Favorite Photos from April 2023

Below are some of my favorite photos from April...or at least ones that I want to remember what happened in April. 

On April 1st, there was a major snowfall. The snow, by this point, covered half of the doors and windows on the barn. This has been a nightmarish winter, to say the least. 

One of the things I like about the winter, though, is that I can see tracks in the snow. It amazes me how much "traffic" there is around the yard by different mammals and birds in the winter and early-spring.

Once the snow melted a bit, I took the dogs out for a walk. I need to get into the routine of walking again.

The dogs love to walk along this road. There isn't a lot of traffic or walker/bikers, which is nice.

These photos are of Easter Cactuses that I got this year. In April, there was continued snow and it was becoming more challenging to deal with the never-ending winter and dreariness of the snow and ice. Bright, cheerful flowers were what I needed.

  

As the month progressed, the ice and snow melted. The seasonal pond was getting larger each day. The ducks and geese were returning which was uplighting. Spring was finally getting here!

Paige and I visited Olivia at college one day. We all enjoyed dinner together.

Afterward, she showed us the drawing studio. This is one of her pieces she did with charcoal.

The red-winged blackbirds were returning to Minnesota in earnest. The tough thing for the birds is that there's not a lot of food for them since the weather has been so cold. Only a few trees have buds on them. I love to hear the birds sing and call to one another in the trees.

Ashley (one of Sophia's roommates) had her final concert. There was a wide variety of music and everyone played beautifully. Sophia played the harp and Olivia played the flute. 

Sophia and Olivia along with Nessa (Sophia's roommate) came home for Easter break. I asked the girls if they wanted to dye Easter eggs and they did. 

They used crayons to create designs before soaking the eggs in dye which they enjoyed.

I had fun shopping for Easter baskets this year. This is Olivia with her Easter basket. She had more nature- and dog-themed items in her basket.

That sunlight was bright on Easter. We enjoyed having breakfast together. Paige requested pancakes and Sophia wanted blueberries in them. It has been a while since we had fresh blueberries in pancakes.  

This is Sophia's Easter basket. She was excited about the different items - some practical and others not so practical. 

We went to my brother's home for Easter. The girls were eating with two of their cousins at this table (one is pictured and the other joined later). 

The rest of us ate Easter dinner at this table. We had an untraditional taco dinner for Easter which we all liked.

For dessert, my brother got big decorated cupcakes. Here's Olivia and Sophia with their cupcakes. 

 

Sophia made a cheesecake since Paige had to work on Easter. He loves cheesecake.

On April 15th, I coordinated and held a Service Project Sampler Day. The event took about four months to create and relied on many volunteers from the Lions and community to make it happen. We had 199 people attend the event - up from 137 last year and about 60 the year before. We had 15 hands-on projects and 21 collection drives. It was the largest one to date.

My sister is working on the Sole Hope project - creating shoe kits from blue jeans for children in Uganda who had and were treated for jiggers. 

Another project we did at the Service Project Sampler Day was knit and crochet hats for newborns in third-world countries. The hats are one of many things we made and donated, and are used as incentives for women to get pre-natal care and to deliver their babies in clinics/hospitals. 

These were pillowcases that some of the volunteers made for children living on a reservation in California. The sewers made 55 pillowcases! 

At the museum where I'm doing marketing/PR and now have become the Associate Director, we have a new exhibit called Swedish Folk Painting: Tradition and Innovation. This is one of 37 pieces that are being shown. The cupboard/case opens and has two shelves that hold tiny glasses.

This is another painting. I like it because it has two animals in it. 

There are five historic buildings at the museum, and this is one of them. Originally, it was the pastor's house and then it was sold to a family back in the 1800s. One of the children who was born in the home lived there until the 1970s. There was never central heat, air conditioning, or a bathroom in the home. It was heated by a wood stove in the living room. It just amazes me that a woman in her 80s was hauling wood in the late-fall, winter, and early-spring to keep her home warm.

The last week in April, I attended the Minnesota Association of Local History Museums in Austin, Minnesota. I went on the Tree Trek that featured over 75 trees and shrubs that can grow in Minnesota.

Here's another sign of spring.

At the Hormel Historic Home in Austin, there was an old treadle sewing machine that was set up.

This was another display at the Hormel Home that I thought was clever. I liked how the trunk is on one end and displays various linens. 

One of the activities at the MALHM conference was to find rubber ducks that had been hidden around the conference area. On the underside of each duck were raffle tickets. I found four ducks - each with a different appearance. It was a great way to add more fun to the conference.

