has passed since my last post. Below is a picture of The Puddle Pond taken on April 2, 2012 instead of on the first of April. I was not at home on the first of April to take a picture of The Puddle and Mr. P forgot to take one for me.
Every year we have a pair of Canadian geese that stop by The Puddle and lay eggs. This year was no exception and I like to think they are the same male and female each year that stop to raise a family. Last year, the female made her nest on the bank near the dock but disaster awaited. We had such a wet, wet spring that the eggs washed into The Puddle and there were no little goslings. Some years there have been as many as six little ones gliding behind Mom and Dad on the water. The only downside to all of this is the goose poop and there is lots of it and its sloppy.
Our local power company notified us last fall that they would be working on power lines/towers in our area in the coming months. The Puddle Pond sits under high tension towers and we were informed that trees would be trimmed/cut down and some high tension towers replaced. While our towers weren't replaced, we noticed pink nylon ribbons along the tree line on the left side on our property. They were put there by the power company as a guide for tree trimming/removal company to use as a guide. I'm not sure what caused Mom and Dad goose to vacate The Puddle Pond but we hadn't seen them in about two weeks. All the activity at The Puddle Pond once the tree trimming company got going this past week would have surely stressed them out and if the little ones had hatched, I don't know how Mom and Dad would have handled things.
Chain saws could be heard buzzing away when I returned from work each afternoon this week. Mr. P walked down one day to check on their progress and told me about all the large trees marked to be chopped down. The last time the power company cleared the lines, Only Daughter was still at home and possibly in middle school. The red oak trees that were felled back then were taken to a local sawmill and dried for three years out back before Mr P laid them as flooring in our living room and hallway. What a job that was! Mr P ended up needing surgery for a torn rotator cuff in his shoulder from laying the floor which was hard and unyielding.
The time and logistics of what we did back then are mind blowing to us now and so we will work our way through the trees using a chain saw and log splitter to add to our wood pile for the coming winters. Next month's picture of The Puddle Pond will show that our two lovely crabapple trees (you can see them in bloom in the first picture) that we planted about ten years ago were cut down and tossed aside even though they wouldn't have gotten any taller than 10 feet. A complaint was lodged with the company contracted to cut the trees so I will keep you posted if we get a response. I wish someone would have at least mentioned that the trees were slated to be chopped down since we were both down talking to the safety foreman at times during the week.
The final picture is the birthday cake I made and took along with me for a five day visit to babysit Grandsons #1 and #2. Only Daughter and Only Son-in-Law went to a writers convention and I had a good time with the boys. Grandson #2 celebrated his 9th birthday a week prior to my visit so we extended the celebration and enjoyed his requested cake, orange with buttercream frosting and Pickachu decorations. The boys and I had a good time. Three times a day, Grandson #1 rode his bike while Grandson #2 and I walked the neighborhood. We baked cookies together, read together, played board games and set off the smoke alarm again. I was tired when I returned home but was delighted to have had time with the boys and thoroughly enjoyed my visit.
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