While this weekend the weather has been warm, even hot!, today we rewound ourselves on the seasonal clock and went back to early April.  Waking up to a cold drizzle, we lit the wood cookstove this morning for the boys to make scrambled eggs.  Up in the mountain tops, snow flurries were visible while down here buds are appearing on the lilacs, maples and larches.  Fetching wood is still a daily chore, even if we let the fire go out for most of the day.

We took down a lovely prune plum tree that obscured our view over the farm.  It was a hard choice to make, and we have debated it for a year now.  However, taking it down made room for views of the sheep’s summer pasture and the mountains to the north.  I think it helps to know that we are going to plant a new plum tree (or two) down below in our little orchard.

It was a quiet, hunkered down sort of day.  I dyed some yarn for the shop and worked on my new website (more about that soon!) while the kids settled into cozy corners of our home with favourite books, coloured pencils, Lego, and a book on tape.  I had hoped to get around to cleaning up our very neglected house…but felt so inspired to putter about and handpaint wool.  I must say, crafting always wins over cleaning.  Every time.

Papa made a brief stopover for a few days after being away in the mountains.  He left again to do a training course on teaching mountain ski guides.  We managed to squeeze in some farm chores aplenty while he was here…we finished getting the lambing jugs nearly ready, we flagged our property line with our kindly neighbour, we tore apart a raspberry bed in the kitchen garden to make way for flowers, and we finished clearing the old pig pen where we moved our ram and goats to give the pregnant ewes a little peace.  After chores were finished, Josh took the kids on adventures down on the river which involved campfires, canoes, and even a few dips in the icy water.

While the house remains an unsightly mess, I can be content knowing that we all were filled up with some good homesteading family time this weekend.  It seems that not only does crafting win over cleaning, anything outdoors does, too.