Mystery solved

Well folks, it looks as though our mystery tree is a hickory! Thanks, "jt bear," for the tip. We'll have to do a little more research to find out what kind of hickory, but at least we have a good starting point. 
Here are a few more sights from the yard. Nothing that needs identifying this time!



I found this adorable creature in the garden. He climbed right into my lap.

An extra hour of sleep

Last night we hung new, Mama-made, blackout fabric-lined curtains in Walter's room. This morning Walter slept until 7:20 instead of 6:20. Nate declared me the BEST WIFE EVER.

Lil' sprouts

Walter and I have been checking the garden every day since we planted last weekend – closely examining the dirt for any sign of green. And we've found some! Just the tiniest bits, here and there. Little sprouts of beans, peas, zucchini and swiss chard. (And a few weeds, which are much easier to find. Humph.) The fence is in place, protecting our tiny plants. Fingers crossed that the bunnies, deer, and other creatures don't find a way in.

Weekend with Mama

While Nate worked, Walter and I had the weekend to ourselves, so we did all the things that Mama likes best. Shopping at the Farmer's Market, visiting with friends, planting, baking, watching movies and knitting. Lucky for me, these are the things that Walter likes best too. Of course, if he listed off what we did this weekend, he'd say we ate cookies at the Farmer's Market, played with friends, dug in the dirt, made monster cookies and watched Toy Story 3 while getting his legs tangled in Mama's yarn.

The great outdoors (and a pop quiz!)

It seems we are spending all of our time outside these days – exploring, planting and playing. Walter has found a favorite hide and seek spot behind an oak tree in the yard. He's never hard to find. The garden is half planted with just two more beds to go. We had a short break from the mud, but today's rainstorm brought it back. All this outdoor activity leads to daily tick checks and nightly baths for all of us. Poor Molly gets the hose every time we bring her back into the house. 

We're finding so much great stuff growing on the property. I'm excited to see new varieties of daffodils, some bleeding hearts, tulips, hostas, daylilies, and all sorts of interesting things I've never seen before. We've been doing our best to identify plants and trees, but the internet is failing us and books are only somewhat helpful. So we are turning to you, smart blog readers, to help us. Today's mystery tree is:


I've never seen anything bloom quite like this before. Any ideas? I just know that one of you will have the answer!

A Bee-utiful weekend

First of all, Happy Mother's Day! We had a lovely brunch with our local families. The food was great, the kids played well together, the grown-ups got a chance to talk and the weather was perfect. I didn't finish the new kitchen table in time, but we managed without it. I promise to have it in place in time for the next gathering! 

The other big fun of the weekend – BEES!

Jess, my brother-in-law, has a new beekeeping hobby. He has been readying a hive and his first bees arrived on Saturday. The whole family headed over to watch him (literally) pour a box full of bees into the hive. A truly amazing thing to witness. Thousands of bees and not a single person got stung! I'll be taking notes this summer. This was so cool that we just might get a hive of our own next year. You can read all about Jess' bee adventures on his blog, Be A Participant, Not A Recipient.

Progress

Know what this means? 
This means I just put the first coat of paint on our new (used) kitchen table!! It's not perfect, it needs some work, and it probably won't end up being the table we use forever. But it's a good, cheap solution for the time being. And I have the somewhat ambitious goal of getting it finished and into our kitchen in time for Mother's Day brunch on Sunday. Wish me luck!