snowy spring day

The North wind doth blow and we shall have snow,
and what will poor robin do then, poor thing?
He'll sit in a barn and keep himself warm
and hide his head under his wing, poor thing. poor thing. poor thing.

I'm not sure how many times this was sung yesterday, brought to my little ones' attention from this much- loved Elizabeth Mitchell album. Many, many times. Adelaide and I spent a good deal of time watching the beautiful robin birds take refuge in the old apple tree pictured above - about 15 of them off and on for an hour, as still as can be in the middle of the storm. I suppose that's the closest thing to a barn that we've got. (I had no idea how much of a bird watcher I'd grow up to be. I'm amazed by them.)

Meanwhile, on the inside, we did our best to busy ourselves on the should-be-spring day. Lots of little, puttering projects happened, like this little thing that I first saw over on The Black Apple several months ago. It's been in the back of my mind as a solution to my prone-to-tangling bowl of necklaces, and yesterday was just the perfect day to make it happen.

Just like Emily said - quite easy. I hot glued the buttons (a teal one, and then smaller white one on top) to a clear thumbtack, and stuck them (with a bit more glue for good measure) right on this shelf. Voila. No more tangled necklaces, and a simple bit of satisfaction on a very simple snowy spring day.

 
And today? Well, today I'm sure we'll see the robins quite clearly against the now-white of the same apple tree. So we'll watch for them. And then, we'll bring the sleds and hats and mittens back out. Because really, when it's this beautiful out there - 'wrong' season or not - jumping in just seems like the thing to do.

Comments

[bellablue]

Our winter stuff has been brought down from the attic too. Dave's home but a bit grumpy that I didn't move the car last night. Oops! Now he's out there in our unplowed street trying to park it at the neighbors so it doesn't get taken out by a rogue plow.

Enjoy your day!

[Christi]

Great pictures - even with the snow! I know it must be a pain for you, but I love snow pictures since we never get snow here.

[Jess H.]

It's still coming down heavy up here. We've had at least 13" so far. It's beautiful, and I would be more amused then bummed if it wasn't for our furnace deciding not to work....sigh. So, now we're waiting for it to stop snowing and the roads to get clear so that the repair man can come....ohhhh and it's only 7:49. Maybe I'll just go back to bed.

[tamara in melbourne, australia]

Enjoy the snow play! At our house we think you're rather lucky, actually.

[molly]

that first picture took my breath away on flickr this morning. it is beautiful.
i have to say, that passing on the love of birdwatching/calling/identification to my children has been one of my biggest enjoyments of parenting lately. It is amazing what their little ears will pick up on, when my busy mind misses so much--a mourning dove, a red-winged blackbird. I love it!

[jean]

Love the robin. And the tunes.

[Eren]

I think I will have the robin tune in my head all day now. Seems very perfect for this kind of weather.

[Julie]

Beautiful snowy pictures to go along with your robin song! Love the shelf project for necklaces!

Julie

[Chris]

Beautiful robins - however that snow in April is just wrong! I lived in Iowa for my first 24 years and experienced many, many snowy spring seasons. Jogging in the snow, playing tennis with cleared courts, snow days. I'm spoiled for it now, that's for sure. Glad to hear you all are game!

[nancy]

I can't even imagine it snowy this time of year, or eve, since I live in Florida! Beautiful pictures, especially the one with the robins. Enjoy the last bit of snow!

[nancy]

oops! I meant "snowing"; I have "Mommy" brain!

[daan]

I love your blog and I am in love with the tunes. I 'ran' to the dutch cdinternetshop and orded the 2 cds that are available and we are going to be dancing around and learning english songs, my 5year old daughter Elvis and my 2year old son Rover also loved the little songs and are shouting: Again and Again (or in Dutch: nog een keer, nog een keer)

All the best from Ossendrecht, Holland,
Daan

[kristin]

those lyrics match perfectly to that
snowy photo. how sweet is that cd?
i think i'll have that image of those guys
in your tree when i hear that song now...

(fun shelf project too)

[alicia]

I'd trade a day here in Brooklyn for a day there in the snow for sure! Oh, the grass IS always greener! Have fun out there.

[sarah]

awesome necklace holder idea! We love that verse as well, it was one of our favorite February circle time verses.

[LB]

Oh I remember singing that song in choir!
And you've given me the perfect project for that very similar hatrack (or what do you even call them? Seems I'm always grasping at a name for them!) that is kicking around in the shed (and that strangely I'd just eyeballed yesterday, wondering what I could do with it!)

