Lawn Ornaments

We have quite a few four-legged lawn ornaments to keep us entertained... These guys seem to be doing their jobs well, as there are no signs of field mice anywhere in the house. So, I guess they could be considered lawn-ornaments with benefits.

Cat Number One... Appears to be the ring-leader.

Cat Number Two... Accomplice...

Cats Numbers One and Two staking out the deck...

Cats Numbers One & Two Being Lazy Lawn Ornaments

Cat Number Three... Outcast & constantly picked-on by One & Two... Doesn't like cameras.

Cat Number Four... Elusive & Cunning

And then, we have the four-legged lawn ornaments we didn't really expect, at least not in broad daylight. There were at least 20 deer prancing around & bouncing over fences in the back field when we arrived on Sunday morning. They hung around for a good hour, munching on grass & whatever is finally growing over there. (Glad we didn't seed any of the fields yet.) I don't mind them much now. They are nice to watch. But when we start seeding fields, I will be hanging wind-chimes and scare-crows all over the place.

Lots o' Bouncy Deers

Spring Is Here!

We have cherry blossoms & daffodils, folks!

Three Different Kinds of Daffodils Under The Big cherry Tree in the Front Yard

Still waiting for the big cherry tree in the front yard to bloom. From the look of the buds, the flowers may be pink. The blossom petals are just peaking out of their little buds, so they should pop soon!

Lone cherry tree along the fence in the back field is blooming!

So dainty...

So pretty...

And after I ogled all the new prettiness around us (and failed to do it justice by photos), Mike decided he had to drive around the barn yard, through my last photo of the day... just 'cause he could.

Sunset over the back field with lone cherry tree & the front yard cherry tree sheltering the daffodil bed.

First UPS Delivery!

Our fancy finishing nails were delivered, today. :)

Fancy Nails & Wide-Plank White Pine 

They were delivered while I was out. It was our first UPS delivery at the house. I am relieved that UPS didn't get lost. Kudos to our UPS delivery-person.

And tonight, we procured our new miter saw to cut the floor boards, a fancy flooring air-nailer, a little air-compressor for the air-nailer, the cleats for the air-nailer, and a "high-velocity" hammer for the fancy finishing nails (seriously, that is stamped on the side of the hammer)... We have everything we need to start putting floor down, except the hose to connect the air-nailer to the air-compressor. Doh! Oh well. Tomorrow is a new day. There will no doubt be another reason to take a trip to our favorite home improvement stores.

Flooring Delivery!

Yesterday, with Gram & Grandpa's help and their truck, we picked up our new wide-plank pine flooring to be installed in the bedrooms, office, & sewing room, over the next couple weeks. It was a whole truck load of 8' pine boards. By this time, next weekend, we should have the back bedroom floor down, maybe not stained, but it should at least be firmly attached to the house. Can't wait!

Pick-up o' pine floor planks!

Furry Acrobats & Favorite House Things So Far...

Today, we spent almost 12 hours at the house, painting, spackling, dry-wall-taping, cleaning, more cleaning... 'Twas very productive, but there is still plenty left to do. We saw all four barn-cats, today. Up until now, we had only seen three. Apparently, one only comes around for food at dusk. And I met our new neighbor, Scott, and his playful pups, Twister & Rudy (who ate all the barn-cat food on our back porch, before Scott managed to wrangle them back to his house). I wish I had taken more photos, but these will have to do for now. Tomorrow is another day. 

Michael & I put up a bird feeder, last week, thinking we would attract some birds to our new back yard. However, the first visitor we had was a little bigger & more furry than expected. Today, we also had Juncos, Tit-mice(mouses?) & Cardinals. The Cardinals are my favorite. But these acrobats are pretty entertaining...

Furry Acrobat Feasting in Our New Bird Feeder

We need to grease the pole and buy an air gun. ;-)

So, my favorite thing IN the house so far...

My Awesome Enamel & Cast Iron Kitchen Sink Complete With Window View
... and The Subway Tile Back-splash.

My favorite thing OUTside the house, so far, is the sunset... Photos can't do it justice. Looking forward to eventually putting a porch on the front of the house, so we can watch it set from some smooth rocking chairs with sweet-tea in-hand.

Sunset From the Front Stoop

It still hasn't sunken-in that we finally have a house... and a yard... and everything that goes along with it. I imagine that will come in time, or at the latest when we actually move into the house & start living there.

Soon Spring Will Be Here

A first look at the new place from the corner of the back field.  From here, you can see almost everything. (There is another run-in & field behind the pine trees.) I cannot wait to see it blanketed in fresh, bright green. :) Only a few more weeks...

Almost Home-stead

Seedlings

The cucumber & squash seedlings are growing much faster than anticipated... Must start making a garden at the house before they get much bigger.

Squash and cucumbers and more cucumbers, oh my!

All in a day's work...

Today, we ripped up all the nasty carpets in the house. The house is now carpetless!  It is all in the garage... (and both of our backs hurt...)

Pyramid o' Nasty Carpets...

And despite the bitter cold & wind, we took a walk about the property & discovered an awesome wood pile that we didn't think was on our side of the property line. Well, it is. :) We should probably invest in a chainsaw sometime soon.

Michael & The Wood Pile!

The Beginning...

Today, we closed on our first home. It may not be much to look at, now, but it will be freaking adorable in time. 4 bedrooms (2 bedrooms, an office, & a sewing room for a good while), nice dining room, nice living room, and large kitchen with a soapstone wood stove! All on 7.5 acres at the end of a dirt road (yep, they still exist) in Central Maryland. Oh, and it all comes with 4 bonafide barn cats. :)

Tomorrow starts the task of cleaning (lots of cleaning) & determining how we are going to rearrange the kitchen (probably the most important room in the whole house). More pics to come soon!