Spring Fling!

Springtime seems to be a busy, busy time for many folks. I know it is for us and it seems the harder we work, the more we find to do. Sparky and I talk and laugh because we are supposed to be “retired,” not just tired! But, we have a good life. A life that we have chosen and one that we love. Living remotely, up in the mountains of northeast Washington State, raising Alpacas, growing our own fruits and vegetables and processing them, all of that takes time and effort. But, at the end of the day, we know we are blessed to be living here above Curlew Lake, surrounded by such awesome beauty.

So just what are we up to that makes us so busy? Let me show you a few pictures.

In order to plant our garden, we started seeds for tomatoes, peppers, dill, basil, parsley, sunflowers, edelweiss, marigold and cosmos. The seedlings need attention twice a day to water and rotate the trays. Once again, Sparky has 72 tomato plants because one can never have too many tomatoes! We still have quarts and quarts of home canned tomatoes from last year and at this rate we will never run out.

Next year we will be starting all our plants in the new greenhouse. We do plan on finishing it up soon, but with all the wind and cold we have had this Spring, it’s been a slow process.

 

We have a bunch of downed trees on the hillsides that need to be removed. But even that involves thought as lots of little critters are living both on and under the downed trees. And being on the side of the hill makes it even more difficult but we’re making progress and we will have lots of free firewood next winter. Do you see the deer in this photo?

We’re still plotting a landscaping theme and the actual work is time consuming too. I have an old iron baby crib that I slept in as an infant that will be made into a flower “bed” filled with Cosmos. My statue of St. Francis is something I love and have had for years. This Spring he got a good sanding and a new coat of paint. St. Francis will be watching over all my wild feathered friends in the flower garden. I put a “bubbler” in the bird bath today to help keep the water fresh. But, not only do we have landscaping to do, we have to paint the house! That’s right, the color you see is the primer. We have the paint and the sprayer, just needing some warmer weather to get ‘er done!

We have both tiny Calliope Hummingbirds and the slightly larger Rufus Hummers here. This morning when I went to fill the feeder, a Calliope hovered not one inch in front of my nose as if to say “about time you filled up my nectar!” I also feed the swallows, bluebirds and any other song bird who cares to dine at my restaurant!

This is my new bright red feeder. They love it and empty it twice as fast as the older one! And yes, their is a blurred hummer just to the left.

The sheds accumulated a vast uncoordinated, unneeded and wanted “stuff,” so we went through and did a thorough clean out! WOW, don’t you wonder sometimes where all this stuff comes from?

Dan is over in Tonasket today for the farm equipment auction. We made 4 separate trips over there taking load after load of “stuff” for the auction. A 100 mile round trip for us but we’re glad it is done. One of the major challenges living here is the distance we have to drive for things we need. I think we made six trips to Spokane in April which is 240 mile round trip for us, but we went there to buy the new travel trailer and the new truck plus a couple of post op hand appointments for me. Dan is going back on Monday to have the side steps put on the new truck.

We try to keep some of the hillsides mowed. Again, it is time consuming but the weeds grow up higher than I am tall!

There is a bit of critter control needed too! I’m going to clean out the shelter but whatever this is, I want him gone first!

We have a spring fed pond that on the list to be cleaned out and the area around it “prettied” up. It’s gotten so overgrown but we never seem to find the time when we were both working. The area behind it is full of downed trees and a full thick it of shrubs and brambles. We’ll be leaving that unsightly mess alone as it is a wildlife sanctuary for our deer. They are completely hidden in there and have access to water too.

This is Rowdy kitty. He’s my cat-dog! Rowdy follows me wherever I go. In this case I was walking up hill to check the spring that feeds into a tub to make sure it was still running and not clogged. We have four well fed and cared for barn cats and two indoor outdoor kitties. All are much loved and spoiled!

And of course, we have Rowdy’s sister, the infamous 3 legged Ms. Bandit! She gives me nothing but sass all day but at night she snuggles me up!

Between Spring cleaning or “where did THAT dirt come from,” routine house work, gardening, lawn mowing, pet care, my paid writing and my blog, my days are full. Full of love, full of satisfaction, full of kindness and full of caring friends. I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Thanks for stopping by today friends! I hope your Spring time finds you with a sense of wonder and hope for all things good.

Just one more picture because we have a family! Yes, the swallows are nesting and I can’t wait to show you the first photos of the babies!

Until next time, keep putting one foot in front of the other and Journey on!

Hugs and much love from me,

Karen, TJG

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www.thejourneygirl.com