a favorite place, a really good day

 

a few more…

Grandpa JP

Sophie has a very talented great-grandmother.

hard to believe that these two aren’t related by blood.. look at those cheeks!

Momma & big sister-to-be

Can’t wait for Sophie to arrive in May — so soon!

lily

watching blackbirds scatter through the trees

on repeat lately.. and it makes me ache. so ready to move past all of this schmoopiness. i’m obviously in need of some more positive music..

too much

malakai

at a recent baby shower.. he was the cutest dude there, hands down.

re-greening

Good Morning.

It’s finally feeling like spring, I just watched a dense fog creep across the lake towards us.. it’s chilly and sprinkling. A whole french press was needed to convince me to head out to the farmers market this morning.

<<<

My aunt Jeanne is my favorite aunt for many reasons. She’s sweet and selfless, worrisome in an endearing way.. always encouraging and enthusiastic. I spent a LOT of time at her house when I was a kid.. there were a couple years in high school when I spent every available evening and weekend there.  “She practically raised you..” — my mom, on the subject.

Jeanne lives on a pretty big piece of property southeast of Ann Arbor. When we were kids they had a pool (with a slide!), a giant field for a backyard (complete with pond and go-karts), and a barn.

The barn had a big hay loft that we would climb in.. Kool-Aid in one hand, a barn kitten in another – I’m not really sure why, nor do I remember how they got back down… The barn also had about 6 stalls that periodically held horses. Spanky, the family pony was the longest running resident. He bucked me off 3 times. We were never really buds. There was a goat named Goaty, he was fun until he started head-butting us down the stairs. Needless to say, it was a place where we ran and biked and swam and skinned our knees.

The barn has certainly seen better days, but I’m excited to report that it might soon be home to a brood of chickens.

This potential chicken coop/stall/room needs a lot of work, mainly patching and securing in order to protect the hens from the multiple raccoons that have taken up residence in the hay loft, but we’re excited.

farm dog

this is Duckie

>>>

soon to be chicken coop?

more photos tomorrow.

typical

7:30a One dog wakes me, the other could sleep with me until noon.

7:45a

8:00a

8:15a

another life; last spring

i’ve spent so much time this month wishing i could go back.

back to people, back to places.. back to conversations and decisive moments. sometimes i wish for change, sometimes i simply wish i could go back to watch the minutes unfold, re-experiencing them to gather a little more understanding.

what a waste of time. i am where i am. i did what i did. i’ve got what i’ve got. it is what it is.

my favorite spring flower won’t show it’s face around here until May. maybe it’s time to start looking forward..

+++

started a few too many tomatoes today.. fingers crossed that 1/2 of them survive the forgetfulness that is Catherine Marguerite Carty..

i pledge allegiance..