This was a small lake with a dam in Austin. 

My sister and I went to the Como Conservatory to see their Spring Show. It was beautiful with its purple, white, and yellow flowers. 

I love the colors on these flowers.

There were brightly-colored flowers tucked in little spaces throughout the display.

The smell of the conservatory was amazing! It was just what I needed in April when things still were not in bloom yet outdoors.

This flower had tons of little tiny flowers on it. I've always wanted to grow them, but the cost per bulb is so expensive. 

There was an orchid section in another part of the conservatory. 

This was one of the flowers in the bromeliad section. These flowers collect water in their centers.

My sister stood next to one of the bonsai in the bonsai room. This one was the most impressive one because it was covered in flowers. It's an azalea. 

This was one of the little waterfalls in the Como Conservatory. 

After going to the Como Conservatory, my sister and I went to Hmong Village to look around and then have some lunch. I got three spring rolls at Hmong Village. Before I realized that I didn't take a photo, I ate one of the spring rolls. It was delicious!

At Hmong Village, Mary ordered a sesame ball with her chicken pad thai. It was huge!

There was a long aisle of Asian restaurants - each with a slightly different focus. We ordered at one all the way at the end of the aisle. This was the first available table...that's how popular this place is!

Afterward, we had some bubble tea. 

That wraps up April. 

Outdoor Photo Challenge

On Swap-Bot, there was a swap which focused on an outdoor photo challenge. When I signed up, I thought that April was a long way off and I could easily capture all of the items on the list. As it turns out, with having one of the snowiest winters on record, find the majority of items on the list was a challenge. However, I was able to find 10 items (the minimum was 5 items). 

All of the photos were taken in my backyard or in one of the two pastures. Ten days ago, there was a huge snowstorm that dumped eight inches of snow on us. It was the wet, heavy kind. Thankfully, we have many warm days and most of the snow has melted...except the snow in deep or tall piles. So, it has been wonderful to hear the birds and frogs singing, and flowers starting to emerge.

Flying insect other than a butterfly - there's not much flying around now...just boxelder bugs mostly. Saw the first ladybug and the first fly. This fly was basking in the sun on the side of the house.  

Something yellow - last year I was given a native cactus to Minnesota. I didn't even know we had them here. Apparently, the plant dies like this in the winter and then comes back to life in the spring. Sure enough, there are little yellow "buds" (I don't know what they are called on cacti) that are emerging.

An animal track - this is Cooper's track in the snow. I let him in the pasture to run around since most of the snow had melted - except in areas near the pond. This was a track he left in a slushy part of the snow.

A rock at least as big as your hand or bigger - this rock is one of many that creates a border around the butterfly garden in the backyard. A nearby farmer stacked rocks that would surface each spring and were left in a rock pile. This is one of the many "rescued" rocks.

Flowing water +  Water reflection - Cooper is looking through the woven-wire fence at the neighbor's farm. The sun is creating reflections of Cooper, the post, and some of the grasses in the water.

Hole in a tree - one of the trees in the little forested area in the northwest section of our farm had some large holes in it. 

 

Really tall tree - The pine tree closest to our home in the backyard has grown substantially (probably more than double its size) since we moved here in 1995. We had to have some of the lower branches trimmed off since they were touching the house. However, there are still low ones to hang bird feeders and a wren house.

A pine tree or other conifer - when Sophia, Olivia, and a friend (Nessa) came home for Easter break from college, Olivia and Nessa climbed to the top of the pine tree (the lower one near the road since it had more sturdy branches). Sophia made it around eight feet up and that was high enough for her. They got some beautiful pictures and video at the top of the tree.

Catkins/pussy willows - I was surprised they were even emerging since less than a week before it felt like the dead of winter with cold temperatures and snowstorms. The pussy willows remind me of a friend who had cancer who asked to come to over one day to cut some. His oncologist encouraged him to find one joy each day. That particular day - it was bringing a sign of Spring into his home. 

Something red - In about a day or so after the snow melted, the plants started emerging in the garden. I have no idea what these plants will be since I planted a lot of native plants in the Fall. It will be a surprise to see what this garden looks like this year.  

Another red - This is one of many blooms of a new Easter cactus I got this year. Home Depot had a lot of little Easter cactuses full of buds. So, the kitchen is colorful with pink, orange, and red flowers now.

One more red - the crabapples on this tree last all winter and provide the first fruit for early-migrating birds. Yesterday, I noticed a flock of over 30 robins in the tree eating the apples. They were gobbling up the apples - and flitting from one branch to another. There was a feast of fruit for them to enjoy!