Transition to Spring

As with many places across the country, the transition to spring in the mountains is a bit fickle. Despite waking up multiple days recently to a fresh coating of snow, all of the snow in our yard has melted out at this point. Now comes the work! And a change in activities.

{April 14, 2022}

Our project list is massive this year. The biggest undertaking is finally tackling the cleanup of our forest. Half of our property is forest and it’s been unmaintained forever. We have a bunch of downed trees and piles of logs and old stumps, as well as several dead trees that we plan on cutting down.

Alex got a chainsaw {!} and sawed up the downed trees into manageable bits. Already it looks completely different in there. Next step: get all the logs hauled away and build some trails.

Alex’s parents spent a couple weeks with us recently and his dad helped with quite a few projects. The kids loved getting some special time with their grandparents.

The weather has been quite inconsistent, which has thrown our brains for a loop. We’re maximizing our ski passes and have been skiing on the weekends, but alas, the season is days away from ending.

At the start of the pandemic Alex got himself a mountain bike and quickly found a new passion. I’ve always been skeptical of my own interest in mountain biking – I figured I’d be too nervous about flying down a narrow trail over, sliding over roots and rocks with trees as my slalom course. I agreed to give it a shot since I figured if I didn’t, I’d quickly get left behind by my family.

Alex got me a mountain bike for my birthday and I’ve been out a few times now and really love it! I was really surprised how stable and in control I felt, for the most part. One of our rides was a little less comfortable for me, but it was on a very narrow and exposed trail.

The wildflowers are beginning to bloom here – oh how I love this time of year. Early spring is so magical. I take so much joy in seeing all the new life emerge in the springtime. Sure, you never really know what the weather is going to give you, but the beauty and growth and surprise of spring feels so special to me.

Just the other day, when asked what he wanted to do, Ben’s response was “I suggest we go down to the river and take a hike to look for wildflowers.” Over the next few weeks I’m hoping to see a whole host of new wildflowers emerge. We get a few early varieties scattered around our forest, then all summer long we get a rainbow of wildflowers on our little berm at the edge of our yard.

We’re excitedly awaiting some warmer weather and more days on the hiking and biking trails. We have so much to look forward to this spring and summer!