Its April’s Turn

New England Life, Photography, SoCS 82 comments

Any man, woman, child, cat, dog, bird or rodent in New England will tell you that March never gave us anything close to spring weather. I guess those two warm days we had at the end of February constitute “in like a lamb” but it’s up to April to deliver the warmth and beauty of spring. Oh, March gave us a couple of days in the 50s, we even hit 60 once or twice, but we also had a big bunch of snow. We also had a few days in the teens, some single-digits and some seriously cold rain.

We tried to find spring wherever we could. We bought ice cream the day our local soft-serve place plowed their parking lot and opened for the season. The animals around us, perhaps encouraged by a much warmer than normal February, had some babies. We put Maddie’s cot outside on my wife’s her patio. I left my car out of the garage a few nights. We fed the birds, squirrels and chipmunks. We walked and sat outside, a crocus even bloomed, but winter would not give up.

It’s April’s turn. Monday afternoon, the Pittsburgh Pirates will open their season on the road at Fenway Park in sorta-nearby Boston. In a couple of weeks, some of us will celebrate Easter. I told you that I didn’t trust March. It seems I had good reason. I have faith in April. April will deliver.

This post has been part of Linda G. Hill’s Stream of Consciousness Saturday. Linda gave us a complex challenge, but she encouraged us to “have fun” and I have.

Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is: “any.” Begin your post with the word “any.” Bonus points if you theme your post on another word that starts with “A.” Have fun!

The gallery includes a look back on the lion that was March. I borrowed some from my editor. I’d like to say I was trying to avoid duplicates, but she took better photos, so… Beneath that is a little video. You’ll need to turn the sound up to hear what the birds think of our weather.

During the blizzard. I was in Florida when my wife took this photo. I felt bad.
This is what 20″(50.8cm) of snow looks like after the plow clears the street.
Into the bunny portal
The other bunny portal
This was the first pass with my snow blower after the mid-month storm.
I’m sure Mrs Bun wasn’t too happy about having to did this hole.
Bunnies – These tracks go into these holes and emerge through a similar hole on the other side of the fence.
Maddie enjoyed a couple of hours of sunshine on her cot.
I might miss opening day at Fenway, but not here.
March brought us DST, so this picture wasn’t available until about 7:00am
Chocolate flurry with Reese’s cup pieces mixed in.
That’s Eddie. One of the Iowa cats.
Birds, squirrels and Chippy all come here to eat. Chippy sometimes lives under the porch.
You have to look close, but the little squirrel became an orphan in March :(
Chippy
Chippy has been doing some excavating in our yard.
Chippy

And, this is for the birds:

82 comments

  1. Brrrrr……..poor bunyas..(that’s what we call them since Bugs Bunny met..well it’s a long story) . Maddie always makes me giggle. Her face is just so eager! Lol. And Chippy. What a little cuite. Not sure about the ice cream in the cold but I suppose if one must shake their fists at Winter in defiance that would be the way to go. I love toffe in my Blizzards…yum. Sending thoughts a speedy thaw for you guys.

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    1. Thanks Cheryl. As if to snicker at me, Mother Nature gave us an inch of sleet overnight. April arrived under a blanket of white. It won’t last long, I remain confident :)

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  4. To borrow from Steven Colbert, “I wish winter would come back so I could wear shorts.”
    Applesauce! That’s a lot of snow for so late in the season. March went out like a lion for sure. Love the chipmunk. Crystal likes watching youtube videos of them. She even left the window (watching a real chipmunk) to watch the ones on TV… =^-^= Happy Saturday, Dan. Hugs!

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  5. I’ve been bragging about how our autumn and winter have been like springtime, but our tide has changed and we’re about to hit the 90’s in a day or two. [we’re already in the high 80’s]. Believe me, our plants are as confused as we are about what season it is!! Frankly – I miss your kind of weather.

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  6. When your post first popped up, I thought that all that new snow happened yesterday. You were about to get my sincerest condolences. Glad to hear it wasn’t.
    April 1st has such promise with it … in spite of the occasional snowflakes I see falling right now.

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    1. We did get an inch or so of mushy ice/sleet/snow/yuck overnight, but it can’t last forever. It can’t even last 30 days. Mt Maddie has never seen May 1st. I’m hoping that’s a record that survives 2017.

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  7. The see-saw battle between winter and spring is wrecking havoc on our lilac bushes. They budded out in time for the cold twice…but like everything else in Minnesota at this time of year, they know how to accept disappointment.

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    1. Those rabbit holes were amazing. We can’t figure out where they go under the fence, but they pop-up in both yards. Good little engineers.

      Maddie loves being out in the sun. She seems to know when its warm enough for us to sit with her, and she gets so happy when we oblige.

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  9. As I read this, I’m looking out the window as the snow falls. We’ve got maybe 4″ right now, and it’s suppose to snow until late afternoon. You will find me at my sewing machine listening to tunes and ignoring it. The Pirates in Red Sox Nation on Monday – I’m guessing they’ll be shoveling the stadium out for fans to get in. :-)

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    1. It’s the first time in a century that that the Pirates have played in Boston. I hope they have some nice weather. Coming up from Florida is likely to be a bit of a shock to both teams.

      We have snow on the ground and icy-rain falling, but this can’t last…right, Judy? This can’t last.

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    1. Thanks! The pictures of Chippy were “borrowed” from my wife’s camera. She always has better pictures than I do. She’s also the one putting walnut pieces out for them, so I think they like her.

