Spring Has Sprung

Spring has sprung, with birth and re-birth everywhere.

The poem Spring Is Sprung by Spike Milligan, a UK comedian, writer, musician, poet, playwright and actor:
“Spring is sprung. The grass is riz.
I wonder where the birdies is?
The bird is on the wing.
Now isn’t that absurd?

I always thought the wing was on the bird!

Spring has sprung, the buds all break;

Spring has sprung and nature wakes.
Spring has sprung, winter’s gone
Now we sing our happy song
Tra-la, la-la, la-la, lay
Sweep the old dead leaves away.”

And now that the Pin Oak have finally dropped their leaves, I can finish leaf clean up from all the flower beds.
Also, what better way to end this week, than with a trip to Carol's farm where there were lots of babies everywhere.

Monday 4/22 -  I woke up with a very sore upper, right back.  It was hard to breath and the pain radiated around to under my ribs in front.  I think I sprung a muscle back there.  The Wellness Center (gym) finally got a replacement instructor for the Ballroom Aerobics class so I was going to try that out, but wasn't sure I could turn, twist, or raise my arms it hurt so bad.






Well, it turns out the dance class doesn't start until next month, so I went to the Yoga class.  What a good stretch, and I immediately realized what two exercises I had done Saturday to pull my right latissimus dorsi.  I am not sure why it didn't hurt Sunday, except I might have aggravated it overnight when 'tossing' the cat off our bed.


I had my usual lunch, a big tossed salad, while sitting out on a lounge chair.  I read some and wanted to nap, but it was just too hot.  So I decided to go for a ride.









Amiga and I headed out across the winter pasture that was supposed to be empty of horses, but we discovered Maverick who started following us.

We left him standing at the back gate, and continued into the woods and down to Daddy's Creek.  I haven't been down there in a long time, so really enjoyed the change in scenery.

The creek was high and running fast.  But I could see from the debris along the bank that it has flooded up onto the trail and into the woods a number of times.

Look at all the May Apple growing along the trail.  Amiga held up well, did a great job of staying slow and watching her footing, while we navigated the sometimes quite rocky trail.  When we got to the steep hill at the waterfall, I chose to walk her up it because I didn't want her to overexert herself.  She did a wonderful job on this ride.

I had time to rake up leaves and water the grass seed once home, and then watched more Blue Blood episodes in an effort to finish season two.

Tuesday 4/23 - It was a beautiful morning with doors and windows opened to let in the fresh air.  The cats were enjoying the screened porch.
A little tit-for-tat.













I skipped a weight workout, with my right latissimus dorsi still being quite sore but did an hour on the elliptical.





Blue birds still come to investigate the house, but none have decided to move in yet.

I moved the whole pile of wet leaves from the oasis to the other side of the creek (seen on left side of fallen tree in the photo).  It took multiple trips and well over an hour.  I also watered the grass seed again, which has started to germinate.


After Bible study I went straight to the barn to horse around and partake in line dancing.



Patty was just finishing up with Zorro.

She has been so good for him.  Pat and she take a look at Zorro's feet.



I was torn between riding and dancing, so did a little of both.  Amiga sure got wound up out in the lawn area.
















I got a call to sub in Bunco so hurried and untacked Amiga, rushed home, fed and walked the dog, changed, and scurried off.







There were twelve of us ladies to fill three tables.  We started with drinks and appetizers and then played this fast paced dice game.  It is completely based on luck, there is no thinking involved, which was nice for a change.  These three ladies, Alice, Ann, and Josephine, won the door prizes.  I got three Bunkos and tied for second place winning $8.00, which is better than what Joe did at Poker.  Whoot whoot.


Wednesday 4/24 - While I was getting dressed to go to the Dr., I noticed a tick attached to the middle of my back which I could not reach.  Joe was gone and Patty and Karen did not answer my text so, I headed to the doctor's office with my hitchhiker.  The nurse removed the tick and then the Dr. went over all my lab results.

The good news- Cholesterol level good, blood sugar great, Vitamin D finally up into the (lowest end) of normal range, mammogram normal, and colon polyp non-cancerous!  The bad news - TSH is over 5 - diagnosis is hypothyroidism.  And my bone density (especially lumbar vertebrae) is bad and I have also been diagnosed with osteoporosis.  Levothyroxine was prescribed and treatment options for osteoporosis were discussed.

