Your Welcome. I could feel the spring feeling in your whole blog. It was like all of a sudden there is lots of activity on the Ridge. Maybe you should apply to have your road name changed lol. Glad things are coming up roses for your and Bill. Have a great summer.

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    1. Can't thank you enough, Lorne, for the weather. I'm not returning it though, not yet. :)
      It makes a world of difference when we can get outside even if not much gets accomplished. It was a wonderful day!

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  4. Hooray for sunshine and warmth! Isn't it exciting to see the plants starting to come up. This winter has been long and just plain weird in so many ways.

    Enjoy and stay well!

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    1. Thank you! You can speak to your winter and I've heard 'long' and 'weird' before to describe it. Since 'spring' arrived it has been weird enough here in Ontario. :)
      Stay well too!

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  5. What a beautiful day! Spring has finally sprung. I'm so happy for you! It can get too depressing to stay inside. Your ribs look yummy. I never thought to finish them on the BBQ. I'm going to buy some now!! Enjoy your day!!

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    1. We've enjoyed our spring day a lot and hope more to come. Thank you for your 'joy'. :)
      The ribs were delicious and gave them that final touch of gooeyness.

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  6. Glad you had a lovely day, hoping it's the first of many. Your ribs look incredible! Enjoy your spring days, I know you'll be outside!

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  7. Hopefully all the weather starts to improve but the forecast shows showers heading this way.
    Be Safe and Enjoy!

    It's about time.

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    1. Yes, we hope so too. Showers as long as it is warm are acceptable now that the white stuff is no longer a threat. (we hope)

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