“What day is it?” asked Pooh. ” It’s today,” squeaked Piglet. “My favorite day,” said Pooh.♥
And on a day like today, we like MUSICA. So we can chair-dance.♥
It’s usually still dark and freezing outside in March when I bundle up, grab some sharp clippers, and go out back to cut some branches of forsythia or crabapple to force into flower in the house.
The flowers, still not quite in bloom here yet, are so pretty and fresh and look so natural; it just makes us happy to see them. This year, because of the warm weather we’ve been having (relatively speaking) the buds were much further along; it took no time at all for the flowers to come out once we brought in the branches, only four days.
If you haven’t forced branches of flowering trees into early bloom, it’s really easy. Choose branches with lots of buds; clip carefully so as not to disfigure the bush. Bring the branches inside, hit the ends of them with a hammer in order to split them up about an inch to help them absorb water.
While the cuts are still fresh, plunge the branches into a bucket or vase of warm water. This year we went directly to the vase and onto the tables around the house. In other colder years, we keep the branches in the pantry, out of direct sunlight, where it’s cooler until they bloom (trying to mimic spring conditions) and then bring them out to the warmer and dryer heat of the house.
Either way, I don’t think you can make a mistake. They have always bloomed for me (although I worry every time!) and I figure if they didn’t, what have I lost for trying. So far so good! They make spectacular, and might I add, free, bouquets.
A taste of spring fills the rooms of your house. Good time to invite the girls for tea!
So I thought I’d give you a quick view of our first bloom in Vineyard Haven right now . . . lots of daffodils on the island!
Lots of crocus too . . . the bravest little flowers, like all the flowers this time of year; even if we get another snow, as long as it isn’t a prolonged deep freeze, these little guys will keep calm and carry on, shining right through the snow.
Everywhere you look, spring is popping; very quietly, poking up out of the cold ground, showing its true colors.
Blue skies, smilin at me, nothin’ but blue skies, do I see.
And then I have to go dance with the Quince bush too, because she is called, “the Cinderella of the Garden”; making springtime the Fairy Godmother (giving the dowdy leafless bush new cute clothes). We don’t slow-dance though, Quince has thorns!
We walk out to the water every day . . . this was yesterday. Nature is working her magic everywhere we look. Speaking of which, did you know there are cameras on birds nests you can watch on line? My two favorite are both nests with eggs 
in them; here’s Phoebe on her Hummingbird nest in California (remember when you see this that a hummingbird nest is the size of a quarter! The eggs are the size of a pea, and baby bird comes out of them! Click on “Phoebe Facts;” it will answer lots of questions — also remember, this bird cam is live and ongoing; if the screen is dark, it must be dark in California!). On the other end of the size spectrum, we have the majestic Eagles nest in Decorah, Iowa, where the mom sits on the eggs and the dad brings home the bacon. If you scroll down you can click on a link that will take you to Youtube for the laying of the eggs. One of the things I love about this one is the sounds of all of the other birds in the forest around the nest. It’s pure nature music. Anyone who’s seen these nests knows how mesmerizing they are. ♥
Apparently there is money to be made on these wonderful works of nature; commercials have been added to both of these sites. Just turn down the sound, bite the bullet until its over; I promise you, it’s worth it. It’s a great service these cam operators are providing us, I guess they deserve to have their time (for the maintenance involved) somewhat paid for. Rather than complain (too much), I’m saying, thank you webcam guys! I love these birds!! ♥
What are you doing this weekend? Besides bird watching? I already made my wreath … it’s on our front door showing my true colors, being cheerful; and I just found out, we have a new yarn/knitting store on the island! So that’s where I’m going this weekend! Very excited. Yes, it’s the little things!
Joe and I have a date with the newspaper on Sunday; for breakfast in our favorite hotel bar in Edgartown where we can sit in the corner, spread a big white napkin on our laps, feel luxurious and pampered because someone brings us fried eggs over easy with lots of pepper that we can mop up with toasted English muffins; where we can people-watch while reading our paper, looking out the windows at the lighthouse and harbor. Yup, we’re on a quest to slow down time a little bit this weekend. ♥ TGIF girlfriends! Have fun!
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picket fences, scattered in clumps over hilly meadows fronting the sea, lined up in front of old rock walls; some look like they’ve just up and run away from home, they’re out on roadsides all by themselves with no house in sight. With the weather we’re having, I forsee lots of Easter egg hunts this year, lots of spring celebrations. We had an Easter egg hunt here at the house one year when all my friend’s children were little. It was so exciting, decorating all the eggs, and hiding them!!! Oh I loved it, the kids were so cute in their little Easter clothes, tearing around the backyard! My favorite part was decorating the children’s serving table. I set it up on an old white, 
wrought-iron tea cart, tied the handle with pastel-colored balloons, made Rainbow Jell-O in a clear glass dish (so you could see the layers of Jell-O), made a macaroni and cheese casserole, and cut up some carrot sticks; but the coup de grace were the cupcakes on a cakestand in all different pastel springtime colors.
nameless; all they sold was cupcakes. So of course when we saw that word on the door, we had to go in. In front of us, almost like a 31 flavors ice cream store, in every color of the rainbow, was an array of cupcakes laid out in a glass case, twinkling like jewelry, lit up with cake sparkles, shimmer dust, edible glitter, sugar pearls, chocolate jimmies, colored dots, bright candies cut out into hearts, stars, flowers, kitties, any imaginable thing. We figured, since all this store sold was cupcakes, that they had to be delicious. But, as my mom would say, “That’s what you get for doing your own thinking.” Because, although they looked pretty, the cake under all that decorated foldoral was dry and dusty, and the frosting, that looked 
beautiful and swirly, was actually like eating a helmet. It was hard; there were perfect teeth marks in it when we took a bite, like as if you had taken a bite of a stick of butter.
So, let’s go the carrot patch girlfriends and gather the ingredients we need to make little cakes that any bunny would love . . . Carrot Cake Cupcakes.
Set out cream cheese and butter to soften (for the frosting).
Whisk in the brown and granulated sugars.
Kellee has been busy putting together kits of cute cupcake toppers for spring in our 
They are so easy! Scroll down a bit for the cupcake recipe all written out for you to print. Hope you LOVE them! A little (more) season brightener!
