Busy Springtime...

Haven't posted in awhile since both Andy and I have been so busy with work lately. Once things start to warm up in the spring and you work for a land conservation organization, you don't get any time to sit still anymore! I just finished a multi-day training for volunteer land stewards which took months to plan and implement...I'm glad it went smoothly but I'm also glad it's done!

We have also been busy getting our garden ready for the summer. Deer-proofing has been objective number one, since our yard is a minefield of little deer nubbin-poops and hoof prints. Last year we had huge hostas for about a month and then the deer mowed them down to the stumps. So we already know our vegetable garden is in trouble, even though we didn't have one last year. We have rigged a 7 foot high "deer-fence" which is basically fruit netting zip-tied to bamboo poles stuck in the ground. It's not very sturdy but we hope that the deer won't be so desperate as to crash through it. We'll see... peas, swiss chard, fava beans, lettuce, and beets are in... and the garlic and horseradish are already up.

Today we had a surprise visit from HaPa and Grandma on their way back up to VT from MA... they had gone to MA for a Ruffed Grouse dinner and then on their way through NH stopped to buy 6 little baby chicks. I forget which variety they are but they are very cute! Aiden had a great time trying to figure out their names and hold them in his palms. Soon they will be scratching and digging up the grubs in my mom's raspberry patch. Can't wait to watch their antics!

Eggstravaganza!

Easter weekend started for us with another town egg hunt and another scary easter "bunny-person". Aiden is a pro at egg hunting by now, so he easily filled up his basket with only the choicest eggs, but he still had no interest in sitting on the bunny's lap. Can you blame him? This time, the eggs were actually filled with candy and little treats, so that was a bonus. Aiden snarfed down a few handfuls of jelly beans before we could put the breaks on the candy inhalation...

Then it was home to color eggs with HaPa and Gramma and Timber and prepare our easter feast. I think Aiden topped last year's impressive mess by completely coloring his hands black with easter dye. They are still not entirely normal again. Can't interrupt an artist at his work, though...

The outdoor egg hunt was chilly but fun. About 17 degrees with the wind chill, complete with scattered snow flakes. I'm sure spring will arrive someday. Happy Easter everyone!

Trains, Egg Hunts and Grandma!

Grandma Chris is here to visit Aiden for the week, so he is in 7th heaven! First we got to spend a day with both Grandmas and HaPa too, up in Vermont. Uncle Mike, Aunt Mary, Allison and Alex came by for a bit too since they were all up visiting Allison at UVM after checking out Vermont Techincal College for Alex. Sugaring is done for the season- wood is all gone and the syrup is past Grade B (last stage fit for direct consumption!) so we got to be pretty lazy for the day.

Cousins are always good for this kind of torture!

Then on Sunday it was off to the Model Railway Show in Lebanon, NH! Woo-hoo! Thomas and Percy and James made an appearance (you know who they are if you have a small boy) and Aiden was enthralled. We quickly deduced that there are two types of people who show up at a Model Railway Show. Middle-aged, engineer-type guys, who are busy discussing the techincalities of HO, N and standard scale layouts and haggling over engine prices...and families with boys under 5 who know nothing about trains. There was a decent showing of both categories at the Lebanon event. Good stuff.

Then in the afternoon, off to Easter Egg Hunt Numero Uno. We're planning to make the rounds of all the town egg hunts in a 15 mile radius over the next week or so, so that Aiden gets REALLY good at finding little plastic eggs. Then we figure can hone his search image skills to find all sorts of things we're always losing like car keys and earring backings and wayward socks. The first egg hunt went pretty well, considering we threw him in with the sharks (7-10 year olds) to grab eggs before realizing there was a 6-and-under area cordoned off in front of the Town Hall. He was able to gather a decent basket full despite all the pushing and shoving. To be fair, on two separate occasions, an older boy, having just realized he evilly snatched an egg away from the pleading reach of a small toddler, stopped dead and handed over the egg with an, "Aww, here you go, buddy." Neither one pointed out the toddler area to Aiden's doofus parents though.

Now, I don't have much experience in these public plastic egg hunts, since ours were always with family only and used only the real hard-boiled variety, but I figured the eggs would have something in them, like candy or a sticker or some other treat. No, no. The deal is, you collect as many eggs as you can, and then you get in line to visit the Easter Bunny (a creepy, creepy beastie) to whom you hand over your egg cache. And in return, the Easter Bunny hands you a little baggie of candy.

We were standing in line to "see" the Easter Bunny before we realized Aiden would have to give up all the eggs he just found. "Oh no." Andy says. It's not that we want these eggs, but anyone who has ever tried to pry away colorful just-found objects from a 2 year old knows this could be asking for trouble. Quickly we went to work convincing Aiden that he had done an amazing job "finding" the Bunny's lost eggs and would be rewarded with a special treat for returning them. By the time we reached the front of the line, said creepy Bunny gave Aiden a high five, neatly dumped his eggs into the collective trash bag, and handed him a bag of candies. Whew!

Truth be told, Aiden had a far better time on the playground outside the Newbury Town Hall than he did hunting and releasing eggs. All for the best, really. He was just warming up for next weekend anyway.