Weather and Other News

April

The sun was warm but the wind was chill.

You know how it is with an April day:

When the sun is out and the wind is still,

You're one month on in the middle of May.

But if you so much as dare to speak,

A cloud comes over the sunlit arch,

A wind comes off a frozen peak,

And you're two months back in the middle of March.

-Robert Frost

March may have crept out like a soft wooly lamb but appearances can be deceiving for April's weather has proven that the lion is not slumbering. After being lulled into complacency by several blue-skied balmy days, we had a surprise snowfall yesterday with freezing temperatures. This poor cardinal seemed flummoxed by the change in weather as well, and spent the afternoon huddled piteously in the bush outside the kitchen window. He might have been more cheerful had he known, as we did, that it would all be gone today. Looking out back I see that the ground is bare once more and the grass is greening up quite nicely.

Here are my husband and his dad taking a breather after completing the work on our new fire pit over the weekend.

Dwayne had done the majority of the work on Saturday, then Bob pitched in to help haul and assemble the last big rocks the following afternoon. New Hampshire, aka The Granite State, has more than its fair share of stones and they were able to put quite a few of them to good use. I don't think the fire department will have much to quibble about when they come by to inspect the pit. Currently there is a ban on burning because of the dry weather. Lots of wind but not much moisture. We can get a permit as soon as the ban is lifted.

During the warm weather we've been able to accomplish a fair amount of outdoor work, but the main event is to take place on Saturday when our monstrous maple tree will meet its demise.

I don't know how old the tree is but we have been assured that the trunk is hollow rendering it a dangerous threat to our home should it ever collapse. It must tower about 150 feet high with too many limbs to count, some as thick as tree trunks themselves, and measures just under 150 inches in circumference. Although I'm sure our friend whom we've hired to perform the deed knows what he is doing, I am a wee bit nervous, and debating whether to make myself scarce that day or hang around just in case since he has requested some assistance from Dwayne and Isaac. If I want to journal the affair with my camera I suppose I will have to remain on the premises.......a little too close for my own comfort to be sure.

More updates to come as they occur!