Mona is back! My chipmunk made it through the winter. She was happily filling her cheeks with songbird seeds yesterday. Will they make her sing? She cheeps in the mornings while sunning herself on the rocks. She is fast and strong after this long, cold, winter.

Sucre, my dog, and I walked through the woods today to try to capture new plants emerging from the dirt. The fiddlehead ferns are still whorled pretty tight, but I am hoping they will all be open next week. I pulled an old one from the ground and was surprised that it still carried thousands of tiny spores. Survival of the fittest at its best.

In the woods I have small white flowers covering the ground like carpet. They have yellow centers. I do not know their name, but will find it out. There is also a mysterious plant that has palmmate leaves (3 of them) arising from a thick stem.

We cut up another tree today. Our third. We are becoming regular lumberjacks. Of course the wheelbarrow went flat twice during our work. We finally hauled everything by hand. I think this quote sums it up!

In the spring, at the end of the day, you should smell like dirt. ~Margaret Atwood