Frog songs and a salamander

I was out walking with my brother today and we came upon the most magical sound. It was coming from a small pond about 100′ from our rural dirt road. It was loud, in complex rhythms that were ever-changing. We decided to check it out by getting closer to see if we could get a glimpse of the singers. When we reached the edge of the pond we could see many small frogs floating on the surface and as we stood still and watched and listened we could see several pairs mating by the far shore. It was hard to see what kind of frog we were observing but we stood and listened to the cacophony for a long time.

Farther up the road toward home we came across a spotted salamander in the road. The sad part about this one is that it was dead. It made me sad since it is unusual to see this kind – it spends most of its life underground. You can see a previous post about one I found earlier with a great picture here.

What an amazing Creator we have! I’m so thankful to God for the beauty and variety we have in our world and the senses we have to enjoy it. Take time today to stop and observe, to listen, to touch, to smell, to taste – to appreciate what we so often take for granted.

Artgirlz doll

While I was in Chicago at the International Quilt Festival two weeks ago, I picked up a sheet of directions to make a little doll pin by stamping designs on card stock. I didn’t want to purchase the stamps, nor did I want to make it out of card stock, and I already had the cute little metal arms and legs (by Artgirlz) from last year. So I got creative to make my version of the doll. I had bought the polymer clay face bead some time ago and decided to construct the body out of timtex to give her some structure. Then I had to make some clothes and put her together. Here is the result. Fun!

Progress 2

There were no workmen here today since the weatherman was predicting lots of rain and thunderstorms. It turned out to be mostly foggy and heavy mist, still pretty nasty to be out in and I’m sure they were happier in their indoor job. But here is what the barn looked like yesterday. There is a lot of little finishing work to do at this point before the sheathing goes on and the end walls are erected on the second floor. But maybe, with some good weather we’ll have a roof by the end of next week.  And actually, if you look really closely at the trees in the woods you can see budding trees.  Ah, the colors of spring!

Progress

After a short period of deconstruction to make access for under-the-eaves storage, it’s starting to look like a barn.

Shoots

Perhaps Spring is finally on the way. Trees in the woods are decidedly redder and buds are just beginning to swell. Up on our mountain the snow is slowly retreating thanks to bright sunshine and 60 degree temps, allowing small patches of grass to show through. There is the gurgle of streams everywhere from winter run-off. Many of our shrubs and perennials out by the stone wall are still covered in white but we were out poking in the garden by the house today and discovered shoots – real honest-to-goodness shoots coming up out of the ground where we planted bleeding heart plants. Most everything else is still closed up tight against the elements, but these little shoots are an encouraging sign. Perhaps…

Dormers, mud, and Mt Washington

The builders have made some noticeable progress on the second floor of our new barn. We have about half the upstairs walls, including the three dormers on the front. The workmen have many of the boards cut and ready to go and the walls are going up quickly. I checked on the work this morning, climbing up the ladder to see the second floor and noticed our fabulous view. It is amazing what we can see on a clear day.

Mud season is again upon us. The melting snow is producing rivulets in lawns, fields and along the edges of roads. In some cases the erosion is pretty severe but the road grader has been diligent in keeping the pot holes and deep ruts under control. On my walk today I found this mud puddle with interesting sediment patterns. Now how can I show layers like that in a quilt?

Oh, and the view from those dormers? Was I ever surprised to learn that we could see all the way to Mount Washington in NH on a very clear day. Click on the photos to enlarge them so you can read the fine print and actually see what the arrow is pointing at.

