At Home with Maggie & Us: Safe at Home

What a difference a few months can make! When I last wrote in January, we did not realize that just a few months later we would be spending A LOT more time at home as we did our part to stop the spread of COVID-19. We returned from a vacation in Florida the beginning of March to our offices and the children's school closed. What started as temporary has turned in three and half months of time safe at home. Although it has had it challenges, we have enjoyed the extra time together to spend outside playing and gardening. We excited to share some of our updates - mostly outdoor related with you all.

March

The start of our time at home was still cold with a few days of snow. We enjoyed checking the sap buckets on our tapped maple trees. My Father In Law tried his first season of sugaring and we enjoyed the "sweet" results. Margaret and Harrison enjoyed playing outside bundled up in their winter coats. We joined households across the country and around the world who decorated their windows with heart to show our thanks for those working on the front line to keep us safe.

April

After one month, we were still working to balance two full time jobs from home plus keeping up with two active children. Lots of playtime outside and the work preparing the garden for planting. The end of April brought beautiful daffodils and other flowers to brighten our days.

While staying at home, our large backyard has been a great outlet for energy and exploration. We have spent lots of time on the swing set, running laps around the garden, climbing rocks and going on "hikes" to different spots in the yard. Margaret has event perfected kicking her on legs on the swing to keep herself moving.

May

We were ready for warmer weather and May did not disappoint. We even had a few days of weather in the 80s! The seeds David started in the greenhouse were ready to go in the ground, bushes and trees erupted in beautiful blooms and we spent more time enjoying the sunshine. We also welcomed two new hives to our apiary under the watchful eye of our newest bee keeper. Our chickens continue to do well which was a great help when local groceries stores were running out of eggs.

Although we normally plant a large vegetable garden, this year's pandemic has made our planting seem even more important. Like Victory Gardens of the past, it's comforting to know we will have fresh vegetables in a few months without worrying about a trip to the grocery store.

We added two new hives to the backyard increasing the total number of Greenhouse Hives to 10. Both our existing hives overwintered very strong and we were able to split two to create two new hives.