this week at the grovestead

+ It is finally springtime in Minnesota. We really earned this one and I am celebrating every single leaf. Rory planted tulip bulbs in the four raised beds and they are stunning. All winter long I looked out at the snow piled on top of those beds eager for the day they'd be full of color. That day is here!

+ At breakfast I told Ivar about a plant that has "perfect little heart-shaped flowers." He was so interested and curious and then absolutely delighted when he saw it by the chicken coop. And watching him so excited about such amazing pink hearts on a bush made me so delighted. Wonders are all around. Ivar helps me see them anew.

+ The kids love to pick dandelions and we've got a lot of them. Which, just so you know, is so important for honey bees! Dandelions are some of the first springtime food for bees, and spraying them eliminates this food source. Consider yourself off the hook on the fight against dandelions.

+ The road grader went by while on a walk with the kids. This is always cause for much celebration and thrill. We waved to the driver and he waved back at us...all four times he went back and forth on our road.

+ We're giving the honey bees a week to get settled into their new home. In the meantime, I have been online ordering all of my gear. And reading up on varroa mites and colony collapse.

+ Twelve apple trees will be delivered this week. We have spent lots of time out in the far corner of our field marking off exactly where we want the holes dug for each tree. This little orchard will be a labor of love, and I have a feeling we're going to love it. That part of our property has always been my very favorite spot on our land. From the start I felt something special was to go out there.

+And finally, Elsie is a woman of very few words, so you can imagine my surprise when she made up her own knock knock joke today. Ivar had been making up silly knock knock jokes for a while in the car and then Elsie gave it a whirl. "Naa Naa," she said. Who's there? "Mama!" mama who? "MamaDada MamaDada!!!" And then she laughed at her wit and told her clever joke over and over and over again.