Red Winged Blackbird

This morning, we woke up to find that over four inches of snow had fallen overnight.
And then this beautiful red winged blackbird came by to feed at the suet block. It began to spread its wings and cry out... perhaps signalling for a mate?

At the house, many boxes and much packaging has arrived. Kitchen and vanity cabinets, boxes of tiles, mahogany strips for the tongue and groove porch roof...

Judy and I have managed to track down most of the light fittings which are waiting to be installed.

Nicholas

I hear people complaining, frustrated with the snow that melts and returns, melts and returns, melts and returns...but, I know, and this blackbird knows...that it will, indeed melt again and spring will actually arrive. And with it, the bulbs will emerge, the blossoms, the fruits, and then they will all return to seed, again...and again...and again...

This little cottage, this small piece of a Walden Pond season in our lives has provided us with moment upon moment of this kind of surprising beauty, the reflections in the pond, the lilies, the fish snapping at flies, the chubby cheeks of chipmunks, the butterflies, the hummingbirds, the red and grey squirrels, and this morning, this flash of brilliant red shoulders on wings of ebony, perched on budding branches of wisteria...all is pending, all unfolding, all ready to delight, to calm, to provide sanctuary, all gracefully reminding us that life is a process.

And so is building a house...and what a process it is...

This is what happened yesterday...the kitchen began to be installed...

Once the cabinets are in place, the company that will install the countertops will come measure up, create the template and then cut the quartz. 

The fabulous team putting up the siding are also the team that will come inside, in the heat to lay all of our tiled floors, a nice change for them, they were also the men who got our shingles on before the blizzard on Christmas Eve! Our entire crew astonishes us with their skill and the pride they have in their work...what an added blessing to have all their energy going into the house as well.

Here is where they got to by the end of the day yesterday, guessing they may well have to come in and begin tiling today, given the new snowfall amounts...

As things are moving once at speed once more, the hopes of a late April move-in day are renewed...seems fitting for Spring...

Judy