I try not to limit my madness to March. ~Maxine

March 1

Watch out, crabgrass. He’s coming for you.

March 3

Ella art

March 4

Light at the end of the tunnel

Good times at Dogwood Park

March 6

Knox zooming by on his Hoverboard

Ella just learned how to ride a bike and got the hang of it pretty quickly

March 8

A tiny almost-Spring bouquet

from Ella

March 10

Time for some backyard T-ball

March 11 ...

…. we were wondering if it would snow on the buttercups …

… March 12

Of course it did

"Spring will come and so will happiness. Hold on. Life will get warmer." - Anita Krizzan.

And here, once again using the deck furniture standard of measuring snowfall,

I’d say that’s a good four inches. Or five.

Snow day is a good day for pizza at Mamma Rosa’s with family and friends

Sunshine made for some truly epic icicles

We couldn’t get enough pictures of them knowing they’d be gone by tomorrow

And they were

Donut run

We don’t discriminate when it comes to local tasty pastries

But first, comfort food on a cold snowy evening

March 17

Rock Island State Park is about an hour’s drive from our house

Ready for hiking a trail on this beautiful Spring Break Day

Moi, Holly, Elijah, Neil, and Knox

This was our first visit to Rock Island

I could’ve stood there watching the waterfalls and rapids all day

Let the trek begin

The only difficult part of the hike was being on constant alert

for trip hazards — roots, rocks, and hidden holes on the trail

Neil was in no hurry and brought up the rear. When he and Knox hike, they like to stop

and take in their surroundings. I was too busy trying not to face plant. I did look up now and then.

Holly and Elijah enjoyed time away from work and school

Knox wore an actual St. Patrick’s Day T shirt

I was clueless about the date. My T just happened to be green

It did protect me from unwanted pinches, though

Taking a break down by the river

We all enjoyed our three mile hike but, tired and footsore, were glad to reach the end of the trail

Great Falls Dam is a hydroelectric dam on the Caney Fork, straddling the county line between White County and Warren County in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the only dam outside the Tennessee River watershed owned and operated by the Tennessee Valley Authority. Wikipedia

Don’t say I never taught ya nothin'

March 24

First time in more than two years we’ve had the opportunity to target practice

Had to show off my bullseye

I’m consistently inconsistent 

Neil consistently hits the center

March 25

Must be Friday

Micky D’s with Kelly, Knox, and Ella plus special guests Elsa and Anna

Elsa is here for the McFlurry

March 26

We travelled to Greenbrier to meet our 4 month old great nephew and cousin for the first time

He’s a cutie. Ella treated him like a real live baby doll which he seemed okay with

From there we went to visit Shelby at her college and got to see where she lives while she

studies for her degree in marine biology

Enjoyed a yummy meal together at Cheddar's

Holly and Shelby

Mom and daughter don’t get to see each other much these day

Hooray for Face Time though

March 28

March 30

Crabapple blooms

Hope these ferocious winds don’t strip them off the tree

before we’ve had a chance to enjoy them

March 31

Ella had the best time painting characters from the movie Frozen this afternoon

Neil found the paint with water book at Sam’s, and it was a winner.

We had to convince her to leave the book here and save some pages for later

It was a hard sell, but we hit on a compromise to leave the book but take a couple

of pages home to paint.

It’s all good, right?

“Every cold and dark phase ends and hence begins a beautiful phase of warmth and vibrance. Don't believe? Just notice March” 
― Anamika Mishra

“Our life is March weather, savage and serene in one hour.” ― Ralph Waldo Emerson

March 1

Night light. Stop light. God light.

March 3

Ella’s sticky face

March 6

Soup and sandwich supper

Neil is the grilled cheese master

March 8

Future soccer star

March 8

He gave up trying to grow grass and decided to paint the lawn instead

Just kidding

He sprayed on a crab grass killer. The crazy green color was to show where 

he had already sprayed so as not to overlap. Or something like that.

March 9

Gravity means nothing to a 2 year old

Ella lines up each crayon after she’s done with it

March 11

Pinch Proof

She wore her green to school today because next week 

is spring break - no class on St. Patrick’s Day

She’s had the best time kicking that ball around the back yard

Shelby and Ella making art

March 14

Elijah got a haircut!

March 15

Buttercup bouquets from Knox and Ella

March 17

Snapped this out my kitchen window because standing out there on

the sidewalk taking a picture of the damage a drunk driver caused

would’ve been in poor taste, I guess. And it was raining.

St. Patrick’s Day. The guy had been drinking in a local bar, got behind

the wheel of his car, drunk, and proceeded to speed down our street and lose

control of his car. He slammed into our neighbors SUV,

which was partially parked in their driveway. The impact shoved the SUV into

the same neighbor’s van, which was parked on the street. Their SUV, sandwiched between

the two vehicles, was totaled. And their van pretty messed up.

Neil and I heard the loud bang/crash. First thing I thought was our

car got hit. It was parked on the street, which we rarely do.

If our neighbors hadn’t been home—they usually aren’t that

time of day—the drunk guy would probably have hit our car.

Apparently, he was going way too fast. Drunk plus rain. He wasn’t hurt.

That’s the drunk guy’s car being hauled away (in the pic)

Thankful there were no neighbors out walking or kids out playing.

A series of unfortunate events indeed.

March 18

On our way to pack boxes at Churches of Christ Disaster Relief in Nashville

Hubby Neil and my sister Jane filling boxes as we move them down the roller belt

This warehouse is usually filled with probably a hundred or more people who

work for two solid hours to fill 1500 boxes of food and supplies. But because

of the virus, small groups come to pack as much as can be done in two hours.

I think we packed 275 boxes. Not too bad for a skeleton crew.

March 19

Time for the second shot

As we were pulling in here, one of the health department crew actually said,

“Don’t leave the tunnel without getting your shot.”

Wait. Why are we here?

Can we throw away the masks now?

March 20

Knox was here for a sleepover. We watched Guardians of the Galaxy.

11:00 PM Frosty run. Because we are just that wild and crazy.

March 21

My nieces Sarah and Julia with Ella. Somebody’s got pigtails!

March 23

The squirrels have been sliding off this metal bird feeder ever since we

hung it last Fall. It’s been a hoot to watch. But they are persistent little acrobats and apparently love

a challenge. At least one of them has finally figured it out.

Perseverance pays off.

March 23

Straight outta Lowe's

Neil figured the living room floor was as good a place as any

to unpack the new toilet. Ask him about the fun time

he had installing the thing.  

The bathroom makeover continues ….

March 23

March 24

Got her a new shiny pink ball to kick around the back yard 

March 26

She had to have this pretty little grape hyacinth

and proceeded to pick all the “grapes” off

March 26

Would have been my mom’s 100th birthday

She sure did love her cheese Krystals

March 29

The Handy Man Can

He installed the new faucets and drains

The bathroom makeover continues ….

March 31

13 inches of rain this month

March 2021 will end as the 2nd wettest March on record in our town, 

and this month ranks as the 6th wettest EVER, according to our local weather guy.

We had five feet of water in our basement after the past week’s rain.

Sump pump decided not to pump. Neil thinks the electrical cord shorted out.Timing is everything.But the redbuds and dogwoods are blooming and everything’s green again.

So it’s all good.

There is something infinitely healing in the repeated refrains of nature

--the assurance that dawn comes after night, and spring after the winter.

~Rachel Carson, Silent Spring