The refrigerator magnet pictured above dates to B.C. (before children, that is) which makes it at the very least 30 years old. Since Earth Day has just recently passed, it would be appropriate to offer kudos to those environmentalists who long ago saw the need to be more mindful of our footprint on the lovely home we call earth. All those years ago the city of Wausau had not yet mandated that its citizens recycle plastics, glass, paper, etc. The result was that most of those things ended up in the landfill, and probably are still there in a partial state of decomposition. But some of us would routinely on Saturdays load our vehicles with items that could be recycled and drive to the site on Townline Road. Volunteers helped us find the proper place to deposit our items and kept things orderly. Many of us started watching more carefully the packaging on items we purchased and would not buy something if it were not in a container that could be recycled locally. Or we worked harder to put what we bought into something that was reusable for the long-term. Thanks to my mother-in-law for my first cloth grocery bags! Still in use after many years (and still beautiful) not once has one torn as the paper bags did. As the children arrived they were diapered in cloth: no disposables in the landfill for decades after the baby was grown. Small steps, admittedly, but if you never take those first small steps...
Now onto other things green. The plum is the first tree in our little orchard to blossom. Naturally the bees are loving all things in bloom and this little beauty is just a very short flight from their hives. Later, we will harvest plums for jelly and syrup.
In the woods across the lane, the showy trillium are blooming in abundance.
Although more modest, the wood violets are brightening the ditches near the house.
Dylan and Joanna were back for what has become a semi-monthly visit and went right back to work on the scrap metal project. Dylan shot this pic just as they were ready to head to Wausau Steel with this double load to be, shall we say it? Recycled.
Friday, April 30th was a day to be marked. We saw the first calf of the year born. Meet "Jonquil" born to "Dandelion". (Guess what was in bloom when she was born?) Wet and wobbly yet when this photo was shot Jonquil was soon bounding after her mom to nurse.
Notice the broad streak of yellow in the pasture behind mother and daughter? Yup. Dandelions. While folks in town wage war on them we welcome them because the cattle love them. They gobble them up voraciously: blossom, stem, and leaves. Because dandelions are deep-rooted they bring up minerals from the sub-soil.
...and that other remarkable thing on the 30th? Rain! A very welcome .4 of an inch fell. All we can say is: "more, more, more!"
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