May Flowers...and More

It is evident that blogging is not my highest priority at present. I think about it a lot but never find time to do anything about it.

We've made a few visits to the new house--for the necessary things like home inspection (passed!), then meetings with flooring and carpet and landscaping and countertop chaps and carpenter (custom bookcases!)who have measured and are providing estimates and are helping us plan installations. And last week I did a walk-through with our painter, who is female, while the appraiser did his job (passed!) We've made all our choices and materials are ordered, with the exception of the paint as we continue to mull colour. This is the granite we'll have in the kitchen:



Whenever I'm in town for meetings, I drive past the house to see how it's changing as the season advances. Are the rhododendrons blooming? How big are the hosta leaves? Where do the trees make shade patterns now that they're leafing out?

Meanwhile at the Lodge, spring is gloriously colourful. The weather has been sunny and warm, many of the trees now have leaves. The forsythia is flowering:



The daffodils have faded now, the tulips are beginning to come into their own. My snakeshead fritillary gives me joy.



And this little primrose, which came to me in a little pot on my birthday last year, 14 months ago, and is now a garden star.



Not far from where it blooms is the long-time dwelling of my friend the Toad. I'm going to miss him greatly, but perhaps there's a new friend waiting for me in Concord.



I probably won't see many of these after we're living in the city...



But I hope, with the right feeders and seed, to attract the cousins of my rose-breasted grosbeaks...



...and the purple finches and goldfinches and cardinal and chickadees and blue jays and juncoes and tufted titmice and nuthatches and hummingbirds (not yet arrived) and orioles (I eagerly watch for their return!) That male grosbeak turned up today. Last year he arrived on the 4th of May, the year before on the 5th of May. I have 19 years' worth of records. Whether or not the Lodge's next owners will be birders remains to be seen. I certainly hope so, for the sake of my feathered friends.

Yesterday we opened up the lake cottage, but have no idea how much time we'll be spending there this spring, or even in summer. Due to a crises in turning on the water system (leaking intake pipe, busted valve down in the boathouse), it wasn't an option this week, and that's all right because I've got much to accomplish. I'm hoping to make enough good progress on packing this week that I can have a couple of days beside the Big Lake next week.



I look forward to getting the kayak out of the kitchen and into the water!



In this limbo period between planning the move and actually moving, I find myself thinking a lot about writing. I take some time every day to read, which often inspires the desire to write. I have two very different projects that require attention, finishing a manuscript and resuming digital conversion of backlist titles. My only opportunities to work on one or the other will only occur at the Lake. Here at the Lodge, packing up our possessions--or weeding them out to be given away to charities--is a far higher priority! And in its own particular way, a very creative enterprise!