It has been quiet here on SA the last couple of weeks. The Zbindens minus Chris (so far) have each taken a turn with the stomach virus going around. It knocks them down for a day or two but they bounce back. There apparently is a lot of flu going around as well but so far we’ve eluded it. It has been reported that Sophia missed school Valentine’s Day because she was sick. Valentine’s Day is important to you when you are in the second grade. Sophia did get her bag of treats, though, I’m told.
We had a nice snow Monday, maybe 2-3 inches, very wet. We got rain Sunday and between the two days we accumulated nearly an inch (.97) of moisture. It was timely. I was beginning to think I needed to do some watering as the January moisture faded. There are chances of rain Sunday and into the week which may add to our above-average accumulation for the year. Things are beginning to put out here and there, which may not be a good idea. We will surely get more freezes between now and July. Last year at this time we were living off the moisture we got the previous year. We only got half an inch through February.
Chris has been merrily trapping homeless cats and having them neutered. There is a theory that trapping, neutering and releasing (TNR) is more effective in controlling the cat population than trapping and destroying. It seems that the neutered cats keep other cats out of their territory but getting rid of the cats just creates a vacuum which is quickly filled by new generations of cats. One has to accept a homeless cat population either way and neither is a good choice but perhaps the TNR is a little more humane.
Yesterday was a beautiful day and I took advantage of it to start cleaning up last year’s vegetation around the house. Things like pentstemon and chocolate flower are already putting out new growth and look better with the old dead growth removed. There is a fruit tree that was supposed to be a plum but is a peach, I think, close to the shop that is leafing out like it’s April.
Abigail’s team won their bracket in the tournament they played in Sunday. Joyce and I watched one match but didn’t stick around for the rest because we’d gotten there quite a bit before the match we watched and our hind quarters were tired.