Spring and Reminders

This has been a busy weekend for me. I think the nice weather brought out not only the buds on trees and flowers, but it energized people. I had several visitors stop by to chat - always a pleasure to see old friends - and in addition there seemed to be a lot going on around here. I got some painting done, washed down my very dirty car, and puttered at a few other small projects. I think I've got the "work a bit, rest a bit" routine down now so I can get more done - it just takes me longer. Lots of sit-down rests and an occasional stretch-out-in-the-recliner break!

My lawn was mowed for the first time on Wednesday and it is already dotted with dandelion blossoms again! I recently read that it's good to have them and other early flowering "weeds" that we normally try to keep off our lawns - they are important to pollinators. So "No Mow May" is a good thing! Not all of my lawn needed mowing, and I still haven't done all the fall cleanup of dead flower stalks in a couple of beds. I also need to get my electric lawn mower powered up and get some trimming done. I do a little each day when the weather permits. The picture above is my service-berry tree in full bloom - it is a little earlier than the apple trees. The forsythia has dropped the pretty yellow buds and is now green and blending with the lilac bushes that are forming buds. I think the lilacs will make a good showing this year. So will my apple trees! If we don't get a killing frost.

Bob (middle son) came on Friday and built a step at the back entrance of my garage. I don't know exactly how the old entrance was, but now that I have a new foundation on the garage, it seemed really cumbersome to navigate through that door. I expect there was always a big step coming in there, but suddenly it seemed daunting to me. I stuck a wooden pallet there last fall with a piece of plywood on it as a temporary fix, but that was too large and not very substantial with a free-floating piece of plywood on it, so Bob said he'd fix it for me. Now, with a good sturdy step there, it's perfect. I picked up a small handle at Cabot Hardware when I was in town yesterday and got it mounted today next to the door. It's perfect to grab if I need to have a little assistance to balance going in and out of that door. So nice to have that all done!  Bob and I had lunch on the porch Friday, which was perfect on such a nice day and was the first "event" of the season on the porch! Although I have been out there several times to just sit and enjoy, I haven't dared put my plants out there yet - I just worry we could still get a really cold night or two.

Yesterday I went to a meeting of the Cabot Historical Society. It was very interesting and quite productive. It was informal, just a chance to see where we are going and what needs to be tackled first. There were about 12 people there and lots of really interesting ideas for projects. Our building hasn't been open often in recent years, due to Covid, Then our long-time president, Bonnie Dannenberg, passed away, and thus things are in a bit of a jumble. New president, Ruth Goodrich, is a very busy lady, but she is hoping to have the place open and in good shape for visitors as much as possible throughout the summer season, into the fall. We are hoping for new, young, energetic members!

Today has flown by. I've spent some of each of the past few days looking for things I thought I'd misplaced. I found the instruction manual I had spent most of last week searching for, and it was right where it should have been. I'd had it out some time ago and thought I'd left it someplace - just didn't remember putting it back where it belonged. Consequently, I got my "to-do" piles whittled down  - I tossed some unnecessary scraps of paper with notes scribbled in some other lifetime, but there's still more to sort through. My version of spring cleaning!

It looks like we're going to have nice weather this coming week and only a few rain showers here and there. Hopefully they will come at night. Don't forget that there is a band at the Joe's Pond Association pavilion this Friday, the 24th - the band, Conniption Fit is playing for your listening and dancing pleasure. Admission is $10, and there will be food by the Taco Shell. BYOB and plan to have a great time ushering in the Summer of 2024!  

I expect you will all be at the first Joe's Pond Association meeting on Saturday, May 25th. It may be a bit of a struggle to get out the door after partying the night before, but be brave. The meeting is at 10 a.m., and there's always plenty of fresh, hot coffee!