The Consequences of Cabin Fever!

Every year it happens.  Give us just one warm day in April and we go berserk! Fresh off a week of warm Florida weather we had made a serious dent in our Vitamin D deficiencies but the depressing chemical effects still linger. So, as often happens here in Chicagoland, we go from 30 degrees to 80 in about....a day!! Eager to to shake the doldrums we rush out into the first hot day....and proceed to completely OVER DUE it!!!

Julia's softball 'career' has begun. Soccer is now a thing of the past. Time to break out the mitts and bats!!!

How very providential that the first practice fell on our first sunny and HOT day. She has quite the arm....

and you see this correctly, Julia throws righty and bats lefty. As the only left handed batter on the team, Julia garnered a bit of attention from the assistant coach and a batting coach who were pleasantly surprised to see her connect with 3 out of 5 pitches.

Mari patiently hung out at practice. She even willingly posed for a picture for the blog!

But there was an ulterior motive in her congenial nature......

There was the new 'cousin' to go visit!! Dear old Belle's 15yo frail frame finally laid down for her last time and after a week of grieving, the cousins brought Dolly J home from a local shelter.

After a nice meet and greet with the canine cousin, the sun stroked our snow weary brains and planted the seed of a thought....

What better weather to work in the garden could one hope for??

Now, the sun did not turn us into mad dogs or Englishmen...and we know better than to plant any seeds this early! But the soil could be turned...

and amended with peat, compost, and manure which we.....

raked in to the stories of the lives of pioneer women and the debates of just what we would grow this year.

When the day was done a fertile 'field' lay waiting for the rows of tomatoes and potatoes, the cucumbers and chives, the peas and beans, and the frost free weather needed to bring them to life!

When the day was done we were also WORN OUT!!

Hmmmmm, maybe Mother Nature has a method to her madness??? These cooler, rainy days that follow the first hot day might be her way to prevent us from trying to cure cabin fever ....cold turkey?!?!