I love flowing water. Oceans, rivers, streams. We hit the jackpot here.

No, we are not on the ocean. I'll save ocean visits for trips to see my sister.

The farm is bordered on the south side by the Susquehanna River, which starts in Cooperstown NY and flows southwest to Bainbridge--check out the Canoe Regatta between the two villages on Memorial Day weekend (http://www.canoeregatta.org/)--and beyond, all the way to the Chesapeake Bay. The Revolutionary war-era history behind it is troubling, but the Regatta brings crowds from all over the state. They paddle to just above our riverfront and land at General Clinton Park. The river floods terribly, including our farm (but not the house or apartment) in really wet years, but this year, no flood. Our farm encompasses two streams heading to the river, one of which we only have the last quarter mile of; the other meanders through the length of the farm, around the house. It's currently very overgrown, and tending to that is high on my list, but low on our abilities to do without a large outlay of cash. Sigh. 

We went walking down to the riverfront a couple of weeks ago, when the paint fumes in the carriage house apartment got to be too much, and the sunshine and balmy temperature were way too tempting. Here's what we saw.

It turns out, we might actually have a little area we can clean up as a "beach." We will have to see if the muddy sand there ever dries out, but that would be fun for picnics. 

I love a river...

One of my favorite things about moving into a new place is discovering what plants are already there (or not-I moved into a place once where there was literally nothing but grass. boring.). We didn't pay a lot of attention here last Spring and Summer, as we were just waiting to see if our contract would go through; then we had all the waiting for paperwork, etc. But now it's ours and we can pay attention!

We had a little Spring false start at the gate in December. See this? It's flowering quince. They don't bloom til actual Spring. These photos were taken on Christmas Day. Crazy.

Fast forward to March. The snowdrops are out, and come to find out, they're legion at the farm. Seriously, they are everywhere.

And then there's the daffodils. These are Ice Follies, I think, and they're right up against the west side of the carriage house.

We walked through the property in late March, and discovered that it's home to lots and lots of pitcher plants, too--green and red, and all sorts of combinations. I don't know the variety, but they are so unusual. They do pop when you accidentally step on them, though.

I cannot wait to see what else pops up as the weather gets warmer. Pretty sure you'll see pics...