Spring is sprung

I've been working like crazy to get starts transplanted, get garden beds ready, pulling weeds, setting up watering on beds that already have garlic, lettuce, cole crops and onions.  A gate was left open and a very large doe enjoyed the spring buds of most of my roses.  Let me just say, I think deer are vermon!  She also liked the bottom branches of the apple trees.  Luckily she became frightened and found her own way out, jumping over two fences.  As I went to close the big gate that was left open, there was another deer about to enter - she'd heard the good news!

I love this time of year, despite all the work.  The back of the house and trellis is particularly spectacular.  You can't really tell, but there is a yellow Lady Banks rose climbing over the wisteria on the right.  Dynamic combination.  And on the left of the house is a Joseph's Coat rose that I love.  Try to ignore the satellite dishes.

In new farm activity, other than gardening, I have new chicks I ordered.  They are Welsummers, a breed that is pretty and lays very dark brown eggs.  I have 12 pullets and 5 roosters (because that was the minimum order).  I'll see if anyone wants the extra roosters.  I'm hoping to get some araucanas also for a nice egg color contrast to the dark brown.  Here are the chicks.  They are a little crowded, but I want them to be a little older before I put them in the chick nursery in the chicken house.

Hummingbirds

It's March and there are new hatchings of hummingbirds, making life around the feeder a little frenzied.  They are like phone calls - they all seem to come in at the same time, but it's particularly busy at the end of the day, when they stock up for the long night.  Oftentimes, these little birds will sit side by side and take turns drinking from the same spot.  When they are full grown adults, they are not so cooperative.

Be sure to look carefully and you'll see my cat, Teddy sharpening his claws on the bench while a hummingbird (that bright red dot near him) hovers nearby.  I've never seen my cats catch one of these fast birds, nor even try.  Yesterday, Mattie was at the kitchen door telling me that her bowl was empty and a hummingbird hovered near and pointed in her direction, seemingly curious about this big creature.  She never batted an eye.

Back home and busy

We've had such great weather since we've been back, that gardening has taken up most of my day.  I unpacked my lovely fabric purchases from Sri Lanka, but here they sit on my work table.  Time to get them put away and the way clear for some actual work.   Our quilt group retreat was 2 weeks ago, and I started on the Life Marks project, using a photo I took at Sigiriya.

First, the mess:

Yes, I really did bring most of this stuff back from Sri Lanka - oh, it seems such a long time ago already.  The photo in the foreground, of 5th century ruins at Sigiriya, has been altered in photoshop and I'm using it to construct an abstracted version for my Life Marks project.  Now back to cleaning.

Last shoppng day in Colombo

Let me just say, I bought fabric, and an extra suitcase. We went to the
Pettah market area, and they were plenty of fabric stores, stores with buttons and ribbons and a young man who was delivering refrigerators to stores by carrying them on his back!

Poya Full Moon Procession

The elephants began leaving the park once they were dressed, and we were told the procession would start at 6:30 and go around the lake to the Temple. We walked until we found where the rest of the procession, I.e., dancers, drummers, flag bearers, flute players, more drummers, were waiting to start. We went to where it would start and found seats on the steps of a bank. For the first 30 minutes we were the only ones there and everyone else was headed more toward the temple. Then the fireworks began, then the procession, with endless troupes of dancers, drummer, singers, flag carriers, etc., etc. It was a long time before we saw any elephants, and they were interspersed with the performers. We didn't stay for the whole thing, but I think the last photo of the elephants with the lights on them would have been the finale. I spoke with a young man at our hotel and he said it was a special Poya day, with 1000 performers which happens only once a year. The elephants are in it 3 or 4 times a year. He also said there is a special one in Kandy that is the best one in Sri Lanka. I really felt like I had gone back in time to the old Ceylon.....perhaps royalty would be on the next elephant. It was a magical night.

The Elephants, getting dressed

We shopped in the nearly closed market, visited the Barefoot shop which has lovely heavy woven home furnishings, also went to Paradise Rd. boutique. On the way there, we passed a park and our tuktuk driver said "there are fifty elephants there". We saw them and it looked almost as if they were working as there was some construction going on there. After Paradise Rd. we decided to go the park and see if the elephants were still -YES they were. Evidently that had been at the park all day,waiting to get dressed up for the Poya parade. I was more than a little sad for them, with chains on their ankles and hanging from their necks. I don't know where they are usually kept, but I think they go through this every month.

Elephants, undressed and getting dressed and dressed!! How do you dress an elephant? Well, you have to have the right clothes! The elephant also has to have a bath first! An then some choose to take their food with them!

Colombo

We had booked first class tickets to Colombo, on the train, but we couldn't get seats together, so were hoping we'd be able to switch with someone. As it turned out, the car was half empty and I got to sit in the window seat next to Mark and take ridiculous photos of the stunning valley and mountain views as we descended. We were served lunch? Snack? Awful!! After a fairly gentle trip down the mountain, we were surprised to find the rest of the way was a really rough ride. It was if we were on zigzag tracks. I heard one woman who got off a few stops before us, complain loudly about bruising her arm from how we were thrown from side to side. We had a 3:00 pm departure, started a little and didn't arrive in Colombo until after 6:00. As we were checking into our hotel,(hotel Renuka, as recommended by Danny and Benna ) we were given a choice of a deluxe room, for just $10 more. I checked out the rooms and definitely preferred the new one with no perfumery smells, and that gorgeous view over the Indian Ocean. We then found the cafe also recommended by D & B. It was a very trendy place with sort of fusion food. Mark had the squid ink risotto, and had the grilled seer fish with coconut risotto, which was fabulous, but not enough of the risotto. There was a note in our room that told us the next day was a Full Moon Festival holiday and there would be alcohol available or served anywhere in the city, as we found a supermarket and got a bottle of wine and a few Lion beers just in case.

The next day our strategy was to go the Pellah market where the guidebook said there would be textiles. We hopped a tuktuk after the usual negotiations. When we got there we realized that all the Buddhists' shops would be closed. We still found a few open and they had lovely dupioni silk for $4 yard, some nice woven cottons too, but we will go back tomorrow to look for other things. That last photo is the view from our hotel room. Cool, huh?

Later, the elephants are coming!!!!!!