Well, it looks like an entire week has gone by since I last posted. Some things have changed.

Last week:

Today:

Our big snow storm seems like a dim memory now except for all the slushy snow that is still left. Our deck is grateful that it’s melting. The forsythia hedge is springing back (mostly) although it does have quite a few broken branches. The burning bushes in front of the house seem to be very resilient as well. Once the snow is gone we have some major yard clean-up to do with all the big branches that came down.

But ...

The birds are singing in the morning, the squirrels are chasing each other around and around the tree trunks and it go up to 52 degrees with sun this weekend! The air feels different. I think we may have turned the corner towards spring at last. The turkeys are back out walking around too. The other day I saw Bella at the edge of the yard staring into the woods. When I went out I heard flapping noises and squawks. The silly turkeys were airborne and sitting in the trees! Now, mind you, they don’t fly very well at all and are very clumsy off the ground. I have no idea what they were doing, but they kept flop-flying from tree to tree.

My favorite little bird of all is the Carolina Wren. Such a beautiful repertoire of songs! I’m glad they’ve decided to make their home around my house.

Also adding joy and beauty around my house are my Thanksgiving/Christmas/Easter cacti. Both these cacti are blooming now but they have very different blooms. Beautiful just the same. The first one is a very old cactus that was started from my paternal grandmother’s. It reminds me of a Chinese pagoda.

I got quite a surprise as well when I trimmed back the dying leaf fronds of my amaryllis. A new bud was breaking out of the bulb! This amaryllis was given to me by my neighbor two years ago and this will be the second time it’s bloomed for me. Amazing. It’s not quite out yet, but here it is the first year.

And speaking of differences that one week can make, take a look at the wheel of Blue Cheese that Rick made last week.

Here is the same cheese one week later once the molds have started to take over. Amazing, is it not?

Still to come: Behind the scenes of Chopped and Home Cheesemaking!

What a difference a week CAN make.  Wow.  Changes going on here as well.  We got some of that nice weather too - I can see some of my grass in my front yard…its not pretty mind you, but I can still see quite a bit of it.  This is the snow from before Christmas melting away at last!

Debra, yes indeed! I can’t hardly believe that snow in FC could last from Christmas till now! Almost unheard of there! wow. We really need to meet up on our next visit West. I mean it!

I would really like that as well!

What an amazing looking cheese - I look forward to your home cheesemaking blog.

I was really impressed with your melting snow until I got to the cheese…wow! Now I’m really impressed!

You’re coming out west????

Susie, it’s mostly husband Rick that makes the cheese but this time I did help with the whole process.

We go “west” every year to our cabin in CO and that’s about as far west as we get!

Hahaha!  Flop-flying is the perfect description for turkey aviation!