Spring Emerging

The view out my windows just a few short weeks ago

Our Spring appears to be slowly emerging from underneath its frosty white blanket. Folks are beginning to talk about the opening of the resorts and we in the lakes areas of Minnesota are beginning to think about opening the lake cabins and getting them ready for summer.

One of the best things about Spring is being able to take off the layers.  To imagine running to the store without grabbing your bulky winter coat, your gloves, a hat, an extra pair of boots, a blanket in case you get stuck...you get the idea.  After a long winter such as we've had, Spring just seems "easier" and now that the snow has begun to melt, people seem willing to discuss the possibilities.

Our April/May issue is filled with possibilities and is on its way to you as I post this entry.  We've got a few award winning hostas picked out as well as some really unique pendant lighting.  We've got fruit trees and patio furniture ideas as well as a few great ideas for custom interior railings.  The feature homes in this issue are pretty amazing and all of them have great ideas for your next project.

I was out in the Henning / Vining / Clitherall area early one morning this week and this fabulous old schoolhouse (or is it a church?) caught my eye. When I see places like this I imagine their possibilities.

I inherited my love of these types of buildings from my dad, a local watercolor landscape artist who often rode around on the "country roads" looking for these types of buildings to shoot and then use for inspiration in his work.  I look at them differently - mostly because my artistic talents do not include the ability to paint or draw - and I see a rehab project.

I see a beautiful cobblestone paver path through a lush perennial garden leading my guests up to that front door.  I see a reclaimed bell in that tower and I just know, never having been inside, that the timber and wood floors in this place are worth refinishing.  I see a new roof, perhaps metal, new but reproduction windows and I just know that that chimney must lead to a newly revitalized field stone fireplace.  I see "open concept living" at its best in this one room building.

We hope our pages continue to bring you inspiration. Please share your inspiration with us on our Facebook page or visit us on Pinterest to see more ideas.



Jan Ellis
Editor
Lake and Home Magazine
Email me directly at janeteellis@live.com


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Looking Forward

All set for a winter picnic

This week we were putting the final touches on the April/May issue of Lake and Home magazine, when our area got hit with what seemed to me to be the worst weather of our very long winter. They weren't our coldest days and certainly not the most snow we've gotten at any one time but it still feels like it was a pretty bad storm. I'm pretty sure the never ending snow this year is whats making every storm seem worse than the last. Seriously, just how many times should you have to shovel the driveway and sidewalk in a single winter?

Like most Minnesotans, I start thinking Spring somewhere around the 10th or 15th of March. And boy am I ready for it. The garden catalogs have begun arriving in the mail, local seasonal ice cream/drive-in type places that shutter their doors for winter have opened and the word "daffodil" has begun to be bandied about.

Freshly fallen snow near Phelps Mill

Despite all that, I'm pretty sure I won't be seeing any daffodils poking their pretty little yellow heads out of the ground anytime soon. They've got several feet of snow to push through at this point. We happen to live in town on a small lot and have had quite a time trying to figure out where all that snow goes and how high we really can pile it up.  The tallest pile is well over seven feet with several smaller five foot high piles surrounding it. If you squint, you can make it seem like mountains...but its just mountains of snow. We can only hope for a slow melt when it does begin so as to avoid an unpermitted swimming pool in the basement.

For now, a mere couple of days into Spring, we have dug our way out from nature's latest gift and are ready to face whatever the rest of the month brings weather wise.

We are off to the surrounding lakes today to snap a few winter photos to share with those of you who winter somewhere warm.  Meantime, we've got the April/May issue wrapped up and soon on its way to you. We are looking forward to your feedback and comments.

Yours truly,

Jan Ellis
Editor
Lake and Home Magazine
Email me directly at janeteellis@live.com