spring continues

The bubbling chuckle of sand hill cranes put morning chores on pause until I finally spotted them flying north, low on the western horizon. Outside our kitchen window, one lovely crocus blossom cautiously maintains a low profile against our cold wind, while a single precocious daffodil stands at brave attention before it. Our first 50 lambs have recovered from the trauma of ear tagging, docking, vaccinating, and castrating; they tear at high tilt every morning when they are set free from the restrictive corral where they spend the night. The calves, also, fly around the pasture at top speed whenever the spirit moves them. Such joy we get from all of these spring messages. During the day, I made good progress on my painting, and thus far, I'm pleased with it, but I left the hardest part, a cottonwood tree in the foreground, for last, mostly because I am unsure how to proceed. Perhaps a brilliant idea will come to me tonight as I sleep.