It’s hard to believe that it’s been a year since I last posted on this! I always have the ambition to start something like a blog, and then life gets in the way. In the case of this past year, I found out I was pregnant at the end of February. Now it’s been over a year since we moved to the country, and our family of three has expanded to a family of four.

My son has just turned three months, and I feel like I’m finally getting my footing again after a major life transformation. I find it oddly appropriate that I’m becoming comfortable with my new self just as spring has begun in the village. The winter this year felt particularly long, with weeks of minus 20 degrees and sleepless nights. In the past couple of weeks, just as my son has begun to smile, we have started to see glimpses of spring. This week I walked in my garden and peaked below the rotten leaves of the brown eyed susans and the mulch above our strawberries to discover the sprouting of new leaves. The goldfinch have returned and on my morning walks I see massive flocks of Canada geese honking above me. Spring is lovely, isn’t it?

The pandemic also seems to be subsiding a bit, and life in the village is coming back to how it used to be (or so I hear). We’re enjoying meeting more of the people who live here and going to the local fairs and pancake breakfasts. After the isolating months this winter, and really, throughout the pandemic more generally I had forgotten how nice it is to be around people, and have been incredibly touched by the kindness of others.

Last week we visited my friend’s farm when she invited us to come see how her family was producing maple syrup. We went from tree to tree and collected the sweet sap from buckets. Afterwards, she offered us some of the sap to drink from a mug, and offered us some maple pecan pie she made using her maple syrup. When we were collecting the sap she was telling us the importance of the freezing temperatures at night in producing the maple syrup. While I struggled with the cold this year, and having to stay inside, experiencing the marvel that is maple syrup made it feel a bit more worth it. The winters might be long and brutal where we live, but the springs are sweet.

This year we look forward to expanding on our garden. The space we have is limited compared to many in this rural area, but it’s a lot more than we’ve ever had before. Last year we were amazed by the amount of time it took to take care of the land we have. We worked on planting a lot of perennials, built some new beds, and planted some trees. This year we’ll continue to plant more perennials and trees. We’re also hoping to make some new raised garden beds.

I also have recently taken up bread making, I’ll make another post about that when I have the chance.

Hopefully I will post again soon!

• Leia