Milestones, miniatures and good men...

 My calendar reminded me that last year, at this time, I had my right knee replaced. I had to rely on the calendar to make me remember it because I rarely think about my knee at all. And that is how well-functioning body parts are. We rarely contemplate breathing until we have an upper respiratory virus that makes doing so difficult, and we don't spend a lot of time pondering about how our tongues are working unless we happen to bite ours and notice how much that can hurt. My new knee feels quite normal and I celebrate it working so well. Earlier this week, I took a small tree that needed planting and a sturdy shovel and walked down an incline that used to be painful to navigate. I placed my foot on the shovel and pushed it into the newly thawed earth, turning over several scoops until I had a nice soft bed for the little tree to rest in. This action would have been impossible before my surgery. It was a small chore and didn't take much time, but it was eventful because it was pain-free. An excellent exclamation point to an arduous recovery. Yippee! 

When I get ready to write a blog post, I scroll through my photos and find something that might illustrate the idea jangling around inside my head. Lately, almost one hundred percent of my photos are of the wee grand girls, and since their faces are kept off social media, it limits my creativity. I will say that the toddler has reached a delightful phase where she loves to putter around the yard with me. Last year, she was a little fearful of the goats.  This year, she wades confidentially among them, helps me clean their cozy, and explores the yard, even climbing up the steep ramp to the platform we call "Billy Goat Gruff Bridge." There, she marches up and down in her cowboy boots, stomping a bold tattoo and grinning ear to ear at her independence. She chats, comments, and questions, pointing out the red "carnal" singing in the tree, thrilled when "BIG trucks!" go by, and laughing at the antics of the animals. Chores are a thousand times more fun with a garrulous girl by my side. 

Rachel and I chose a significant new piece of furniture for the grooming studio. It vaguely resembles a dining room sideboard but has two dog crates underneath. It replaces some flimsy metal crates and gives us an excellent, sturdy surface for hand tool storage. The drawback was that it needed a lot of assembly. Chris and Evans oh-so-kindly agreed to tackle the project. It was a generous gift of time and talent, and I am so grateful.

Evans is very good at building things. For my birthday, he sweetly gave me a fantastic new bluebird nest box that he made. Chris cut down a dead pine tree for me last week and left a tall stump. Tonight, he attached the new birdhouse to that trunk for me. It is in perfect line of sight from where I sit to work, and it will be a treat to watch new residents find and use it. 

This spring is shaping up nicely, and I am delighted by my ability to move comfortably, shadowed by my favorite toddler and supported by the talented and kind men in my life.