buck buck buckaaack!

the surviving two hens from last year
their theme song is "i'm a survivor" - beyonce

Owen and Bardi the barred rock...

pullet butts

more pullet butt shots

Isabelle feeding her "mama" hens and the newbies

so happy to be outside
(and throwing dirty straw all around)

wagon rides from grammy

pure happiness

a firm grip

silliness

I can't quite remember if I have mentioned the pullets yet...?!  But here they are!  After losing the majority of our layers to the neighbors dog we decided to replenish our "flock" and will be investing in an electric fence...we hope to not lose anymore chickens...to the dog at least?!  Meat birds and ducks will be ordered soon and there is a chance we might host a few piggies...we shall see!  For now we are enjoying what looks like the beginning of spring and a visit from grammy!

holy macaron!

Well it only took a few moments of internet searching to figure out what to do with left over egg whites (the yokes being used for ice cream....what else?).  It was a toss up between homemade marshmallows and ....wait for it....macarons!  Not to be confused with macaroOns.  These french pillows of sweetness are one of the most delicious treats I have yet to encounter.  They now rival my mother's sandwich cookies as my most favorite dessert....the sandwich cookies still win though...for now!  I took the task of macaron making very seriously....as I read from many reviews it can be a finicky process.  I aged my egg whites, weighed, sifted and said a few magic words (en francais s'il vous plait!)....and I may have just had some beginners luck....but all i can say is...holy macaron success!

the cookies sitting to form the "skin"

PERFECTION! macaron w/ ganache filling
sorry it is late...so the lighting is bad..
i took the macaron out to take a picture of it...i had every intention of putting it back....
...it didn't make it back in the box....

I used the serious eats recipe...can be found HERE.  I am so excited to whip up more of these tasty treats...and with all the possibilities of macaron flavors and fillings....it will be one exciting macaron adventure.  I just might find myself trying to figure out what to do with all my extra yokes (no that would be silly...more ice cream of course!).

easter sunday

Owen was thrilled mama used the fake grass...

it was like...so much better than the wooden toys mama made...

easter morning

natural dye eggs by grammy

more natural dyed eggs...that grammy is so crafty...

a quiet moment investigating the inside of an acorn

just as daddy suspected...a weevil larvae

a naturalist in the making

It was a weekend full of family friends and food...I guess that is the usual theme of weekends in RI....and boy I wouldn't change it if I could.  I managed to capture two of my favorite moments this weekend...the first being Owen full of silliness with his fake grass wig and the other with aaron and isabelle's heads leaning into one another while talking about nature and larvae.  I also had some not so favorite moments (yes i have those too) and without going into too much detail, I want to thank my family for loving me even when I'm not at my finest.  A family who loves and cares about me and supports me....even when I am slightly crazy.  

I have the best family a gal could ask for.

on a roll

a sun for owen
(i hummed you are my sunshine almost the entire time i made this...of course not recognizing until the very end)

a rainbow for a special little lady
(my arm is super sore from sanding this one...)

two new root children for a total of four (2 for owen and 2 for isabelle) and a little cave for the root children to play in.

the best part is i drilled a little hole in their hands so that they can actually carry flower...I think this will be a hit with isabelle...

After making those two little root children earlier this week I just couldn't help myself.... You see earlier this week and part of the weekend was spent working...full on working all hours...many of which were the wee morning hours between 2 and 6:30 am.  I will spare the details but I think I clocked my hours by Tuesday for the week and with some extra quiet time at the house I found myself at the scroll saw.  I am so very pleased with the way these came out.  I am sold on using the stockmar watercolors over the milk paint ...which maybe it is just my paint mixing abilities but it never comes out the way I would like it to.

I must admit...I am really excited for them to get their baskets on Easter morning.

On their way...

...to an Easter basket!

Just a glimpse

Welcome spring

learning how to get up from a fall...

gaining some speed

falling here and there...

stopping to enjoy the scenery

and then off again....

It may not have been how I had envisioned the first day of spring, but it certainly was a good day.  Isabelle for the first time decided to go down hill on her skis and did awesome (until now we have been on strictly flat ground).  She giggled and squealed as she gained speed and quickly bounced back after a few falls.  Yes, we are content and happy with spring...even if it means king winter sticks around a bit longer....