Mutton-Head Sort of Day

Bwahaha!

Yes, at this point it is a lamb sort of day. It is 73*. The windows are open and the sound of beagles baying is wafting in through them. (Which contributes to the mutton-head quality of the day!)

But already I see the forecasted storm clouds moving in. But seeing as how we've had six flawless spring days in a row I won't complain!

Anita's Big Adventure

You will remember that Anita came to live with us in December 2011. Anita is a Colorado Blue Spruce (called Fat Albert- which I thought was so rude because Anita is a girl and she's just fluffy!) The original plan was that she was going to be our Christmas tree (which she performed without a flaw) and then take the place of the dying flowering pear tree on the north side of the front yard... but the rub was that said flowering pear decided to live and thrive so Anita was out of luck!

I didn't know what to do. So for the next 15 months Anita lived-

• on the deck
• in the side yard on top of the peach tree stump
• on the front porch decorated as a Christmas tree 
• on the front porch as a naked tree (look out of the way)

But Anita needed a permanent home. And today she finally got one!

The first step was to move her from the front porch to the backyard. She is a little prickly (hey, people called her Fat Albert!) So I yoinked her off the porch into my wheelie-cart (which I'd love to get a twin for!) and wheeled her to her new PERMANENT HOME.

Since this is the first tree I've named I thought she needed a little bit of journaling... after I trimmed off some bottom branches she is 36" wide... (I love how the grass shadows highlight the appropriate number- a little serendipity there!)

And 45" tall. Anita you are so big! I think it will be fun to watch her grow over the coming years.

It was an absolutely perfect lambie March day... look at that sky!

And as long as I was in the backyard...

I decided to tidy up a different peach tree stump (I trimmed fruit trees this week). Sadly this is the second fruit tree I've lost to some kind of bore-beetle.

But because I'd been using all of my Grammie-arm-muscles (aka Relief Society arms) they were sore and weak. I couldn't put enough pressure on the saw to make much progress with my little chain saw. What to do? What to do?

I know!! Use my strong legs! That little saw just went through the rest of the stump like it was butter! There is just no substitute for strength!

Yay little-Joanie! Your short stocky legs paid off again! (Even if they are painfully white!)

Tender Mercies for Jude

"The Lord is good to all:
and his tender mercies are over all his works." Psalms 145:9

Our little Jude was born with a moderate VSD (a hole in his heart). His Hero Mama has worked tirelessly for the last 10 months to help him heal and be strong. I cannot say enough good things about Jessica! She is a wonderful, spiritually guided Mama. I always know that her choices are what is right for her and her family. There is such power in that for me. She has researched and implemented so many techniques and nutritional factors in this sweet little boy's life. She is such a dedicate and loving mother. There is NONE better!(period)

Part of that healing process involved open heart surgery this last Tuesday (as in three days ago). There have been much faith and many prayers offered up on Jude's behalf. There are people all over the world praying for this sweet little man: Hong Kong, Jerusalem, Arkansas, California and Illinois to name a few!

Here are Mama and Jude pre-surgery. Can you believe how tiny this little gown is? (all photos are from photo messages from Doug and Jessica) Oh, I do love that little face!

Jude's surgery went smoothly. This is the patching material used to close the hole in his heart. The surgeon said that the hole was about 3/8". I had to make that have relevance to my mind so I did some research. The human heart is about the size of that human's fist. So even though we think that 3/8" is small, compare that to the size of a golf ball!

This ubber-loved little boy is always so happy. This is Jude at less than 48 hours post surgery.

Now for the remainder of the abundant blessings from our Lord! The original projection was that Jude would be in the hospital for 4-6 days...  

Jude is coming home from the hospital TODAY! 

(Yes, that decision was made less than 72 hours after surgery!)

Truly The Lord is good to all: and his tender mercies are over all his [children]!

Swine-Deer Repellant

Our first year in Springville (this is our 9th spring here), I was delighted to see beautiful tulips in my island planter! I was thrilled! I went out and took photos of them in the evening... AND IT'S A GOOD THING TOO!@$#

The next morning all of the tulip heads were pulled off! Having just moved from So CA I thought, "Punk neighbor kids!" WRONG!! Punk SWINE-DEER! That was the beginning of the battle over the tulips. I tried several repellants, including a very expensive one called Roe-pel! Yeah, they just thought it was a tasty salad dressing.

Our snow just melted this last week so I went out today to see if I had any tulips peaking up through the cold winter ground. I count myself lucky that this is the only clump that have been munched!

But those *svine-deer* (think Col Klink) ravaged my Hens and Chicks! PUNKS!

The good news is that a couple of years ago I found a dandy natural deer repellant AND I'm going to share it with you.

Swine-deer repellant
1/2 c milk
1 egg
1 tsp garlic
1 tsp Cayenne pepper
1-2 T dish soap
1-2 T oil

I whisk all of this together and put it in my watering can and fill it up with water (about 1 1/2 gallons) then sprinkle it on and around the plants I want them to leave alone. It has worked so far. You need to re-apply when it rains. The plants seem to like it too.

What a Difference Three Days Make!

I posted a couple of photos back (way back) on the first... I would never have guessed this much snow would be melted just 72 hours later!

I'm just grateful to see some grass... even if it is covered with deer poo!

3/6/13 Edit...
I'm just finishing up my blog book getting it ready to print and ran across this statement from November 10

"It started snowing yesterday morning and didn't stop for the next 24 hours! Those of you who know me will remember that-

I LOVE THE SNOW!

Yes, if there is still snow on the ground in March it might start to wear a little thin but particularly with the first big storm of the season-

I'M JUST LIKE A LITTLE KID!"

And amazingly I've only had one day of *I can't stand this snow any longer!*

Lion-Day

I've always liked to keep track of the *March comes in like a lion- out like a lamb* thing. But it has only been since I started keeping a blog that I've really been able to remember 31 days later what the 1st of March was like!

This year, 2013, is an OFFICIAL LION DAY! All you have to do is look at the sky! But then we can add insult to injury-

A view of the side of my house, looking north (with Maple Mt wreathed in clouds)...

And the front of my house, looking south...

See that berm of snow to the right of my mail box?  That is the pile 15' beyond the mailbox that ate Fernando!  AND IT IS STILL HERE!  We may still have snow in June! Not really, but sometimes it feels that way...

So what of previous years?

2009- Lamb all the way; 62 degrees!
2010- Lamb day as well; high in the 50s!
2011- Lamb day again! Sunny and warm.
2012- A Lion-sort of day! 3" of new snow on top of 12" ( we got most of last winter's snow in March! and we were glad of it.)