To begin this entry, I think I'll just let the pictures speak for themselves:
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| April 24: 37 degrees, 2" of snow, Angry Birds |
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| April 27th: 80 degrees, 2" of water, 4" of mud. This handsome horse was at a training clinic Janette and I attended on Saturday. I didn't take Bella, just watched others. I learned a lot, though. |
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| May 2: 34 degrees, 6" of snow, 1/2" of ice, 4" of mud; beautiful, though. |
Gotta love spring in Wisconsin. The poor birds are really confused--below is a pair of goldfinches, the male in full mating colors, trying to make the best of lousy honeymoon weather:
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| At least there's a free breakfast bar... |
I can't joke too much about it, though. The animals are faring poorly. There is still almost no grass on the ground, and the deer and bears are starving. I've also heard a large, hungry coyote pack several nights in a row in the woods just behind the barn. There have been reports of bears taking down livestock, which rarely happens in gentler springs; they prefer to gather forest foods that don't carry the risk of crossing paths with humankind. I'm glad Mom insisted on expensive wire mesh fencing rather than the couple of strands of electric wire prevalent in the neighborhood. Hungry predators just bounce off our fence instead of flattening it. And, of course, I have Bella protecting the herd and she is NOT in a good mood these days! I feel sorry for the barn people--they're shedding their winter coats and craving newly grown grass, and they are just as tired of this weather roller coaster as I am! Fortunately, it's supposed to warm up again toward the end of the week, with temps once more reaching the 60s; we ought to have safer driving conditions for our May 9 trip to Wausau for Mom's PET scan, which will hopefully show minimal damage to her heart. Then it will be onward, toward gardening season! Weather permitting, of course...
