True signs of spring

Erikson's Dairy Ice Cream stand opens! Chapman family start eating lots of yummy ice cream on the few days that have been warm.

Peeper frogs start chirping at night to sing us to sleep!

Snow melts and reveals fall leaves that have not yet been raked (ugh.)

Bulbs FINALLY show their tips above ground. We might get a tulip to bloom yet!

Birds start cackling earlier and earlier in the morning. Morning comes way too early. Harriet gets up before birds.

David's bike emerges from the basement and his car starts spending more time in the driveway.

Mosquitoes in the house.

David sets up mosquito magnet. Pond is now a mosquito nursery.

Velvet gets bitten by a tick.

GRACE GETS BITTEN BY A TICK!!! YUCK!!! Can we move please? Poor little thing... she came to me a few nights ago and said "mommy, I have an owee on my ear." I pulled her ear down to look at the back of it and saw something dark and crawly. I nearly had a heart attack - I knew exactly what it was. It was a deer tick - the worst kind. Luckily, I think she told me RIGHT away when it bit her because I got all of it out and it hadn't filled up with blood yet and it is healing really really well. We have to wait the 2 weeks to be sure that she doesn't get a rash and go in for Lyme disease treatments, but it usually takes over 24 hours for ticks to transmit Lyme so we are probably safe. For now.

Tick checks every night until November.

Winter, much too cold for much too long. Spring, too wet and too buggy. Early Summer too hot and too humid. Late Summer/Early Fall - no bugs, little rain, perfect temperature - PRICELESS. I'm waiting for August.