outdoors — 2014 — The 21st Century Matriarch

Noticing something worth celebration each day is an easy thing for me to do. The habit of writing it down reminds me to be grateful for these and a myriad of other things in my life. This month has been full of ‘little celebrations;’ here are my top 10 for April 2014.

Home again. It’s always sweet to come home after being away no matter how much I enjoyed being away.

“New” clothes. I am tired of winter clothes so I celebrated a warm day in April when I needed to raid the summer clothes for something to wear. I am looking forward to getting out all the summer wardrobe and doing some focused purchases in May.

Outdoor projects. Our April was pretty cool but we did some sprucing up outside our house. We put new mulch around the trees, got the gutters all cleaned out and mowed the lawn for the first time. It felt good to be out and getting things done.

Indoor to Outdoor projects. There were several projects that appealed to me that started indoors and will be moved outdoors in early May. I am celebrating that all the seedlings I have in small pots are growing very well and will be ready for the garden soon. The bins we buy cat litter in have worked well as pots that I’ll just move to the deck and let the seedlings grow to maturity; reusing rather than recycling is very appealing.

Spring blossoms. The cherry blossoms were the highlight of April….big celebration. Dandelions bring more mixed feelings; the yellow blossoms are cheery but they are way too plentiful!

Outdoor volunteer gigs. There is always a serendipity celebration when I combine being outdoors and doing something good in the community.

Anticipating travel. In April is celebrated the anticipation of traveling to Rhode Island next fall and a vicarious trip to Hawaii through my daughter. I started looking at web sites and reading books (current and very old). I like the before and after of travel as much as the travel itself!

Photography adventures. This month I continued my explorations with the loupe and been very pleased with unfurling leaves and minute flower parts. The other adventure was an initial foray into time lapse photography with the seedlings. I always celebrate the successes….and try to forget the images that didn’t quite work out.