Exploring

It was a gorgeous day today.  I took my youngest brother Timothy out to see my land.  There's still enough snow on the ground that we used snowshoes - even though it was warm enough that we had to take off our jackets eventually.

All these pictures are from my phone, because my big camera is having issues.  :(  

More beaver activity, though I haven't seen any evidence that they're still on the property - no freshly cut trees.

Here's part of the little creek that cuts across one corner of the lot: 

It even has an itty-bitty waterfall.  <3  

There are a couple distinct deer paths through parts of the lot...we found both tracks...

....and, uh, other evidence...

One entertaining thing....Timothy, being the techy guy that he is, used Google maps on his phone to set a "pin" at each corner that we found.  We're not totally certain about the upper left corner, as we never did find the capped rebar that was supposed to be set, but I thought this was pretty cool (and matched my paper map pretty well, thank goodness)!

Oh, and the bottom pin in the upper left hand corner marks the little waterfall in the photos above.  

I actually finally worked out a floor plan I'm pretty happy with, so now I need to figure out what the next step is...I'm eager to be actually living on my property at some point, instead of just occasionally visiting it.  :P  I suppose it's probably good for me to practice patience, though...sigh.  

Anyway, I hope everyone has had a nice first week of Spring!  :)  

Spring Flowers

First day of Spring today...and it was 11 degrees F when I got up, lol.  But it did get up into the 40's, and the sunshine is nice and warm, so there is hope!  :)  

In the meantime, here are a bunch of old photos I've taken of flowers...something to look forward to.  Feel free to use these as desktop background photos.

Happy first day of Spring, everyone!!  :)  

Comparison

It's very interesting seeing the similarities and differences between Thane and Thea.  Thane was all legs and tail for a few months, whereas Thea seems to be retaining generally the same body shape; she's just gradually getting bigger, lol.  She's 5 months old, and is probably just over 30 pounds.  She should top out between 40-45 pounds.

Just for a fun comparison, Thane at 15.5 weeks: 

And Thea at about the same age: 

The munchkins a day or two ago:

Thea is in a "down" because my sister is just out of camera range with a treat.  Thea knows a handful of tricks, and offers them freely whenever there are treats around, in hopes of earning a tidbit.  :P  Have I mentioned she's part piranha?  

She's awfully cute, though...she gets away with a lot because of it.  ;)  

Quandary

I'm excited by the idea of designing my own home...and also gradually coming to realize what a ridiculously huge decision it is.  It's easy enough to declare that I like old farmhouses...with a touch of rustic...and a dash of Victorian...but then, once I start puttering on Pinterest, or trying to think through a floor plan, the number of choices gets overwhelming in a hurry.

I'm still having fun, but I've snagged a few photos from Pinterest to show you how challenging this is proving.  Here are a few pictures showing what I always imagined I'd want in a house: 

I do still LOVE that old, rather formal style, but I've noticed that a lot of what I've been pinning is white, bright and airy: 

But then, I also like some slightly more rustic designs, too...

I'm not sure what the common theme is here...or if there even is one, except that I don't want cookie cutter.  I want a house that makes me sigh with happiness at its beauty...I want to be able to look at any part of my home and photograph it....or even paint a picture.  

Lol, so I guess that means reining in my impatience and planning carefully...not my strong suit.

It's fun to dream, though....THAT, I'm good at!  :P  

Fuzz and More Fuzz!

Remember the crazy amount of Romney wool I bought last year?  Well, it's been many months, and I've hardly done anything with it...so I picked one fleece to keep, and I'm going to see if the rest will sell on eBay, lol.  

I have NO idea if anyone will want to buy this stuff!  Guess I'll find out.  :P

Shamgar, the Fuzz himself, decided to supervise part of the operation, and plunked himself down in the middle of the table where I was working.  

He'll be 12 this year.  He generally wears his age pretty well...today he was feeling quite frisky, and played under the sheet that I put over the table for a few minutes.  I think he knows that Spring is coming; he's started going outside again for a few minutes here and there.  (He's smart enough to stay inside during the worst part of winter!)

I guess we're supposed to get a Nor'easter over the next couple of days, though, so His Royal Fuzziness will probably stay curled up inside somewhere.

I'll let you know how the fleece does.  If it doesn't sell, then I guess I'll HAVE to learn how to spin it, lol!

Happenings

Dad and I went and tramped around on my land again today.  We finally made it to the corner we hadn't visited yet...and found some people hunting rabbits with Beagles!  We didn't see the dogs, but we could hear them, baying in the trees.  That was interesting.  I don't mind people hunting on my property - they had no way of knowing it had sold - but I will have to make a plan for when I have dogs and livestock on the property.  I like the idea of a perimeter fence, but that would either be a lot of money or a lot of work, so I may have to settle for smaller interior fences.

Dad and I are working on identifying the tree species on the lot.  We saw some Red Oak leaves, and I brought this Maple leaf home to identify.  After looking at photos, I think it might just be a Sugar Maple, which would be nice - tapping trees is fun.  :) 

I think these might be Bobcat tracks.

In other, non-land-related news, I've broken out the sketch pad for the first time in years.  I bought a light box, and tried it out today...it's nice.  I can trace the outline of something to make sure the proportions are correct, and then fill in the details with my trusty fountain pen.  I don't claim to be a phenomenal artist, but I'm having fun.  :)

I'm working on a Collie project...here are a couple things I've drawn: 

Here's today's drawing:

Lol, fluffy guy, isn't he?  I'll take Thane's low-maintenance coat any day!  :P

Thea's 18 weeks old already.  Her adult teeth and coat are coming in - you can see the different texture of fur along her spine: 

Anyway, time for bed for me...I hope everyone is having a great start to their week!  :)