Kite flying and pasque flowers: Spring is here!

Dave and the kids have been out flying kites on several occasions already this spring. On the latest expedition, Sofi got her own kite up all by herself! I wasn't along on that trip, however -- these photos are from an earlier time. The wind wasn't working in our favor that day, so these photos pretty much captured every kite-aloft moment. (The rest of the time, Dave got his exercise running around the pasture with a frog kite bumping along behind him.)


But even Erik got to hang on to the handle for a few seconds!

... We went down to the river quarter on Saturday -- a beautiful spring evening. Dave needed to check on how much fence the river had washed away this year. He was lulled into a false sense of optimism on that count -- he looked at where the damage had been worst last year, and that wasn't nearly so bad, but our renter stopped by Sunday night and said it was far worse on the other side, where it had never been bad before!

We had an awful time getting to the river quarter. There are three ways of getting there: Two of them are gravel, but one of them is basically just two ruts through grass. Since the two gravel roads had water over them, the grass trail became the best route -- which isn't saying much. It was a bumpy ride for the whole mile, and there was one soft spot where we held our breath and hoped the pickup wouldn't slip into the muck on the side.

But once we got there, we enjoyed the view.

A muskrat was swimming across the river when we got there, and two pheasants thundered up out of the grass not 20 feet from us as we walked past.

The kids discovered an old rock pile (this land is now pasture, for the most part, but it was once cropped -- these rocks were piled here to get them out of the way of the plow) that made for an impressive obstacle course. Sofi did her own hopping, but Erik needed a little help.

Up, up and away, Erik!

... And then, just as we were about to give up and go home, we made a discovery:

Pasque flowers!

I think it's amazing that they are there, because that land was cropped for many years -- were they such stubborn weeds in the field that they resisted efforts at eradication? Or did they just lie in wait underground, as seeds or roots, for all those years? Perhaps their seeds were brought in later by birds or other animals ... who knows. But I do love to see them!

Erik was happy to point them out. He did OK at pronouncing them, too!


Sofi wanted to pick some -- we explained that it would be better for a wildflower like that if we don't pick it but just enjoy its beauty as we find it. And its message: Spring is truly here!