We moved to Nova Scotia eight years ago this week, at the beginning of a month of perfect summer days. I thought we had landed in paradise. But as the year(s) passed and the reality of country living became clearer, there were many times I realized that paradise has indeed been lost.

But this morning dawned a beautiful day 20C/68F, sunny and with a soft breeze from the southwest. After my shower, I went out on the side deck in my robe to hang my towel on the line – and paused to count the wonders of the day in the country:
• I was outside in my robe – and no one was around to see me
• I was hanging my towel on the clothesline
• The air smelled fresh and I knew my towel would come in with the same scent
• The only sounds were the birds singing for their mates

In the city, I would never have ventured outside without being fully dressed – there were too many people around. We didn’t have room for a clothesline and the clothes would have come in covered in fine black soot anyway. (Many urban areas have bans against clotheslines.) And in the city, the traffic and sirens were constant, and the neighbors’ music often reached us when we didn’t want to hear it.

Small blessings, perhaps, but they feed the soul and remind me again why we want to live in the country.

Okay, this week I cheated a bit and stepped outside the door to take this shot, but I’m so proud of my tulips.

I have huge gardens here but a couple of years ago I had surgery on my hand and spent the summer in a rehabilitation device that restricted all use. My gardens got away from me that year and I haven’t yet been able to get them back in control, so this show of non-weed color thrills me.

Please ignore the lawn in the background. The constant rain has made it lush but has prevented us from cutting it as often as it needs.

P.S. If you don’t have tulips but want some, why not send yourself some?

The garden in the middle of our front lawn is filled with wild rose bushes, which look sort of ratty this time of year. But the ground below is carpeted with daffodils–it’s a bumper crop of blooms this year.

I picked some for the dining room table. There seems to be five different varieties: a golden yellow King Alfred type, a paler yellow similarly shaped variety, cream petals with an orange center, white petals with a yellow center, and a double yellow bloom (most of these are past their prime so there’s not many in the bouquet).

Which is your favorite?

Don’t have daffodils in your garden? Send yourself some spring flowers. Here are some beautiful tulips.

In the springtime, the back portion of our 2.5 acres, usually swampy, becomes a small creek. I sighted this pair of mallard ducks out there today.

Since there’s a male and female, I’m hoping there’s a nest.

One of the perks of country living.

It’s springtime in the country, and lambing season is here. I took these photos yesterday afternoon on a brief driving tour of the area.

The babies are growing quickly but are still gangly.

Watching the domestic animals like these is just one of the small joys of country living!

I was out doing some volunteer work yesterday afternoon and came across this curious bovine in the barn at the edge of a dooryard. Not something I saw very often in the city…

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Is spring really here? There’s only a few low clouds in a beautiful blue sky and although the temperature is only just above freezing, the sun is warming the earth.

To the right, you can see the tamarack trees at the end of our drive. They are the only coniferous tree in Canada to lose their needles in the winter. I love them for it, although I’m glad that other species stay evergreen so we have some color during the winter months. No buds yet – but soon, soon!

Last week, we were on a road trip to southern Ontario where (then) it was balmy and spring-like. While we were gone, most of the snow here melted too and the first three days this week were wonderful and left me full of hope. Then I woke up this morning to this–and still snowing.

Will winter never end? It makes me so down….

We’ve had a lot of snow and ice–particularly ice–the last little while and everyone I know is ready for spring. Today is cold but SUNNY, and the forecast calls for temps above freezing tomorrow through Tuesday.

Today’s photo is really about the shadows caused by the sun as it swings to the west. You may also notice that the big evergreen tree looks a little different than last year. Nova Scotia Power was “kind” enough to send tree trimmers along our road last summer. The piece that came off the top of this tree was 10 or 12 feet high. I know the trimming is necessary to protect the wires, but I mourned this cut.

Can you see them? I finally figured out how to enlarge the detail and now I can show you the animals in the field across the road.

We see deer there nearly every day. Every delivery person who comes comments on seeing them there. And I often see cars stopping just in front of our place and backing up a bit to get a better look.

They are such gorgeous creatures and I never tire of seeing them or admiring their beauty.

P.S. Do you mind that I cheated a bit and took this picture this morning?

We’ve had rain and temps above freezing all week, and last night when I went to bed, there was no snow to be seen. I thought I’d show you a real contrast from last week.

Alas, this is what I awoke to. That’s a main highway out there. There’s a wind gusting to 50 mph from the south (?!), which is the other side of the house, that blowing a icy mist of snow across the roads.

The sun is very bright today and the sky achingly blue. I thought you might enjoy this study in shadows, looking north.

It’s been a bleak day after a couple of days of bright sun and biting cold.

The bit of snow on the field across the road reminds me that I chose the main color scheme for my house–gold with white trim–from this field. Given the lack of sunlight this afternoon, the colors are not shown at their best.

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Last week, Kristen of BookNAround commented that, if she worked in my office, she’d be spending all her time trying to guess the color of the next car to come along. So I decided to show her. Read the rest of this entry »

Busy couple of days and so I didn’t get this posted on Friday. But I didn’t want to miss showing you the colors.

The rain on Friday was soft, almost a mist, and what little wind there was was not from the north. The day was almost warm.

The wet had saturated the grasses in the field and on the lawn, bringing out the jewel tones in this bit of creation.

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It’s been a bonus week of lovely (almost) mild & sunny weather and the weather office promises a couple of more days like this. We’re enjoying while we can.

The lovely golden leaves on the alder are all gone, so I’m focusing this week on the field across the road.

The white dot on the far side of the field is one of my cats hunting mice. Hunters shot a deer in the woods there last week – way, way not far enough away from the road and houses.

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Not being camera-savvy, I couldn’t get the picture beyond the window this week. The lens would record only the ice on the pane.

At 4 p.m., it’s as dark as night, the wind is howling and blowing the trees and the sleety rain horizontal.

What a change from last week!

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These are some highlights of my week. For the details, see my blog at the Grace in Small Things site.

1. The smell of wood fires

2. No traffic lights within a 40 minute drive

3. My well-worn casserole cookbook

4. Watching my grandson explore the yard, and drive Grampa’s lawn tractor

5. Talking to my sister for the first time in a while

Wage a battle against embitterment and take part in Grace in Small Things .

[tags]grace in small things, casserole cookbook, wood fires, traffic lights, grandchildren[tags]

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These are some highlights of my week. For the details, see my blog at the Grace in Small Things site.

1. Our grandson is here!

2. The boy gives great hugs

3. Discovering quaking aspens

4. Hearing that my friend’s son (who I thought could do ANYthing – and do it right the first time) put too much expanding foam in her door.

5. Photo of the week: Lobster Bisque

Wage a battle against embitterment and take part in Grace in Small Things .

[tags]grace in small things, lobster bisque, lobster costume, lobster baby, quaking aspens, grandchildren[tags]