Rain and 34 degrees.

Good Morning!

What a difference there is in Mother Nature's display this time of year. Down in the southwest part of the state, Tom's dad has already mowed the lawn several times. In the Cities the grass has been green and the trees fully leafed out for weeks. I hear girlfriends talk about wearing sandals (gasp!) already! Not so here.

Tom and I needed a break from life yesterday afternoon and so headed up to our most favorite spot in the world: our property. Warm clothes were the fashion of the day: stocking caps, an Arctic-weight Carhartt jacket for Tom, a down jacket for me, and insulated Carhartt jeans. We saw a mama moose with her (rather large) baby on the way up . . . and then a large moose (bull, I think, but it was too dark to be sure) on the way home. Sorry, no pictures.

Anyway, the buds on the trees popped this past Saturday and now, depending on where you are along the shore, the leaves are starting to come out and the hills beginning to green. Tom and I hiked the trail we cut from our property down to the Pigeon last night, and, as you can see from a picture I'll post, the farther north you go, the lesser the green in the trees. But, the rain that is falling this morning promises more spring growth . . . now we just need some sun and warmth to help things along!

We are still planning on and hoping for a house-raising beginning around August 11th (stay tuned to the calendar I've posted at the bottom of this blog). Right now my days are filled with General Contractor duties (the title and related responsibilities Tom has given me) and design. We're nearing the end of the process of getting all the contractors lined up: the well driller, septic and excavation work, solar installation and electrical work, cement work, garage construction, you name it. It's definitely a time full of nearly overwhelming details. Once road restrictions are lifted (when the frost leaves the ground), everything will start happening at once. Mayhem should ensue within a couple of weeks!

The main focus of my day today is getting the blueprints out to the carpenter for the garage. We've done all the design and blueprints for both the house and garage ourselves, so it will be doubly rewarding when these structures start going up. So, that said, chores await. The 11 chickens that insist on sleeping outside are soaking wet and begging to be let into the chicken house, and the 20 that wisely go inside each night are probably squawking to get out. And, I think I'll pull the maple syrup out of the refrig - the atmosphere created by the chilly, wet day and the crackling fire in the livingroom definitely point to a pancakes-for-brunch morning!