Getting back to Nature

Already it is beginning to feel as if the spring is almost over, and we seem to have missed it while being stuck in this limbo.  i had hoped to be spending most of my days at the RV, because spring is my absolute favorite season and i truly can not stand to miss it. 

We paid a contractor a pretty good chunk of money to get it all set up with electricity, water and plumbing.  Now almost 3 weeks later, we are still waiting.  The electric company brought out a temporary pole and stuck in the yard, but it is not hooked up to anything yet.  Nothing has been done with the water/septic.  We are waiting on a building inspector to approve the set up, so despite our plans to hook it up to the existing water/plumbing/electricity we are now finding out it may not be possible at all.  This really adds to the frustration we are already having in trying to come up with house plans and get started on our building project.  i feel as if the year is already slipping by, and we haven't gotten anywhere at all.  We have less than a week to be out of this house, and it looks like our summer of RV camping is going to be a bit more rustic than we anticipated. :(

i'm fine without the electricity, but the lack of water and plumbing can be a problem. We are already hauling 5-6 jugs of water to the property each day to make sure the animals all have fresh water to drink. Although the majority of my garden hasn't even been planted, i do have a few seedling and flowers that have to be watered daily.  When i am there working in the hot sun, i require a bit of extra water too. Not only for drinking, but after working in the garden i usually end up covered in mud from head to toe and have to clean up a bit before driving back to the house we are renting. So despite wanting to spend all day at the property, i am typically only there until the water runs out.

i truly enjoy my time at the property though, and still find myself blessed to be able to go 'home' even if it's only a couple of hours a day.  Each time i am there, i am reminded of why i love it and why it will always be home.  While working in the yard, the hummingbirds dart by.  The scarlet tanager sits in the tree across the road and sings it's heart out.

While moving a pile of compost, i spotted this little guy watching me from behind a tree stump.  i had no idea what it was, but snapped a quick picture and attempted to get a look at him. 

It's a blue tailed skink! 13 years at our property and i think this is the first time i have seen one here. 

While moving things around in the shed, a little wren kept popping in and the disappearing. So i knew she had a nest in here, i just didn't know where. i did a bit of investigating and realized there was a nest built inside this hard hat that it way up on the wall. 

i couldn't see inside the hat, but i  climbed up on the hay bales and stuck my camera in the top and took a picture. Then looked to see if there was anything in there...this is what i saw. :)  4 baby wrens.

While cleaning up one of the flower beds, i noticed this red spotted newt hiding under the twine.  We have several of these that live in the kids fairy garden. Sage is great at spotting them.

A hike down to the creek and we spotted this tiny baby opossum. The kids wanted to bring it home and raise it, but i have to assume it's mama was close by so we left it where we found it. It was only about the size of a hamster.  

Near one of my gardens a mama Brown Thrasher was making a ton of noise. i figured she must have had a nest in the rhododendrons.  So i peeked inside and saw these new babies.

Despite all that we have been through these last few months.This simple things can still make me smile and warm my heart and fill me with gratitude for this amazing place that we live. 

To find the universal elements enough; to find the air and the water exhilarating; to be refreshed by a morning walk or an evening saunter; to be thrilled by the stars at night; to be elated over a bird's nest or a wildflower in spring - these are some of the rewards of the simple life.  ~John Burroughs