Spring-A-Long

Spring has sprung but with the cold temperatures, you would never know it.

Last week we finally had some warm days that sent all the flowers into full bloom mode.

Today we are receiving 15-20mm of rain today and an additional 35-45mm tomorrow which will turn everything green.

As well as convert the backyard into a grazing pasture.

Thank goodness for ride-on lawn mowers!

This is the girls new garden bed I made last year on May 24 weekend . I relocated the yarrow and lupin because they are my daughter's favourites and they are LOVING it!

So are the plethora of new ant colonies popping up everywhere , Valentina says are her"friends".

I love seeing Spring and Summer perennials are side by side.

Taking turns putting on a show and telling time,

These irises and lilies will be in full bloom by the end of June, exactly as the school year ends.

My tulips are a prelude to the first long weekend of the Summer.

A Summer I hope will bring lots of beach and poolside days!

But I am in no hurry to rush Spring along and have made some delightful Spring memes for y'all to 

Spring-a-long!

Free Spring printables

I don't really care for the weather this time of year. 

Can't do much of anything except hope for either lots of snow or really warm temperatures to dry everything up. Everything looks so gloomy, no flowers, no leaves on the trees and dirty piles of melting snow.

Right now we have frost outside and although it is going to reach 5'C, it is still too muddy to venture outdoors.

BUT! in 10 days Spring will arrive bringing warmer sunny days which brings ...

YES PLEASE!

Are y'all ready for Spring?

I sure am!!!!! 

Here are some free printables to help you get ready...just in case your not.

Killing spiders indoors can only mean Spring is around the corner

"I stuck my head out the window this morning and spring kissed me bang in the face. "

 -- Langston Hughes

Yep!..that time of year has come when black golf ball sized spiders commit suicide by taking up residence in my house. Or they have been squatting and decide to come outta hiding....either way...death by slipper it is.

 I might be inclined to be merciful if they weren't so brazen as to charge towards me or drop from the ceiling as I walk by. Not good ideas but there they are....saying hello..."I'm here"...so I respond...hello..."meet my slipper".

Living in the country is peaceful noise wise but insect wise...totally different story. Every bug has been upgraded and a 2.0 version of the ones you find in the city.

These two are my arch enemies...chasing me all over the place in the Summer.The farmers recommend putting a fabric softener sheet in the back of your hat to deter them. ...yes...I laughed too...so much so I didn't even try it because the if the smell DEET attracts them, fabric softener has got to be alot worse. I am convinced that DEET is just an insect marinade. What works really well is a wet little towel and good aim. You just gotta make sure you get them in the first few tries cause it tends to make them a little surly and then they become a tad vicious(er).

Sometimes I don't have to do a thing and my pet spiders earn their keep .I love them not only because they are not in my home but they kill the flies for me.

Spring begins with spiders and Fall ends with lady bugs. Every month we have a plague of a certain kind of bug . Much like hours in a day, we have bugs that tell me what time of season it is ....but bring them on...I am TIRED of the snow!

 

"If spring came but once a century instead of once a year, or burst forth with the sound of an earthquake and not in silence, what wonder and expectation there would be in all hearts to behold the miraculous change. " -- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Easter Inspirations and history

Spring please hurry up!!!...I am so tired of looking at snow and being accosted by freezing cold temperatures when I step foot outside my door....enough already I say!

Give me flowers!

Bright sunny days!

Yummy treats!

Bring on Easter!

The History of Easter

While everyone knows that Easter brings out a festive mix of brightly decorated eggs, adorable bunnies, and cute baskets in spring, Easter is also a combination of important events in different traditions.

In Christianity, Easter is preceded by Holy Week. This week includes Maundy Thursday, which commemorates Jesus' last supper with his disciples; and Good Friday, which remembers the day of his death. These somber days are then followed by Easter Sunday to celebrate the day that Jesus rose from the dead three days after his crucifixion.

Easter is also related to the Jewish holiday of Passover, a period that remembers Israelites' freedom from slavery in ancient Egypt. This is observed during Nisan, the first month of the Hebrew lunar year – which also happens to be between March and April.

Also according to St. Bede, an English historian, the term "Easter" is derived from the Teutonic goddess of spring and fertility, whose name is Eostre. Pagans had festivals in her honor during the spring equinox, when daytime is equal to night time.

So where did the Easter bunny and eggs come from?

European pagan religion incorporated rabbits and hares in their celebration as a symbol of fertility. In Germany, pagans even named their hare "Oschter Haws" and early settlers introduced him to America during the 1700's. In their stories, Oschter Haws left eggs the night before Easter for the children to hunt and find on Easter morning – some children would even build "nests" for these anticipated eggs in baskets and bonnets.

Meanwhile, eggs were used to represent resurrection – a celebration of new life in Christianity. Likewise, many other ancient civilizations from India to Greece have used the egg to emphasize the significance of life. While the origin of coloring eggs is unknown, some reports date it back as far as 2,500 years ago where Zoroastrians painted eggs for a New Year celebration. Today, for varying reasons, beliefs, or for just plain fun, people from different cultures all over the world dye eggs and present them as gifts or as little treasures around Easter time.

-Courtesy of: Disney Family Fun

Free Easter colouring pages and activities

Touches of Spring

Easter grass is perfect way to add some Spring to your decorations...

See what I mean about grass going  along way and best part is you don't have to mow it or water it ; )