Thursday, April 30, 2015

April (Snow) Showers Bring May Flowers

Spring is very short in the North and there is so much to be done.

Today I weeded and fertilized the asparagus and rhubarb with compost and chicken manure from my sister's chickens. I turned the compost pile, which was teeming with wonderful red worms, and unearthed a baby vole. After it righted itself and became accustomed to the light it slowly meandered off, nose to dirt. Even though I'm not having a vegetable garden this year it seems like there is plenty of work to do, mostly caring for the perennials.

When it's too dark to work outside I'm planning our route to South Carolina. Some of it will have to be traveled on Interstate highways because we have a limited amount of time, but some of it will also be on the "blue highways," the backroads, the ones that follow the routes through small towns that were America before the Interstate highway system came into being and created an America all their own.

If you know of a good travel app or website for the US, especially one for the blue highways to help with planning our trip, please share. It's a special trip for us, and we don't want to miss anything fun! So far we have Iowa's Largest Frying Pan to visit, as well as the future birthplace of Captain Kirk of Star Trek fame and a few others.

I've been enjoying a book called A Field Guide to Happiness, What I Learned in Bhutan about Living, Loving, and Waking Up by Linda Leaming. Bhutan has been called "the happiest place on earth" and the book is humorous but also full of wisdom. I'll leave you with quote I like from the book.


"Acceptance is so much a part of being happy.

First of all, accept who you are in all of your misshapen glory; and then accepting others is a piece of cake.

Mmmm, cake!"

Happy May Day!

 

15 comments:

  1. Spring flowers are always a great sight! That's so true about acceptance.

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  2. Your Daffs and Tulips are ever so pretty! Good for you taking the backroads! I bet you will see lots of interesting stuff! On the backroads one day we only made it 40 miles...:)

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  3. Well being pours off your blog!




    ALOHA from Honolulu,
    ComfortSpiral
    =^..^=

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  4. We seem to be able to cut things out but still find ourselves busy. I think it's wise to keep busy as seniors.

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  5. Cynthia, so now you are very busy with your garden. I will upload photo from my garden.. The flowers are nice

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  6. Reliable daffodils, always lovely.
    How far is your new journey as in klm or miles?

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  7. Oh, what gorgeous shots! And I love that quote too.

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  8. I hope we get to go on your travels. That's a great quote.

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  9. Those flowers bloom pretty quickly after the snow.

    In reply to Margaret's question on mileage, MSP
    to Savannah, Ga or just above in South Carolina would be similar to the
    distance from Brisbane to Mildura and about the same
    time frame without numerous stops for sightseeing.
    I guess one overnight stop would suffice if in a hurry
    with safety being taken (wisely) into consideration.
    Cheers
    Colin
    PS: At the rate this bloody rain is going BNE might soon be part of the
    Pacific Ocean - virtually non-stop and heavy for 42 hours now!
    And (6.00 pm) Friday and still bucketing down!

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  10. Roadside America is my favorite websight for blue-highway sightseeing!!! You can search by state. roadsideamerica.com Your book sounds very interesting.

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  11. Your pink and white Tulips are very pretty. We don't travel enough to have any advice to offer. I do however love taking the back roads. There is so much more to see.

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  12. I only travel the main highways when I'm pressed for time. I don't have any resources to point you to as my travels have usually involved just stumbling on sights as we pass them.

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  13. If you come south on I-65 in your trip then stop in Columbus Indiana as we have a beautiful small city. Take the bus tour around town. Have a wonderful trip!!

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  14. If you come south on I-65 in your trip then stop in Columbus Indiana as we have a beautiful small city. Take the bus tour around town. Have a wonderful trip!!

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  15. Such fun planning your next trip, I love the planning and preparation as much as the trip itself. Beautiful tulips.

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