Author: Norma

I received a call yesterday from a number I thought I had seen before that was a telemarketer. They called twice and left a message the second time that said “Stop calling me. I’m going to report you. Remove my number from your list.” The woman sounded upset.

So – I called her. An odd thing to do since she said “stop calling” but I hadn’t called her so wanted to see what she was talking about.

Come to find out the woman has been getting 6 calls or so a day from “my” number from telemarketers and collection agencies. She was so frustrated and didn’t know why they kept calling her.

I later found out that people can use other phone numbers besides their own to show up on someone’s caller id. It’s called spoofing and they even have apps for it.  What an unfortunate thing to have in our world ~ another tool for deception and pranks.

Last week I was lamenting the light snow that was coming down from the spring sky. Yet looking back on some of my posts, late spring snow is not uncommon.

Unfortunately, the older I get the more cloudy sky’s seem to affect me.   Cloudy skies bring me down.

Yesterday I worked outside for a few hours in spite of the copious amounts of tree pollen.   Then I noticed these beautiful flowers that have erupted into their beauty.

First, the daffodils. Daffodils are one flower that the deer don’t appear to like or eat – which is good because I haven’t found very many flowers that deer won’t eat.

Aren’t these daffodils beautiful?   They bring sunshine right into the heart.

I was surprised to see so many different colored tulips which I don’t remember planting.

Deer love tulips.   Fortunately the deer have not been around lately.   I do spray them with Deer Stopper and since the deer don’t like the smell they tend to walk on by.

But look at these tulips.   First there are the red tulips.

This yellow and red tulip makes me think it’s part daffodil and part tulip.  I wonder if they’ve ever combined the two and made a hybrid?   Hmm.

And then … a gorgeous yellow tulip.   Wowser!

But not to be outdone is this magenta tulip.

These tulips give me some ideas for possible quilt colors.

Are you enjoying your spring yet? Colors sure do lift my spirit.

While visiting friends in Las Cruces, New Mexico, I was surprised at how many mountains are in the area.  

Below is a picture of the Dona Ana Mountains.  

From our friends house, we can see the Organ Mountains in the distance and the Las Cruces valley in the foreground.  

Quite pretty, don’t you think?

The ocotillo is blooming in New Mexico.

This picture was taken in Las Cruces.

Ocotillo in New Mexico brings life to the brown desert.  This ocotillo will bloom in a red blaze.

The sky in New Mexico has so many varied colors that appear right before the sun sets.  The photo above of the Organ mountains was taken in Las Cruces.

Simply brilliant!

I can sit and stare at the different hues of Organ Mountains forever – if they were to last that long.

Yes indeed, the New Mexico sky has brilliant colors to calm the nerves and settle one in to mediate.

Three inches of snow had fallen overnight.

As I looked out the upstairs window, I saw that our snow plower had come that morning.  The driveway was cleared of snow. Heading downstairs, I walked to the laundry room window and peeked to see if my husband had had a chance to shovel the walkway.  Ahhh – I had to add this to my list of things to do.

After breakfast I headed to the garage and grabbed the snow pusher. I was glad that my brother-in-law had told me about the difference between a snow shovel and a snow pusher.  This pusher made my job a lot easier.

Opening the side door in the garage that led to the outside, I was greeted with a beautiful blue sky. Stepping outside, I shoveled a pathway to the front of the garage doors and over to the front walkway. I was glad that this snowfall was light because it made my life much simpler.

Once the snow was shoveled, I headed indoors, went to the kitchen and started preparing my husband’s lunch for the next day. With the ingredients out on the counter top, I turned around and happened to look out the window where a cardinal was staring at me.  The cardinal kept still then looked this way and that.

I wondered if I could quickly grab my camera to take a picture of him. Moving slowly away from the window, I grabbed my camera, focused and started taking pictures.  “He” kept still with the exception of turning his head this way and that ~ as if he was posing.

I felt blessed by the opportunity to view and take pictures of this beautiful bird.

Approximately 30 minutes later, he flew away.

It has been said that “When cardinals appear, angels are near.”  So glad I had angels visiting me.

 

With the month of February now over, we just finished having 23 out of 28 days that were above average.  And, hardly no snow this winter which is way different from the first year we moved to Minnesota which had over 80 inches of snow.

The last 3 winters have been mild in the Twin Cities.

With temperatures in the 40’s, I’ve been able to get out and start walking sooner than normal with no fear of slipping on ice ~ a nice break from the indoors.  I even saw red berries on a tree which is quite uncommon.

But alas! Warm winters bring more bugs in the summer and living on a wooded acre lot means a LOT of bugs.

For now I’ll enjoy the warmer temperatures as the birds start migrating back ~ pretty soon our local hawk will be building its nest in the neighborhood.