      Maddie appreciates that ear-ruffle, those things drive her crazy.

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    1. Thanks John. It’s funny, if we’re sitting on her Maddie-paddy, she will just lay on her cot and watch as the bunnies and squirrels hop around. We usually have her on a leash, but she’s never pulling as long as we sit with her. I have pictures of her laying down with a rabbit in clear view.

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  12. The snow caves the bunnies made are neat. Your sunrise even if not til close to 7am is lovely, and Chippy and Maddie are so cute!!

    I’m not too far from the mountains/hills and I’ve never seen a chipmunk down here. What a treat, though probably not fun having all that excavation going on in the lawn.

    We’re warming up here, but it’s been really windy and chilly lately. I hope April brings Spring sooner rather than later for you!

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    1. Thanks Deborah. April opened with a wintry mix of white stuff, but I remain optimistic. I guess it’s a good thing I don’t care about the “lawn”, cuz these guys do some damage. But the holes are small and they have to live somewhere, and we love watching them. Chippy also seems to live under out porch, and he seems to know that food comes out of the front door.

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  13. You’ve really been hit hard this winter, Dan. I certainly hope that changes soon, although I thought I heard this week/weekend might be bad, too. Hopefully I’m wrong about that, though. It’s more spring-like here in NE Illinois, thankfully. I’m definitely ready for it.

    janet

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    1. I think your warm weather is heading our way, Janet, but it didn’t make it for April Fools. We got snow. Not much, but the yard is white and Mt. Maddie has a fresh coat. Warm days are coming.

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      1. I think it’s supposed to be in the 50’s in the upcoming week here, Dan, which would be fine. After all, it’s just the start of April. The good news is that I see daffodils that will be opening soon and weren’t frozen by our late freezes! So thankful for that.

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    1. It’s snowing right now, but we have some 50’s in the forecast his week. Our springs have been cold and wet the past few years. I think April will be fine. once it gets rid of March’s leftovers.

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  15. I did wonder if the stream of consciousness would be an “A” word to help those of us doing the atozchallenge. I like April much better than March. I also like the fact that you have renamed the patio in Maddie’s honor, after all, we all know the dogs own the place.

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      1. I went to school with a guy who would sneak a radio in and listen to it with an earphone. Amazingly, he never got caught, maybe because I was sitting next to him and I wouldn’t tell…

        It’s a no-brainer. You probably won’t be the only one listening on company time…

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  19. Remember the opening scene in the movie Frozen, where the men were chopping the ice into huge blocks? Well, that was me and my husband today at the bottom of our driveway. Frozen. No way the snow blower had a chance. A good old shovel and squaring off blocks of ice. Lovely…

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      1. Good thing that April is here. It means spring for sure. Hey, glass-half-full here realizes I could be living in northern Maine, unable to attest to the fact that spring WILL arrive in April. See, life is good.

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  23. I don’t know about you but I am much relieved March is over with. And it went a lot faster then I thought it would. Thank goodness April is here yet those temps are being stubborn, darn it. Come on warmth! I think I am about done with my Crocuses (photography) and it is only a matter of time now that my Daffies and other goodies will be blooming. I have been crawling around in my gardens and am seeing some growth (YAY!) so …. Three cheers for April! LOVED your gallery. So sorry you got so much snow dumped on you. But hey that is all gone now. Another YAY! <3

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  24. You guys had a rough March…here’s to a great April for you!! Baseball….March to us is baseball Spring Training (I know the eastern teams are in Florida, but the western teams and some of the midwest teams are down here…our community (Goodyear) has The Cleveland Indians and The Cincinnati Reds. Love going to spring training games….we meander the valley watching different teams play each other…the games are more relaxed and a little bit faster paced…the stadiums are smaller and more intimate…love going to games!! Before we moved here, coming from San Diego…Padre Fans…loved going downtown to Petco Park after work on a Friday and having our dinner watching baseball!! Here’s to a new baseball season!! (coming from Iowa…enjoyed watching the Cubs do something spectacular last year!!)

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    1. Having the Pirates in that division, I was rooting against the Cubs until the playoffs started and we weren’t in them. Then I was pulling for them to end the drought. It’s funny, I forgot that a bunch of teams play in AZ. We did have a tough March, but Jan and Feb were pretty mild

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  25. I love those snow pictures. I would love to sneak into those bunny holes. Feel the chill and play with so much snow around. I’m so jealous you guys get so much snow. I wish I was there.

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  26. Birds really make a cacophony and other times lovely songs in a sort of chorus or harmony. The idea of ice cream from the local spot is always one of the first part of Spring and finishes the end of Fall. My best friend, Jenny, and I always walk across a bridge and on a walking path, Dan. Yours looks chocolate while mine would be like pralines and cream or butter pecan with hot caramel with whipped cream sundae. :)

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  27. I can’t wait to see what April brings. I know you’re looking for some relief and here’s hoping we can both put our trust in April. The plants and flowers are admittedly so confused I guess at this point it doesn’t matter what comes next…but we’ll hope for the best!

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  30. It’s pouring rain as I write this, Dan, but yesterday was an absolutely beautiful Spring day. It couldn’t have been more pleasant. Makes me anxious to get out and catch an Orioles game at Camden Yards ASAP. I don’t mind a little snow here and there, but it’s baseball weather that really gladdens my heart, so I’m happy your pics are the last snow I’ll see for a while!

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