Looking for me?

I'm still here! Just took a wee sabbatical and have been focused on too many other things. Spring is trying to arrive - new birds are showing up each day. Friday was Meadow Larks, Saturday was Cowbirds, Monday was Mourning Doves and Today I saw my first Robin. Geese have been flying home to us and I even saw a flock of swans. Grass is peeking up and trying to grow, but the sheep are quickly eating it like candy and turning their nose up at their alfalfa hay. We sheared our sheep last week. What an event. So our girls are naked and ready to have babies in a couple months now. I thought it significant that they took themselves off to the lambing pasture the day after shearing. They haven't been there since last year!
That's Esther up there in the photo - our lone lama. She's a gem. Semi-tame, depending if you have treats or not :o). She didn't get sheared as she's a traditional lama - she sheds. If she'd hold still, we'd brush her, but she's not so inclined, and neither am I - to wrestle with her to be brushed. I've planted seeds to put under grow lights waiting for May to plant in the garden. I went out to try digging on Friday and the ground is still frozen. Too bad. I'm getting itchy looking at the pictures and plans of all my southern blog-world friends' gardens and greenery. I've been doing some spring cleaning in the house (oh, joy), which has needed doing since the middle of winter! Housecleaning is NOT my fort-eh. I'm considering downscaling and living even more simply. I cleaned out my closet drastically, which was a start. Next the kitchen cupboards... and then the craft room. (Can you spell NIGHTMARE?!) I limit my crafts to fiber crafts and scrap-booking. Sheesh. It takes up two whole rooms. And spills over. I can't afford to get married and have kids. There's no room. But, I"m at the, "I have had ENOUGH stage" and am slowly throwing things out and recycling. I grumble at North Americanitis and the massing of 'stuff', but I'm just as bad. Time to do something about it, for sure.
Along with the spring-cleaning, I've been reading up a fire-storm. I'm going through at LEAST 3 books a week. I can't get enough. Novels, non-fiction, whatever. I'm reading 3 cups of Tea finally. Anyone read it? What'd you think? I just finished listening to the first in the Outlander series - anyone read that one? It's really really well written and I enjoyed every minute of it.
Anyway, that's what I"ve been up to. Exciting stuff, I know.