Spring!

It hit the 60s today! Off we went for a hike. I do have other reasons for home schooling, but a day like this would be enough for me. We had the woods to ourselves with the warm sun on our backs and the birds to serenade us.
It was our first day of no coats. Well, Choclo and Oob insisted there could be no going outside without coats. After 3 months of arguing with them that this was the rule, I did not have the heart to force the issue.



When we last went, we noticed the December snow had brought down a lot of trees. Ha! The double blizzard in February did an astonishing amount of damage! Everywhere we looked we saw bent and broken trees - some snapped beneath the weight of 3 feet of snow, others were torn up by their roots. Lots of fun to play with, though!
I passed around the camera to the kids and got some really nice shots.
There was even one of me with Oob. He alternated wanting me to carry him and running off to climb on logs and poke things with sticks.

They even found our first butterfly of Spring (in the header)!

Here are the Zoomlians!
Back home, we are the last to have snow, thanks to the mighty efforts of the Zoomlians to move as much snow as possible into the shady spot in front of the house.

I have mixed feelings about this, partly because I'm ready for Spring, partly because of the large muddy spot developing around the snow pile, and partly because it finished the job of smashing the bushes in the front garden.

On the other hand, the bushes were dying slowly anyway, and I did have the long term plan of turning that whole patch of lawn into garden when we redesigned the front garden. I had thought of that as home school project teaching garden design and horticulture when the kids were 2 or 3 years older, but... this could be my big opportunity!