“Most of the dandelions had changed from suns into moons.”
― Vladimir Nabokov
For a long month, May seemed over before it began! Likewise… holy cow it seems like all we did was drink! (Perhaps that is why the month flew by? lol)
Anyways… there were some good things this month! Like so many sunny days, blooming iris, and unfurling leaves! AND… there were so many not.too.hot days to be outside enjoying the weather!
Always there are things I could have done better, which include doing more spinning during the month. I barely sat at my wheel in May, aside from that photo to start the month. I hope to remedy that and find some inspiration to sit and spin some in what remains of this month.
There you have my May memories. What about you? What stood out for you in May?
The start of April seemed to go unbelievably slowly – inching by at a snails pace. And there were so many days with snow! Gah, crazy I tell you!
I am dividing the month’s look back to Home and Away. One was obviously better than the other, but boy… both were good…different, but good.
First up… Home:
April absolutely fooled us with a snowy start. But Spring fought back and I attended and out-of-doors Easter Service and loved it! We got our Second Jabs done AND had our first outside Happy Hour of the year! Woo! And, speaking of outside eating! The patio opened at Spoonwood Brewery and we went! I also finished a very woolly sweater that I got a good bit of use out of in April…sigh. But, I was so happy that I had it! (Hint… I did not do a very good job on packing for Erie…I forgot a winter coat because my brain was apparently switched off)
Presque Isle…take me AWAY:
Traveling with an aging pet is a challenge – Sherman hates stairs, but he really hates unfamiliar stairs. We have found a place we like… and while it costs a little more than most places in Erie, it is all one level and it has a fenced in yard! And it is less than 2 miles from Presque Isle (and it is right around the corner from the BEST Mexican restaurant! Haha!) So a little more money to rent, but it really works for us. However!! It has ONE rug in the entire house… not good for my aging pup! So we brought Sherman’s Super Highway of Rugs so he could get off that one rug, lol. Oh, and we brought his “cozy blanket” because when you are professional napper you need a good cozy blanket! Hahaha (and yes… you do see a little sweeper in that last photo… Pug owners the world over know that if you go someplace, you need to be able to clean up after your beloved little Super Shedder!
I think the photos speak for themselves… we were outside all.the.time. In all.the.weathers! (only with a Lopapeysa for warmth…silly me!) One thing that Spring does well are skies and boy were they glorious! We got moody and broody skies, white wispy clouds in light blue skies, and not a cloud in sight deep blue skies! And I even channeled Vera a bit with those turtles on the log!
We stopped at the Tom Ridge Environmental Center on our first day there and a Presque Isle Conservation Officer told us about some “less traveled” walks that we would have never found on our own… they are less traveled for a reason! We made good use of these new found trails!
Yes, there was snow. But it was just so incredibly beautiful I could not even be upset about it. It did not last, but wow was it gorgeous! I think that even the plethora of diving ducks on Presque Isle Bay liked it!
I even saw a freighter and quickly texted my daughter to find out where Christian was! (He was not on that boat, but that is exactly like the boat he works on!)
All photos were taken with my iPhone but I was really wishing I had my “big camera” to get some photos of all the birds we saw! There were so many… and so many (more than two dozen!!) NEW to me birds. I have seen them in bird books, but never in the wild! We also watched members of the Erie Bird Observatory banding migratory birds! Watched… as in stood at the table and watched them weigh, measure, record, and band birds. It was so fun!
I worried we would not have a day that we could hike out to Gull Point but the weather and the wind cooperated so we could! The trails are underwater, so you have to traverse along the beach – so if there are strong westerly winds you need hip waders to get out to the point. It was an excellent trek! We saw Bald Eagles, Ospreys, and Common and Caspian Terns!
I will leave you with a wee bit of video so that you can see how Lake Erie can go from wild to calm… and it is beautiful in every stage!
I will be back here on Wednesday for some Unraveling!
It is the seam between winter and spring—though seam suggests an even hem, and March is more like a rough line of stitches sewn by an unsteady hand, swinging wildly between January gusts and June greens. You don’t know what you’ll find, until you step outside.
― V. E. Schwab, The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue
This quote from Addie LaRue describes exactly the March I had. A rough line of stitches sewn by an unsteady hand perfectly recounts the days of the month. One would be hard pressed to sew a straight line with the wild winds that March brought! (I know because I attempted a bit of sewing on the pergola cover that the wind has wreaked havoc with!)
In March I jumped on the Costco Tulip Bandwagon and thoroughly enjoyed their brief, but spectacular display! I also got my first COVID-19 vaccination (dose two happens today!) which means I am one step closer to seeing family that I have so desperately missed. Though there is no photo as my daughter does not want photos shared online, Olivia reached the 6 month old milestone. Thankfully, I do get sometimes permissions from Heidi to share Vivi and Winston… and this month’s Winston just made me laugh! Those curled up toes. That hat! (Bald headed babies are just the best, yes?) I have been enlisted to do some hat sewing, which I hope to get to this week!
I enjoyed seeing the movement of the sunrise as it inched its way up from the back corner of my yard heading to its summer rising point.
Despite winter wanting to cling on a bit, the signs of spring kept gaining ground.
And that was March… I hope your March had some high points! See you all back here on Wednesday for some unraveling!
But February made me shiver… — Don Mclean, American Pie
As I put this look back together Don Mclean’s song kept echoing in my head. A melancholy song for a melancholy month… a month of some hard emotional lifting. A month that the weather, miraculously, matched my mood.
But as I look back, I see glimmers of hope… increasing daylight, a gift of flowers that remind me how very much I am loved, a brilliant young poet who speaks to my heart, not one but two finished objects, and a wee doggy who is simply the best companion – especially on the hard days. Oh, and the snowdrops closed out the month, gently reminding me that these melancholy days are not permanent.
“JANUARY,
The first month of the year,
A perfect time to start all over again,
Changing energies and deserting old moods,
New beginnings, new attitudes”
― Charmaine J Forde
Charmaine Forde seemed to know exactly what I was trying to achieve in January. Starting over, changing, deserting old moods, new beginnings, and yes, new attitudes!
I confess these were not easy tasks…they were easier to write than they were to do. It was a month that brought changes though. My son moved to Wisconsin…all on his own. (okay one friend helped him pack up the truck and unload it…but still, no help from me outside of “distant encouragement and a sympathetic ear”) I am trying to wrap my head around how I will manage this change into seeing kids this year…my hopes are that we can all travel to one place and gather together. I am really not wanting to even just “plan something only in my head” because if that did not happen, I think it would be the end of what’s left of my sanity.
January had me thinking lots about a new start with my word – release. Lots of thinking…new beginnings for certain and wondering about deserting some old things… moods, feelings, pain. Hard work that won’t happen over night so I instead worked on releasing things…a closet clean out, a yarn clean out, a project clean out. Gosh, those all felt so good! Progress sometimes needs space to happen. So I started making some space to do that work!
Less photos this month, and that felt very good too!
We had diverse temperatures from some warm days to some bitterly cold ones, and we got some snow! Spinning and knitting and an AC Aurora! And the best bit… Madam Vice President!!
Happy Monday everyone! See you all back here on Wednesday!