Survival

It has been an interesting week. While I was away at the International Quilt Festival in Chicago, a huge nor’easter was bearing down on New England. It dumped about 16″ of heavy, wet snow on our mountain home, with fierce winds and power outages. Fortunately we have a generator that kicked in after some prodding and ran for 20 hours. Also, we somehow dodged the real brunt of the storm which really did a number on Rutland and Brandon. But since I was arriving in Hartford, CT in the teeth of the storm, I decided to head south to James’ place to spend the night, rather than attempt a 2 hour drive north in the dark in deteriorating conditions. Monday I headed home in heavy rain most of the way, but made it just fine. The storm dealt a lethal blow to our modem and we waited until yesterday for the new one to arrive. It is amazing to me how dependent we have become on the internet and email, that to be without it for several days left us feeling inconvenienced and disconnected. How did we ever cope before?

The workmen didn’t come on Monday and were diverted to another indoor job on Tuesday. They came yesterday and worked through the dreary day reinforcing the ceiling beams. Today was a sub-flooring day and it was warm and sunny. It has been a while since we’ve seen the sun and it was a welcome change, not to mention the temps in the 60’s. Wow, what a day!

The quilt show was fabulous as always. My friend Colleen from Grand Rapids, MI met me in Chicago to see the show and we had 3 glorious days taking classes and workshops, seeing the incredible works of art – the quilts – and checking out the vendors with all their tempting wares. I came home with several pieces of silk, some hand-dyed cotton, some fun beads, 2 hand made art buttons, and an assortment of very cool fibers. The trip was such an inspiration and it was so good to spend time with Colleen to renew our friendship. Can’t wait until next year!

Delivery

Yesterday, while the weather was clear and the temps a balmy 40 something, we were supposed to take delivery on the large laminated beam that will hold up the second floor. Meanwhile the workers were busy cutting floor joists and prepping other areas so that they would be ready to go once the beam was in place. No beam. Quitting time came and went without the truck coming. With the big storm slated for today we thought we wouldn’t see the workers until tomorrow.

But they showed up bright and early this morning, with heavy snow falling and several inches already on the ground. We thought they were crazy. They set up a little tented area where they could work and hauled out ladders and a few tools. Then we found out why. It seems the big truck with the beam and other floor support materials was headed up this morning, because if he didn’t come today, it would be another week. The operator of the big crane unloader is going on vacation (some place warm and sunny to scuba dive – sigh!) and there is nothing else to do without that beam in place. So it was today, or sit and wait.

Here are the men pretending to work while they wait for the truck to come. The truck operator used his big off-loading arm as a crane to lift the beam in place after it was cut to the right length.

We retrieved the little piece of cut-off beam. These are two pictures – a cross section and along one side – that show the laminate structure. I love the texture. And it is still snowing….

Construction begins

We got word from our builder last Friday that the workers were definitely coming on Monday to start construction of our barn. The foundation was covered with several inches of snow that had to be cleared. This was done on Friday so it would be clean and dry for work to begin. But thanks to mother nature, on Easter Sunday we had another 3 inches of the white stuff that had to be swept away on Monday morning. So as the framing wood was being delivered, the men were busily clearing a spot to pile the wood and set up their equipment.

The first walls went up yesterday and the downstairs exterior walls were all completed today and sheathed.

We are so excited to finally be started. Aside from the 4 extra pickup trucks in the driveway, the “foreman’s office” (port-a-potty), the equipment trailer, the muddy mess we know the driveway will become and the trampled gardens and lawn that will need attention, we can’t wait to reclaim the space in the house that’s being used for storage and to retire the “ghetto garage”, our little vinyl storage room that has valiantly withstood winter wind and snow. Soon.

Oh, and did I mention that the weathermen are predicting another major winter storm for tomorrow? Yikes!

Vesta

Yes, it’s true. Vesta, whose name means “guardian of the sacred fire” has joined the family of sock creatures. While she does like to bask by the warm crackling hearth, she also likes the fluffy white stuff. After all, it is Spring in Vermont and what’s not to like about three more inches of new snow! She has also taken a shine to Fenton and the two of them are moving to Connecticut with their new guardians James (Fenton) and Ellie (Vesta). They will live near each other and I’m sure they’ll be getting together for lots of play dates.