Melting.. its melting..

Yep, as the title indicates, the snow is melting.. imagine - April 23rd and the snow is melting. The pond will have ice-out most likely by the end of this week. The predictions for the weekend for temperatures is 80's in the southern part of the state.. 80 yep you read it right.. Yeah!

We are looking forward to traveling to Merrimack for the Cameron's christening this weekend.. it will be a great time for sure..

Well, just a quick note to let you know we are seeing a light at the end of the tunnel. I had visions of having a 4th of July cookout in the snowbanks.. but looks like we won't have to worry...

Take care family!

Little Visitor

This little guy was a regular visitor to our bird feeder this year...
He is cute -- as long as he stays outside...

Our bird feeder has been a hotbed of activity. We have had this little guy - as well as grackles, blue jays, squirrels, cardinals, junkos, chickadees, sparrows .. you name it.. its been here..

We took to the high country

I had a vacation day yesterday, so Mel and I decided to take a hike up in the high country...
there is still snow in the mountains and on the logging roads, but we wanted to go out and look for moose antlers.

When Mel suggested we go for the hike, he said we would go to 4 mile, park and hike. I assumed he meant at the 4 mile marker off the logging road. That was not exactly what he had in mind - the trip was to 4 Mile Bridge, which was 14-18 miles in. This was on a very snowy, and mud mixed road. Quite the trip in.. bumping up and down and sliding all over the place.

When we finally parked and hiked - it was beautiful. The sky was a deep blue, with no clouds.
While the day down below was fairly warm - the sun was even warmer up in the hills. There was still about 2 feet of snow in some places. There was a lot of bare spots as well, where the snow melted. We were amazed that we actually found dandelions growing on the sides of the hills right next to the snow..

Lots of signs...

We hiked up into the hills about a 4 mile round trip. One area of the logging road was fairly straight up. Once we got to the top of the hills, we saw a lot of moose signs - but no moose, no antlers.

Hey Everyone!

I have about 4 weeks of school left for this semester! It's getting really, really busy with the projects and the tests. I'm really enjoying my Ecology and Evolution classes -- I'm learning so much! I have most of the month of May off and then I start my summer classes in June.

Yesterday I put in my notice at the copy machine company! I am so excited to be moving on to the next phase of my life. I want to focus on school and get good grades, but I'm also planning on ramping up my business (health and beauty products: www.jessicagoulding.myarbonne.com). My boss was bummed out that I am leaving, but he has offered to write a letter of recommendation or anything else that I may need.

I have two more science classes to take this summer, and then in August, I'll actually be in a classroom doing my student teaching. I could graduate in August 2010, but with the budget cuts, it's possible that I won't be able to get all the courses I need when I need them, so I may have to push it back to December 2010 (but I could already be a full-time teacher by then too!)

Love you all, talk to you soon!

Jessica

April 7th 2009- snow?!?! in Georgia, more likely than you think

I had an appointment in Fort Olglethorpe, GA yesterday and decided to drive back home through the mountains. We had a dusting in Ellijay, but it looked like the real thing in the higher elevations.

I hope everyone has a Happy Easter on Sunday. Let us know how you're doing.