LB : )

[Heidi]

"I've got a friend in Portland, Maine...Little Liza Jane" Tee Hee!I JUST TURNED THAT ELIZABETH MITCHELL CD ON as I checked your blog this AM! We just recieved it for Hope's 1st birthday and we LOOOOOVE it so. It is freezing cold here in Wisconsin too no snow, but rather articy. Not sure where our birdies are, haven't seen any this morning. Love your necklace rack- my jewelry hangs out in a bowl and a shoebox.

[Heidi]

"I've got a friend in Portland, Maine...Little Liza Jane" Tee Hee!I JUST TURNED THAT ELIZABETH MITCHELL CD ON as I checked your blog this AM! We just recieved it for Hope's 1st birthday and we LOOOOOVE it so. It is freezing cold here in Wisconsin too no snow, but rather articy. Not sure where our birdies are, haven't seen any this morning. Love your necklace rack- my jewelry hangs out in a bowl and a shoebox.

[Alisa]

I love that song, and love that album. It is played around here nonstop and no one gets tired of it.

[Robyn]

Oh, seeing little robins just makes my heart sing. Since my name is Robyn, I always find myself looking at them when they fly by or land in the yard. Just lovely birds. I need to identify their sound because we have a lot of birds in the trees surrounding our house. I want to know which sound is there's. Oh, well. Those are some beautiful pictures.

[susaninfrance]

oh i am so jealous, robins winter down here in texas and i just realized that they've left! and what beautiful pics of the snow! makes me miss france so much where we had snow every winter and here in texas not much!

[erin scissorhands]

poor little birds. maybe it doesn't bother them as much when they are being photographed, knowing that they look pretty ;)

[releia]

We love Elizabeth Mitchell too....now most every bird is a "poor thing." Especially the hummingbird that became lost in our new room extension under construction.

We love your blog!

[beth]

What a lovely picture of the robins!

It's promising to pour rain here all weekend - not quite as much funt to play in.

That looks like snowman snow to me!

[Natasha]

Yes such a beautiful picture, the robins are thick in this neck of the woods too. Never fear you will be back beaching it in no time!!

[Lauren]

Beautiful pictures...I wish we had robins to gaze upon. But we have some lovely singing mockingbirds--sometimes they sing all night long.

Love your blog! :)

[Stacia]

I love the button tacks. Awesome idea. Now I have to find a way to integrate them into our home somehow. Potholder holder's perhaps. =)

[Laurel]

We are huge Elizabeth Mitchell fans as well! My little one is crazy about the album you mentioned in particular and sings "Three Little Birds" nonstop! There is nothing more endearing then a little one sweetly singing off key. It warms my heart!

And oh how I needed that bit of inspiration to organize my ball of tangled necklaces. I love the little bird sitting on the shelf! Is there a story behind it? If so, I'd love to hear it!

[Chris]

We had a lot of snow in NH too-enough that it took down most of my maple tree. Good day for home and tea.

[SOULEMAMA]

Laurel - no story, really with the bird, except that I adore it. I got it for $1 at a retirement home 'yard sale', and the sweet older woman who sold it to me said it was from Poland. That's all I know! It's made of some kind of clay...not sure.

[nina]

believe it or not, this post got me thinking about buttons...and inspired me to create puck fignopolis. thanks!

[Laurel]

Amanda- Let's hear it for a dollar! I love great yard sale finds.

[Mae]

Its much easier having this "second" winter as we know that it will be gone in no time, and we really needed the extra precipitation!

[Veronica TM]

poor robins! hope they find refuge.
i like the buttons!

[Sarah]

I am so sad that I didn't know about Elizabeth Mitchell when my children were young enough to enjoy her. We had Burl Ives' "Little White Duck" album which I also loved as a child. FAB kids album. Sarah

[brandie]

sorry, cannot see the beauty because i am OVER the snow. but the button hooks are beautiful. and i hope to grow up to be a bird watcher someday. oh, and did you actually go outside to take those photos?

[Lora]

Yeah what's up with this snow in New England anyway?!? I'm in NH and getting a tad tired of cold weather. I'm used to KY weather. LOL

[emily]

Amanda! Yay! Hooray!

I'm glad the ol' button trick could bring some simple feeling of accomplishment to the wintery, wintery day!
On the mustard tip...hmmmm...maybe some little cheese/bread tea sandwiches? Good luck with the birthday festivities (those invites are just the best) and with easter-ly stuff :)