Not much new here!

Just our luck, this April has been the 2nd coldest April since at least 1911.  Finally this past weekend it did start to warm up a little.  On Saturday, we went to the Outdoor Show to talk to a few vendors about a fishing trip.  I really wanted to go to Raspberry Island this summer to go fishing and bear viewing but we found out they are pretty booked up so we are going to have to make arrangements to do that next summer.

Instead, we're going to go back down to Ninilchik and do the drift river fishing for King Salmon and some halibut fishing.  I need to get that booked this week though before they fill up for the season.  Trying to fit in a little fun around a reunion in Arizona in June and 2 weeks of dall sheep hunting in August is turning out to be a challenge.  Good thing Suzy caught that big halibut last summer as we have been enjoying it all winter.

Saturday afternoon, John took the truck down to get the winter tires taken off.  After he paid and went out to the truck, he discovered that they had only given him back 3 of the tires - goofy people.  So he got the 4th one loaded up and came on home only to find out that the "summer"tires had a hard time making it up our steep driveway with the melty slick ice.   He did get up to the house by backing up the driveway and then had to spend some time plowing.

Sunday was a gorgeous day - the snow did quite a bit of melting so while it was a beautiful afternoon for taking a walk, it is just too wet and messy to be out.  There is still about 2 feet of snow on the ground where it hasn't been disturbed during the winter.

Tinkerbell has been enjoying being able to go outside more.  Of course it is a nuisance because while she's learned to push open a cracked door, she hasn't learned how to close it when she comes in.  She was in and out so many times yesterday that when we went to bed we neglected to make sure the door was closed and it was a little chilly when I got up this morning.

My Christmas cactus is blooming wonderfully well right now - it loves the longer hours of daylight that we are getting.

The warmth of the sun (which now comes up about 6:30 am and stays up till 9:30 pm) is causing the snow on the roof to melt but the temperatures are low enough that it then refreezes.

The trees look like they aren't even thinking about budding out any time soon.

My little push mower stands in the back yard - ready to cut those first few blades of grass.  I can hardly wait.

Finally, we can see part of the grass in the yard.  Now that it's uncovered, it should start to green up a little.

I am so thankful for the little blooming plants in the house.  They help me keep my sanity through the long dark days of winter.  I love these two little plants - they bloom about 3 times a year and the blooms last for weeks.

Another few weeks and we should be able to get out into the world a bit.  We finally picked up a new trailer for the Polaris so it is ready to get out there - as soon as the snows melt and we know that we can get up the trail.

9 weeks and we'll be down in Arizona for the reunion.  Can hardly wait to see everyone.