Snow!

I can actually say we have snow on the ground! And a lot of it! I always hated winter and snow but now, perhaps it is just the novelty of it, but I am loving it! The kids have never had real, stick to the ground snow.

There has been inch or so a few times before. Last year, and this year in November and December... once. We made the most of those little glimpses of winter. Bundling up (like snow ninjas), making soggy snowmen, coming in soaking wet and sipping hot chocolate by the fire. Walking to school was an adventure! Mr. Lovebug was a snow plow on the bridge and we caught huge snow flakes on our tongues.

This past week we had SNOW! Real, stick to the ground, play- in snow. We built a megafort, threw snowballs, ate icicles and came inside caked in snow with glowing pink cheeks.

Now it is above freezing and raining and soon our magical play thing will be gone. Gone for how long, we don't know. I'm so grateful that we had this snow week. School has been canceled for the whole week. The roads are a mess, they have no idea how to cope with snow in Washington! I can hear the ice on the roof cracking as I reminisce on our small peek at real winter.

There was a coyote in our yard (not the field). It took off when I went out there, I'm guessing it was just hungry and looking for some mice snacks....or chickens. Not on my watch, friendo!

Nature baby climbed on the hill I made after the first snow. We really weren't expecting it to continue. And then, behold mega fort! Which became a drift taller than me. The kids climbed, slid and jumped for hours.

Honey wasn't having any of it and it was hilarious. 

Today, it is raining. Everything is covered in ice from freezing rain. The trees are heavy, all you can hear whilst the wind is blowing is the ice cracking as the trees bend and break. It's loud and beautiful.

The snow will soon be gone and we'll be back to rain. Rain. Rain. More rain. The snow will be missed as I pack away our winter gear in the upcoming week. 

The maple syrup still runs thick through my veins. 

Scribs Farm one year later

We've officially been on the farm for a year. I'm a bit late, are you surprised? It seemed to have both flown by and taken forever. We've learned a lot, had some pretty stressful times (Hello flooded field!) and learned exactly what is important. The kids are so much happier here. If I let Nature Baby be in charge, she'd never come in the house. I foresee more animals in our future! We've seen the progress we've been making and it's so satisfying. Google maps updated their maps (this happens every 3-4 years) I can see the difference from above. Our garden is in there, and the compost we've built, no coop or removal of garbage hill.

Highs
Chickens (The coop and eggs!)
Garden (July,  June, and May)
Living room redo I still can't believe it's the same room in the same house.
Wild life (and here)
Finding the Elephant Hawk Moth I still haven't seen any signs of another.

Lows
Flood
Garbage hill
Living next to a berry field, the sound machine. My goodness, I'm not looking forward to it again next year.


To Dos this year
Paint kid's rooms
Fence both for the yard and field
Paint hall way and back entry
Screen door for backdoor
Play set for the kids
Switch Septic field to a wild flower mix.

Next 5 years
Reside the barn
Landscaping - I want big trees!
Patio with a pergola
Re-insulate, new windows, basically get this house warm in the winter
Paint the kitchen cabinets

This year, I don't think my hands have ever been clean and I've never worked so hard in my life and I wouldn't have it any other way. I'm excited for the future, for myself, the kids and the farm. We have a plan for the direction we'd like to head and some ideas on how to get there. I have finally gotten my knitting mojo back and now I'm starting to consider sheep. We'll see what the future brings.

Being here, I've found a sense of calm. I wake up happy. I'm no-longer as cynical, hating everything and everyone. Maybe that comes with age or maybe that comes with finding and being somewhere that feels right. People in the Pacific North-West, in my experience, are happier because they want to be here. The first thing we noticed upon moving from California is that people here are nice, they are friendly, they're willing to tell you about cool new things to do and see. We spend time outside, exploring! It's green, the wildlife isn't trying to kill you and you can be outside without worrying about extreme heat and the ground moving.

For the first time in a really long time, maybe ever, I'm still and I'm happy.

Elephant Hawk Moth in Washington State

I am so beyond excited about this! May 26th, I was playing with A, and saw something on the deck. I had no idea what it was and went out with just my phone. I came back in and got my real camera and snapped these photos. 

After some googling trying to figure out what the heck it is I got in touch with Merrill Peterson of Western Washington University. I'm so grateful and excited that he got back to me. 

That little beauty is an Elephant Hawk Moth (Deilephila Elpenor). It isn't supposed to exist here, and from what I've read hasn't been seen in Washington or the United States. How amazing is that! 

From Mr. Peterson 

"The species is a relatively recent invader, and tracking the rate of its spread would be helpful, so your observation would be great to add to our database."

From this PNW moth site

Identification

Adults
Deilephila elpenor is an attractive olive-green, pink, and black large (FW length 26 mm (n=1)) Eurasian sphinx moth that was discovered recently in the Lower Fraser Valley of British Columbia.  The forewing is typical in shape for the family and is smooth olive to bright green.  The costa, terminal area and fringe, and the oblique straight post medial and subterminal lines are pale to bright pink.  No spots are evident.  The hindwings are bright pink with a black basal area and white fringe.  The head, thorax, and abdomen are olive variably tinted with pink, with white lines on the lateral tegulae.  The pale antenna is club-like.

This moth is easily identified by its olive-green and pink color and large size.  It is only likely to be found near Vancouver, British Columbia, but could conceivably spread to other parts of adjacent British Columbia and Washington since its food plant is widespread and common.

Larvae
Few if any immature stages have been discovered in North America so morph variations are unknown.  In its original European habitat there are both brown and green morphs.  Later instars can telescope three of its thoracic segments into the first abdominal segment to enlarge anterior eyespots in response to a threat. 

Habitat
This exotic Eurasian species has been discovered at one site in North America.  It prefers open sunny wetland habitats near creeks and marshes.
Distribution

Pacific Northwest
The only Pacific Northwest observation of this species was at Pitt Meadows east of Vancouver in southwestern British Columbia.  It is unclear how the species was introduced or if it has started to spread to other areas.  It has been suggested that this moth was released deliberately by an amateur entomologist, but this has not been substantiated.

I'm not an Entomologist, but I do understand how an ecosystem works and the disasterous potential of a foreign species being released where it doesn't belong. This has been a great teachable moment for the kids, even though they are too young to understand the potential consequences of one little moth. When they're older they can say we found one of the first (if not the first) Elephant Hawk moth in the country. 

W.J. Turner of Washington State University had this to say about it

"Your images of the hawk moth seen at your home were nicely done. They seem to show the elephant hawk moth, an recently introduced species to this area. From Wikipedia, I see that British Columbia is listed as one place of occurrence for this species. Lynden, WA is not that far from Vancouver and I am pretty certain that the moth cannot recognize international boundaries! Once introduced, many insects spread from the initial area to other places close by and even farther. It is not unusual or unexpected that this species now occurs in western Washington. As for your action at this time, enjoy the opportunity to see the critter first hand. By now your specimen has probably departed under the cover of darkness. Do not be surprised the see additional individuals attracted to lights around your home. This species is now probably a permanent member of the moth fauna in your area. "

Check out PNW Moths I have learned so much about different species already.

This is what can happen when you look at the world around you.