I hit the gym (right next to Dr. office) for a few hours, came home and sat in the sun (need that vitamin D), and then went to the barn.  Jan and I rode for awhile, but our options for where we can ride is really limited.  We also practiced the parade route.

Joe was at poker the second night in a row since he would be taking the weekend off.









After dinner, Maggie and I walked the back nine of Druid while the sun was setting.  I washed a load of work/barn clothes to pack and Joe came home early from poker so we could watch Survivor together, but it was late for me.

Thursday 4/25 - I hopped out of bed early, took my first thyroid pill, waited 45 minutes and then continue my normal routine of OJ, daily supplements, peanut butter on English muffin, and nice black tea.  This red breasted grosbeak was at the feeder.

I did another load of laundry, made a quick trip to the grocery, packed a suitcase, and started to load the SUV.  Joe had to run errands, and by the time he returned, Bernnadette (his old friend from work at Nims) also arrived.







We had a nice lunch at Stonehenge and then Patty joined us for a pontoon ride.  It was a tad chilly, but at least it didn't rain.  It is always fun to look at the houses on the lake and watch the golfers.



We dropped in on the Conference Center and Bernadette and I walked home from there.

Bernadette soon headed to her hotel, Joe took Maggie to Patty's, and I finished preparing the house for us to be gone.




We hit the road before 5:00 hitting some rain as we headed northwest.  Clouds prevailed the whole trip.  We arrived at our Air B&B at 10pm, having lost an hour because of the time change.

Friday 4/26 - We were off for Carol's before 7am, stopped for breakfast, and arrived at Windswept Farm at 10:00.  I had to check out the kittens first thing, even before I took my jacket off.





Three cute little kittens.



















Next we went outside to look around.  Hercules was quick to come see us too.  He is so handsome for such an old turkey.





















Carol put out some baking soda to help neutralize sheep's acidic stomachs.  Pete (the donkey) came to say hello.



Pete can have a bit of an attitude sometimes.


Gray American Tree Frog I found in a puddle in the fold of a tarp.









The three bottle babies after getting fed, were ready to take a nap.





While waiting for Greg to arrive, Joe got started on an easy job, to build slats for the two large openings in Carol's old red barn.   Carol and I dismantled the temporary wall of pallets and old gates and stacked them neatly to the side.  Joe measured and sawed the lumbar and screwed in the brackets to hold each board.

  He did a nice job with this.



Once Greg arrived we started preparing to cut down the big dead poplar in the back yard.  First we dismantled the chain link fence and laid it on the ground.

Then the sawing began.  This is the scariest part I think.

Greg took a moment to rest and discuss the progress with Joe.

The wind (quite strong) was out of the NW and would help to blow the tree down in the direction we wanted it to fall.  However, the wedge was wedged and needed some coaxing to get it out.














Once the final cut was made, the tree came crashing down, right where we wanted it.  It could not have gone any better.  The wind and Greg's expert cutting made it happen as planned.  It is interesting that the wind was in the opposite direction the rest of the weekend.  I love how God helps us.

Next the guys started cutting off tree branches, but we stopped the action to have a lunch break.

After lunch Greg got to work replacing the old sink in Carol's bathroom, with a new vanity.  Joe cut tree branches and we girls fed the bottle babies.


















Then we started hauling branches to the burn pile.









It was too windy to start a fire until later in the day when the wind finally died down some.  In this (video), when Carol is putting the bottle babies in with the boys, you can see the larger pile we would be feeding into the smaller burn pile.



Carol's neighbor Richard came to cut the tree into lumber for his wood burning stove.  Had we not had his help, we never would have gotten the yard cleared and the fence back up.

The chain link fence did get a little bent by the tree landing on it, even though it was flat on the ground.


Carol and I worked with Richard for well over an hour, loading logs into his truck and hauling sticks and limbs to the fire pile.

I helped Joe reassemble the one section of chain link fencing.

Greg ran into lots of complications and he and Joe ran into town to get more parts.  But Joe could now finish his fencing slat project on the second opening while Greg continued work on the plumbing.

Richard and us girls ran into difficulty rolling some sections of the tree because the branch stubs (after the branch broke off) had been driven into the ground when the tree fell.










Look at the size of this branch off the main trunk, and the depth it went into the ground.  The little log was placed at the crick to help give us leverage as we tried to get it out of the ground.






I continued moving tree debris and rolled logs to the outside of where the fencing would be put back.














Eventually Richard finished the sawing and left with a full load.

