The dust control company finally came and sprayed the gravel road in front of our house. When the road is not treated with spray the wind will blow an incredible amount of dust across our acreage, making our place look like a civil war battlefield whenever a vehicle drives by. When treated it is much more enjoyable to work outside, and if the nights are cool we can open up the house.

Broken record alert: rabbits are again all over the place. As are the robins.

We have had two white willow trees fall over so far this spring, and the crowns of over half of them are dying. We don’t know if it is disease, insects or drought, but it is a major concern as we have over 50 of them on the acreage. I have already spoken with our local extension office about it, and they recommended talking with the DNR, which is my next move.

The garden is planted and herbs and flowers (mostly) potted. This spring there have been just a few butterflies, bees and wasps flying about, however there are thousands of biting flies, and tiny flea type bugs that insist on exploring your ears, eyes, nose and hair. Sometimes I can put up with those but the flies will send me inside everytime they attack, as many times they will draw blood with their bites.

As with other parts of the country we have been occasionally experiencing the drifting smoke from the fires out west. The only good thing about that are the spectacular orange sunsets the smoke helps create.