Bob, Anna, and Ethan went on Sunday to cut up and clean up the nut tree (at the hole in the stone wall) that Eric (?) cut down before ARM left for Bethesda back in October! Anna took Ethan down to the slide/dam/satinet factory.
I talked to Connie this morning and she said the oil had been delivered and she and Angie are keeping a good eye on the house. Happy 2014!

Betsy and Mom went down to check on power for ARM (she said her electric bill seemed big): There is nothing drawing power except the few lights on timers. The water heater and fridge and freezer are off. The latest bill must include part of October when everything was still on.
However, I discovered that the power had been out at some point recently. The stove clock was blinking. I reset the clock and checked the light timers which seem fine, so the power must not have been out long. Everything else seems fine. The oil tank is down a bit to 9/16ths: it's been COLD the past few days!
The pond is frozen, the brook is VERY low and has ice on it! Rain (LOTS) is expected tonight so the ice should melt for now... But winter is coming! Happy Thanksgiving and Hanukkah!

Bob and Betsy mowed the lawn and leaves. A balmy fall day, nice to be outside! House was fine. J. Deere full of treated gas, small lawn mower empty. Cleaned up the barn garden a bit for the winter. Thank you to Connie for watching Thicut this winter!

The water heater is ON, the refrigerator is ON (still noisy).
The Phoebe has built her nest AGAIN (on the window frame this time) next to the door. There may be babies there, she kept trying to get me to go away.
There are beautiful dogwoods blooming, some late daffodils still blooming.
A strange message about Verizon and some charges on the phone answering machine. It's still there to listen to.
There was NO mail in the mailbox.
The lawn needs to be mowed: I left the J.Deere instructions on the seat of the machine just in case! Not sure of gas status.
WELCOME to THICUT and Summer!

Summer! It's in the upper 70's! Rain and cooler weather, maybe even a frost, is coming in the next couple of days.
Bob mowed on Sunday, but purple flowers are still all over the yard. We had some rain yesterday, so the grass looks very healthy and green.
I vacuumed up A LOT of Ladybugs this morning - and a few cobwebs. Just the downstairs. I cleaned up the sun-room plants, and turned on the water and pump so I could give them a healthy dose of 'local' water. I'll turn on the water heater next time, and the fridge when ARM tells us "I'm coming up!"
It's a beautiful sunny day. Enjoy!

Haddam Neck and Spring at THICUT

 Is this Aunt Yee's House? for sale?

 The Magnolia

 The Lenten Rose (3 blooms)

Mom and I drove all over Haddam Neck and found Aunt Kate's house (now YELLOW), and the church, cemetery, and we think Aunt Lil's house which is for sale. We'll have to take the drive with you, Aunt Sandy, to get the history and locations correct!
The grass is green and filled with violets, purple and white, the magnolia is in full bloom, the daffodils are spent, as are the forsythia. The flowering quince is full of red flowers.
Inside, the front hall is crunchy underfoot with all the dead ladybugs! I'll try to vacuum before you come up! Otherwise, all is well.

The magnolia is just blooming, the forcynthia is out fully, the daffodils on the hill are in full parade mode. The flowering quince is budding. SPRING is finally here! All is well at Thicut.
Well, almost. 'fault: second floor battery #12 is low' Isn't that the one that I keep replacing? It's upstairs. Next time I go, I'll replace the battery and look at the alarm/smoke detector list to see if that was replaced recently.
Happy Spring!