Time for pecans......

....... and it's pronounced pa-cahns down here. The other day when my two NY cousins were still here, we were out in the yard showing them the pecan trees. Neither of them had ever seen pecans (or any other nuts) growing directly on a tree branch before, so they were taking photos and picking pecans to bring home with them.

The pecans are early this year...... the few green and brown pods that were opening up the other day are now on Long Island with my cousins. Yesterday and today, I was out in the yard picking pecans from our trees. Both days, the tips of my fingers were a little brown, from the outside pods and the actual shells. How nice that the pecans you buy at the supermarket are not only washed but polished up so the shells are clean and shining. They don't come that way when you pick them from a tree. I will have to remember to wear thin latex gloves when I pick nuts.... otherwise, the skin on my finger-tips will be stained from now till Christmas.

As I picked the pecans this morning, all three cats were sitting by the garden boxes, watching me try to pick nuts and stay away from spider webs. The chickens decided to join me under the trees, and I had to be extra-careful with Scarlett, who tends to get as close to my feet as she possibly can. As I pulled the pecans from the thick pods, Scarlett was picking up each of the pods as they fell to the grass. It took her quite some time to realize those pods weren't good enough to eat, and then she lost interest and went back to catching crickets. (I'm surprised we still have crickets in the yard, with all the cricket-chasing from both the hens and the cats.)

For the past two days now, we've had hawks circling above our back and front yards..... very low in the sky--- so low yesterday that I could clearly see one hawk's eyes. Isn't this what happened last year? Low-flying hawks hen-napped four of our chickens, never to be seen again. I got the chickens to follow me into the coop yesterday (and also just after lunch-time today). I closed the wood fence of the small yard outside the coop, pulled down the bedsheets that I have tented up along that picket fence, and the hens are inside the gate and underneath the tent. They can still peck around in the grass, but the hawks can't see them. I am determined not to lose my chickens to the hawks this year. The chickens aren't happy to be confined, but at least they're safe.

As I type, my husband and W the handyman are outside on the roof of the house.... they have been scraping and sanding and filling in the wood siding.... just the bad sides of the house, where the sun has mercilessly scorched some of the paint. They will start the priming today, the painting tomorrow. It was supposed to be a rather small job, just doing the few parts where the paint was peeling. Of course, little jobs turn into big ones........ with caulking of windows, replacement of trim, plus all the sanding and priming.

My husband no longer wants to paint just the portions of the second floor where they have scraped and sanded...... he wants to do the entire second floor, so it all looks even, so it all looks nice. I have no doubt that it will all look nice (translation: perfect) when they're done. The new paint job on the garage is so nice that you can barely see any seams in the wood siding.

The temperatures have cooled down some, and it's positively cool and comfy in the shade. We have cool mornings, cooler nights... but from 11:00 in the morning till after dinner-time, we are enjoying warm Spring days. Most of the rose bushes are now in their second bloom, and the leaves on the trees are green and lush, not drooping from 100+ degrees.

Perfect weather for painting, or for picking pa-cahns.