Signs of spring

The kiddos and I were so excited to some green and purple in our landscape, especially after seeing mostly white these past few weeks (it takes a while for over two feet of snow to melt!)

Ds8 was able to grab a picture of an eastern bluebird pair that has recently taken up residence in our birdhouse (that boy has an uncanny ability to get great pics of birds).

And, of course, one of my favorite signs that spring is approaching ~ clothes-drying weather!

Winter Nature ~ Woodpecker Sighting

During mealtimes (especially breakfast and lunch) we enjoy watching the different birds that visit our "bird tree". It sits just beyond our backyard and we have a great view of it from our kitchen table.

We've seen our share of robins, house wrens and cardinals, and even an occasional bluebird...but I don't believe that we have ever had a woodpecker visit our tree before, at least not that we've seen. While we were eating lunch today my 8yo excitedly announced that he thought he saw a woodpecker in the tree. And sure enough, when I looked closely I was able to catch a glimpse of him!

If you look closely, you'll see a spot of red, that's the woodpecker's head...

Our bird tree has been pretty empty this winter ~ we were so excited to see some birds return today ~ and even more excited that a new-to-us bird visited. We're definitely looking forward to spring and hopefully more visits from our bird friends.

The warmest place in the house

Ds3 has staked his claim on the warmest spot in our home ~ right on top of the heat vent :)

(don't worry, we have a heat pump so the vent isn't really that warm)

Mountains of snow

The digging out from the Blizzard of 2010 has begun.

There are mountains of snow everywhere you look.

This is a picture of our backyard fence, buried underneath over 4 feet of snow.

And a picture from inside our basement ~ the snow comes halfway up the window.

By mid-morning, the sun had warmed everything up ~ it was time to take the younger kiddos out to explore all of the white stuff.

And still more snow!

Yesterday, ds8 worked hard to clear our deck of snow before the next storm hit.

The latest storm began yesterday afternoon.

By morning we had high winds and blowing snow ~ and more than 10 inches added to the snow already on the ground. We can barely see our neighbors' houses.

Dh and ds8 tried to get ahead by shoveling a bit this morning ~ but the wild winds brought them inside.

It's a blessing to be inside in a warm, cozy house while the blizzard rages outside :)

Snow, snow, and more snow

The snow started coming down late Friday morning ~ by Friday evening, things started looking like this...

I love the look of snow laying on the trees, it's such a peaceful sight.

On Saturday morning, our deck was loaded with snow, and it was still coming down.

The snow finally stopped falling around mid-day ~ dh and ds8 headed out to do some work in our driveway.

Final total (at least in our front yard) ~ 23 inches.

I headed out for a walk on Saturday afternoon to get some pictures of our neighborhood ~ before the sun went down and it got really cold.

Another tooth is gone

It must be tooth-losing season around here...ds8 lost his 5th tooth while eating breakfast yesterday morning :)