Carol had started dinner cooking (a bit of a challenge with the water turned off) and did farm chores like watering the sheep (the outside hydrant was still functional).




We enjoyed a great dinner Carol had prepared.

While eating we reflected on a good day's work done...











...tree down, lots of brush cleaned up, old sink out of the bathroom.

Greg did get the pluming back together so we had running water again.










We got the fire started and enjoyed it after dinner, drinking a beer (the boys also had a cigar), and planning for the next day's work.

Saturday 4/27 - Carol caught the morning sunrise.  I was soon outside to get the fire going from the hot coals.










Joe and Greg had stayed at a hotel in Crawfordsville and arrived back at the farm by 10am.


Joe started demolition on the silo shed, putting the door in the burn pile and then pulling the first wall down using a chain and the SUV.  He partly dismantled it, which was very time consuming.














Meanwhile, Greg worked several more hours at finishing up vanity installation.










While Joe got the second wall down and partly dismantled Carol and I started picking up brush and limbs from around the tree behind the red barn.



Once the roof was down, it was decided that it would take forever to dismantle, and it would be easier to burn it right there, so we did.

I continued adding branches to the second fire and Joe sat to rest and enjoy a cigar.


















Joe and Greg worked on making another feeder for Carol, and then went to golf after lunch.



The lambs took a nap after their bottle.
















And the kittens were also in a milk induced 'coma.'

I raked piles of brush from the yard, getting sprinkled on a few times and finally quit when the skies really opened up.








Carol and I both showered and once the guys finished their nine holes of golf, we went to town to eat.  We brought in our own beer and Joe had to use his Boy Scout pocket knife to open the bottles.  Greg and Joe headed to the hotel and Carol and I back to the farm.  All four of us 'crashed' early for the night, sore, tired, and spent.

Sunday 4/28 - Greg and Joe showed up at 7:30am, before I was even out of my PJ's.  The temperature had really dropped, it was still damp from overnight rain, and just plain cold.

The boys started out in the pole barn working on repairing Carol's riding lawn mower.  Soon they moved into the house with some parts, where it was warmer and they had more light.




At this point, while brownies were cooking in the oven, we thought we smelled propane.  And very soon, it was quite strong.  The furnace and oven were turned off, windows opened, and a call made to the gas company.  While waiting for the gas guy to come, because the house was so cold, I bundled up and got back to work outside with raking and collecting brush.  I didn't get the bonfire going again due to gas leak and wood that was still damp.

The guys had to run back to town to pick up needed mower parts (it was more of a re-building project).  Eventually the gas problem was diagnosed (the oven gas valve leaked) so that line was shut off and all was safe.  Chris and Travis arrived, Joe and Greg got back from town, the house had warmed back up and we all enjoyed lunch together.






It was clearing off a little, but still windy and cold.  Chris and Travis got to work on re-doing the chain link fence and I got the fire going and continued putting brush on it.














Joe and Greg worked and worked at fixing Carol's mower.  They had planned to go hiking, but the mower took a lot longer than expected, including another trip to town for more parts.








Carol and I herded Pete into the barn, where we confined him in a stall to work with him.






While we gave Pete a break to let him calm down, I did more brush clean up and checked on Chris and Travis.






Hercules seems to be supervising them...
...while Carol and Joe seemed to be supervising Greg.






















Chris and Travis finished getting up the new chain link fence and Greg finally got the mower up and running!

 Carol and I had gotten back to Pete, we brushed and combed him, which he didn't seem to mind too much.














And then we tried three different halters on him, which he did very well tolerating.  This leather one was way too big.

Chris and Travis had started a second fencing project.

The Baker boys finished replacing badly bent welded wire with the old chin link.  It runs along the side of the pole barn.





By now, everyone was ready for a break.  We gathered around the fire and enjoyed libations, snacks, and conversing.






I was still not done with yard clean up, so got up occasionally to get another bunch of brush to throw on the fire.  And I did get it done.  Look how clean the yard finally was.






Greg packed up and hit the road.  Then after Carol and I exchanged photos, Joe and I packed up.  We ate supper with the three Bakers.  This final photo of the bonfire shows it almost burnt down and no more brush left to burn.




On the road for less than three hours, Joe and I arrived at the Air B&B he frequents in Louisville when he plays poker.  It was a big, old Victorian house.  Joe was going to go to the casino before bed, but was tired and had no clean clothes to wear.  So a beer for him and a little computer time for me and soon we both hit the hay.