Spring's Suprises

Every spring, we set up our batting cage in the back yard. It's really handy to have it right here at the Haven, and the girls get a lot of good swings in for softball practice.

A couple of weeks ago, we had a pretty big windstorm come through our valley. Trees down, power outages....... oh, and a batting cage that did not survive. The kids were a bit surprised to come home to this sight:

Of course, it was no surprise to me, since I was the one playing Captain Ahab, holding onto the lines, while on the cell phone with Todd, shouting, "What do you want me to do?" and his response: "Let it go!"

So I did. The whole cage turned onto its side, and then onto its top. Many of the poles were bent and need to be replaced. After we had mowed once, we finally got the net gathered up, and Todd sent Cameron out once more to mow the missed spot. It happened to be starting to rain again, hence the hood:

These next few shots are more recent, since I've been spending time out in the yard in good weather, which is a bit dodgy this spring -- we've had a lot of rain. So yesterday, on my way out, I stopped by the grapes..... and found the tiniest grapes in the entire world, just coming out:

Also in the back yard, are the spirea bushes, which have come out with blooms in force, with some fading peonies in front. So do you say, "Pee-OH-nee"? or do you say, "PEE-oh-nee"? Just wondering.
And lastly, while weeding the raspberries, look at the little surprise I found lying at the base of one of the supports!
I'm thinking it might be a quail, since I've seen a group of them out there in the nearby forsythia bushes. I don't know, do quail lay their eggs on the ground? We'll see if this little one survives.