I'm Still Here!

Winter is fighting to keep a toehold on our landscape as long as it can. There's still a good six inches of ice-covered snow on the yard, though where a path was shoveled and wherever a tree is growing, the snow has receded, baring patches of wet earth and last year's dead grasses. A last (one hopes!) winter storm is due Tuesday over Wednesday and then temperatures will soar into the 60s.

Snowdrops are blooming on the south side of the house and the first of the daffodil leaves are emerging at the end of the drain spout. Once the snow has disappeared the bluebells will bloom in profusion, followed by tulips, hyacinth, and masses of daffodils. I can get drunk on flowers just by walking out my front door. Along the roadsides the leafless coltsfoot will appear and soon the meadows will be dotted with dandelions. The air will be sweet and warm and I will be out of doors from dawn till dusk!

I am still caring for the granddaughters three days a week. The Bean is 3-1/2, in pre-school and can point out all the continents on the big map pinned to the dining room wall, count to twenty, and write her name legibly. She sings when she plays and makes up scenarios for her dolls in which she changes voices. Baby Lily is now a toddler, learning to string words together to make sentences and is constantly on the move. The only time she sits quietly is when she is tired and wants to read. She loves books, just like her Nini. To be such an intimate part of their growing up is a gift I open every day.

My blogging and reading of blogs has taken a back seat and for that I am sorry. A multitude of errands and sheer weariness often keep me away from the computer when I'm here at the cottage. I know you are all out there living and writing about your lives and I miss the contact. But, summer is coming, and school vacations for both grands and my daughter. I shall catch up with you all then!