The winter wonderland is gone, chased away by a springtime paradise, albeit a muddy paradise. The birds are singing; the sun is shining. I'm so tempted to pull out the hammock and start planting the garden. March is a month of teases, meant to teach us patience I guess. The melting of the snow brought a nice surprise - vigorous spinach patches in the garden that have made it through the winter! Fresh greens already. :)

We have managed to get most of our stuff put away. Only a few remnants of hurricane Wareing are still visible throughout the shanty and surrounding landscape. In the spirit of putting things back where they belong, we brought Banjo and Yoda (the illustrious goats) back home today. They have spent the last three months down the road at our friends' farm. After an amusing hike back home, more resembling a circus than a transfer of livestock, they settled right back into their normal routines. At first glance I thought Yoda had grown, but I'm now thinking it is more her wooly winter coat than anything. Looks like we might just have a little midget goat on our hands.

Our family has grown a bit to include a sweet little hound dog puppy named Lily. Our primary goal in acquiring another dog was to provide Wilson with a friend to go on adventures with and keep him company for when we have to leave him behind at times. I can't say that Wilson had the "love at first sight" reaction we were hoping for, but she seems to be growing on him. It appears that Wilson suffers from jealous only-child syndrome as well as grouchy old man syndrome. He really liked Lily, until he realized she was going to live with us. But, Lily is an enthusiastic little sweetheart and is determined to win him over. Foxy is also giving her the cold shoulder, but she isn't taking it personally. She's already won Joe and me over, and we're the ones that buy the food. ;) I'll try to post pictures and more information on the website soon. Wilson may not want to share his bed yet, but he will share his webpage.

Here's a quick picture, taken by her initial rescuer (she was found abandoned on the side of the road with two other puppies), she's the big one in the middle.