Toby Meets Susie (B. Rabb)

Aaron (our nephew) got a bunny this past Friday! He named her "Black-Eyed Susan" because of her dark brown eyes, but calls her B. Rabb. (short for Bunny Rabbit) and so far I call her Susie! :) Isn't she sooo cute!! Audrey took an awesome picture of her! She is mostly white, with light gray ears and the bottom of her feet are dark gray! You can't really see it in this picture, her back has a very faint gray stipe too!! She is the sweetest bunny.....

Aaron brought Susie inside to meet Toby again today. He wasn't too sure he liked all the attention that she was getting! (being held, petted, fussed over etc.) Soon he realized that she wasn't a threat at all! He will still be the chosen pet to accompany Pete to the dump on Saturdays and will always be the one who gets the first 'good morning' pat on the head! Toby & Susie became friends and they are now fine with each other!

Spring To-Do Lists.... AKA "The Never Ending Chore List!"

Spring time and SOOO many decisions yet to make......

We are planning on adding a few apple trees this year.... the varieties have yet to be determined, but most likely gala & macoun will make the final list... along with a cortland! I think that the trees will all be dwarfs which means we will have fruit sooner and the trees will not reach the sky! Blueberry bushes are on the list to add too!! :) I think we have 10-12 bushes planted, but desire to add another 10-12 this year! Who doesn't LOVE blueberries!! I also just might approach the idea of adding some asparagas crowns too! Asparagas is sooo easy to grow and is absoutely delicious!

How is your spring season going? Are you planting flowers yet? Beginning or finishing your spring cleaning? Washing windows? Ordering seeds for the garden? Maybe ordering baby chicks? Raking? Cleaning out the storage unit/garage?? (yuk!) I have a list a mile long of 'to-do's' for springtime this year! I think the kids are looking forward to finishing school and getting back to a fulltime summer work schedule!! (Do you think they are trying to escape the 'to-do' list!!) :)

I have to admit, I am looking forward to the end of the school year too, but my list never gets accomplished and September arrives so fast that I scratch my head and wonder if summer really happened at all! My plan this year is to photocopy May, June, July & August calander pages and PLAN out what needs to be done accordingly.... maybe that will help me accomplish my goals! (sigh... one can only hope!)

AHHHHH, a definate positive sign of spring in 'my world' Pete and Aaron put up my yard swing last weekend!! (A happy Momma is a happy home!) I love to sip a cold drink and read a book or chat with a friend on my swing!! For a while I called it my 'therapy seat'... :) I tell you, it works!! WISHING YOU A HAPPY SPRING, LOVE, FLOWERS, BLESSINGS & SONG BIRDS SINGING NEAR YOUR WINDOWS!

KALE SOUP!!..

I thought I'd share a YUMMY recipe with you! I had some kale soup at a friend's house this winter and loved it!! After a few attempts I've come up with my own version of kale soup and if I do say so myself... it went over extremely well at home!! :)PLEASE FORGIVE ME... I FORGOT TO TAKE A PICTURE!! NEXT TIME I MAKE IT, I'LL TRY TO REMEMBER TO TAKE ONE AND ADD IT!

Kale Soup

6-8 links of sweet sausage (diced & cook in a large stock pot)

In some stores you can find sweet sausage NOT made into links... .this works best! OR you can also use ground pork and add the spices: 1 tsp sage, 1/4 tsp. savory, 1/4 tsp.thyme, 1 tsp. fennel seeds and 1/2 tsp. salt to 1 pound of ground pork.

When the meat is cooked through, add all the veggies, the boullion and enough water to cover the vegetables. Bring to a slow boil and allow to simmer until the sweet potatoes are soft (I allow a good hour + for this).

1/2 of a large Vidalia onion (diced) or more per your taste!
4-5 ribs of celery cut up
4-6 lge. carrots, peeled & cut up (or use baby carrots)
2-3 lge. sweet potato (peeled & diced)
1 TBsp. boullion... (I use Vegetable Better Than Boullion)

Then add:

Lge. bunch of kale... (use the curly leaves not the spines) We LOVE kale, sometimes I use 2 bunches of kale!
1+ tsp. curry  
2 tsp. basil

 Allow the flavors to continue to blend as it simmers for a while longer!!

This soup is wonderful served with *Saltines* and/or fresh bread!! Try it... I hope you'll like it!!

Signs of Spring...

To quote a few lines from a favorite song of my kids' childhood.......

"Mud, mud, I love mud.....

I'm absolutely, positively wild about mud!

I can't go around it, I've got to go through it!

Beautiful, wonderful, super-duper mud!"

I don't relish the icy cold much squishing between my toes or anything.... but for sure the sight of mud around NH is a promise of spring & warmer weather to come and flowers!! Guess what else? We have seen several robins and even a sparrow..... another promise of spring!! EVEN THOUGH the last two Fridays we've had snow flying, I actually saw crocuses and snow drops and have pussy willows inside in a vase! (no water in that vase please!) The sap is flowing like crazy and the kids are working hard at keeping the arch fire fed!! I think we have about 14 gallons of maple syrup finished waiting to be bottled with more sap to start after that! The people in frozen NH are seeing the hope of spring for sure!!Yup... so for those of you who are already enjoying WARMER WEATHER, we are beginning to feel it around here too!! I think that we may actually see a balmy 55* or more today!! :)