Last Sunday was Easter, but it seems so long ago already. We had a great Easter watching General Conference and feasting at the Shillig’s house.
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| Our Easter feast. |
Monday we had no school, it was the last day of our spring break. It was one of those happy instances when good weather coincided with a day off. Unfortunately I spent most of that day indoors grouting the new tile in the upstairs bathroom. Everyone was tired of bathing downstairs and I was anxious to get it finished. For someone who didn’t really know what he was doing, it turned out pretty good. We resumed use of the shower the next day and everyone is happier (and cleaner) now.
The rest of the week the weather was not so good, but I managed to get some work done outdoors. I began cleaning out the flower beds, removing soggy leaves and winter debris. I’m amazed, as I am every spring, at how many weeds there are. I’m sure they grow under the snow all winter. I know they weren’t there when I put the gardens to bed in the fall. This week I will spend a lot of time pulling weeds. Three new apple trees arrived during the week and Josiah and I planted them on Thursday.
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| Planting new apple trees. |
On Friday our friends Glenn and Vicki Cunningham arrived. We hadn’t seen each other since we lived in California. They spent the weekend here and will leave for home on Tuesday. It’s been great getting caught up on things that have happened with our families and friends over the years. On Friday afternoon we took them on the Amish run. We had some shopping to do at the Amish dry goods store and it was a good excuse to take a drive on the back roads. We needed some maple cream to eat on our salt rising toast (one of our traditional breakfast offerings when we have company), so we also took them to Hamilton’s Maple Products where we got the full tour.
On Saturday we had a branch assignment at the Bishop’s Storehouse up in Canandaigua, New York. Glenn and Vicki went with Stacey and me to fill the assignment. After the storehouse we did a quick drive by at the Palmyra Temple and took a very brief tour at the Smith Farm and the Grandin Press. On our way back home we took the scenic route through Letchworth State Park and stopped to look at the waterfalls.
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| The Palmyra Temple. |
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| The Cunninghams at the Smith Farm. |
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| The falls on the Genesee in Letchworth State Park. |
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| At the falls. |
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| The Cunninghams at the falls. |
Like us, the Cunninghams like to play games, so we’ve spent time playing games together. They introduced us to a new game that we really like called Dixit. We introduced them to two of our favorite games, Carcassone, and Quirkle.
The weather has finally begun to settle. We had our first big thunderstorm of the year last week with lots of rain that washed most of the remaining snow away. Our yard is now completely free of snow. There are a few patches of it in the woods and on north-facing hills. In my yard, the crocuses are in full bloom now. Other spring flowers – daffodils, tulips, hyacinths, and squill are coming up everywhere. Some of the maples are in bloom and there are pussy willows in places along the edge of the beaver pond. Out in the garden the rhubarb is up. I love to see the bright red knobs of the emerging leaves pushing up through the ground. Soon there will be asparagus too – a very happy thought. We expect to hear peepers any evening now.
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| Crocuses. |
Tomorrow I will finally plant onions and leeks. The plants have been sitting in a box waiting for two weeks now. I will also plant peas. Glenn wants to help me tomorrow, which is great news for Josiah, who is more than happy to have us finish the job while he’s at school. This week work will begin at last on repairing the barn at last.
So we’re home from church. The weather is beautiful today, warm and sunny. The air smells like spring. Dinner preparations are underway. We are introducing the Cunninghams to oatmeal burgers and home fries. Later this evening we will all go next door to Shillig’s for our Sabbath Soiree. And then a promising new week awaits us.
