The arrival of warm, sunny spring weather prompted us to make a list of outdoor chores that was unachievable, but attempted none the less. We washed, waxed and vacuumed all three vehicles, washed house windows and put on screens, washed the dog, picked up 100 trees (White Spruce and Colorado Blue Spruce) from Oneida County Soil & Water District and planted, and planted and planted trees. On Saturday morning Trevor came to play with Eric. We packed a lunch and held a little picnic across the road. In the picture below Eric, Trevor and Kathryn enjoy a drink.

We played some silly games including the boys hammering on a tree that I was leaning against. I told Kathryn that my obituary should read “Could make 4 year olds laugh.”

We also exploited remaining snow banks for snow ball fights with the target (me) usually fleeing in a homeward direction.

We celebrated my birthday on Sunday afternoon with Ed, Kelly & Izzabella and Billie Jo & Dakota. Kathryn grilled London Broil and accompanied it with homemade muffins, snap peas and rice. The dinner was capped with Tomato Soup Cake – the birthday cake of choice for as long as I can remember! Ed & Billie Jo gave me a couple of super powered rechargeable flashlights: of 1 million and 6 million candle power. Once they are charged up we plan to perform illumination tests on distant hillsides.

The kids alternated between playing in the sand box and playing chase. Below Billie Jo, Jim, Eric,Dakota, Izzabella, Kelly and Ed pause for a picture.