Breakin the buds!

Spring is coming, finally, and I can tell you why: We have ants! As of two weeks ago, I've been finding the odd ant here and there in the house. Large ants. Bitey ants!

But that's not the only Bitey thing I've brought into the home. We also took home our Valley Bulldog puppy, Penny on the 22nd! She is the bringer of breakdowns and gnasher of unarmed feet, and has come a long way since the day we picked her up. She is now capable of "sit" and often, "come", can walk well on a leash, is partially housetrained, if we clue in when she is asking to go out. She is now starting to understand the notion of fetch, which will make the boyfriend very pleased, as this is what he wanted, as criteria, for our dog. She is by no means a perfect puppy, but we have taken no break in training her to do exactly what we want right away.

This morning I woke to see two pheasants strolling through the overgrown thicket in the back of the yard. It's a little disappointing that I'll be clearing a large portion of it and taking away a safe space for them to pass through, but I've got to have my vegetables, and a garden. I started some seeds yesterday for tomatoes, and as we go through the month, I'll start more annuals and vegetables. I'm just antsy to get out there and start pulling the weeds and marking off where we want the garden tilled.

The front yard is going to be the biggest candidate for a makeover this year. And both yards desperately need grass seeding, since mud collects everywhere. I also need to start getting some bat houses built, to keep the mosquitoes at a more acceptable level. It's pretty bad here.

So now, my eye is on the tree buds. I'm waiting. I'm excited to see all at once, the properties, yard after yard after yard, explode in a yellow fury of Forsythia. Bring it on!