May flowers

May brings the Ontario provincial flower out in great abundance, here is one of the many trilliums lining the forest floor.   The spring smells are woody and wonderful this time of year.

Look who is awake!

It is not just Bob who is happy to see the spring grass growing!  This fellow is pictured about 30 feet from our back porch, munching on the new shoots in the lawn over the septic system.  Harley was in the house at the time, so I did a quick tap dance on the porch and this was frightening enough to re-route his munching to another spot further from the house.  Teaching him to be shy of human habitation will contribute to his health and longevity, being friendly and accessible does not do him any favors.   Over the next several weeks, Harley barks (which he does seldom and only for serious matters) and chases several bear visitors out of the yard.   So far we are co-existing with over 400 acres outside the "Harley home zone" that the bears are fine to hang out in.

Sandhill cranes return

Mid April brings the Sandhill Cranes back for the summer.   We think that they make their nests next down in the marshy area by the lake.  They are shown here making their ethereal prehistoric call sound as they fly to their nests after daytime feeding in our meadow.   If you close your eyes and listen to them, you can imagine being here tens of thousands of years ago.

It is still pretty frosty in the mornings but April brings some lovely mild days.  Not the stake marking the location for a barn with the house in the background.  The marine freight storage containers have been handy during construction (shown here between the future barn location and the house).

A dusting for good measure

Early April brings a last dusting of snow so that we do not take spring for granted just yet.

More equine visitors

Spring brings hungry equine visitors, good thing we have hay stored and hitching posts ready!   Note the handy bridle rack formed by the "arms" of the red pine post.   The girls came in for drinks and munchies too!

West side outer soffit done

Catherine puts some finishing touches on the trim for the west side soffit, using the pole scaffolding for support.