Goodness is that the Date?

 Dateline: Cattaaraugus County, western New York state

  Where has the time gone? We've now been back up north for a week and as always it takes a while to get one's bearings - remember which way to turn for the post office and where the apples are in the supermarket and which side of the bed to get out of and where we keep the kitchen knives and so it goes on. As always there have been surprises. Mostly good this time I have to say. Our massive deer fencing operation appears to have saved the blueberrry bushes and rhodos from attack.  Of course, where the former are concerned we still await a summer of battles against birds, chipmunks, turkeys and other marauders. We found some delicious turkey soup in the freezer left by a visiting family member - all local from our friend's farm. 

The robin had gone elsewhere to build her nest so the garage motion detector lights were unoccupied. (Though there is a row of small nests in the eaves of the porch.) The blossoms were out, bumble bees buzzing away.

The neighbours' pond still there.

And Rudolph's red nose still attached.

I've had to get used to walking up a hill again and there are things I'm missing.

But there's something wonderful about catching the early spring. The mornings frosty not humid and very little traffic on the roads.  Puffing up the lane I met a neighbour, "It's a while since I've  climbed  a hill!" 

"Me too", she said, "We just came back from Florida". 

"Oh, which part?" 

"Naples". 

"Gosh only down the coast from us. We were in Venice!" 

Solo in America.