Friday Favourites

 

As she crossed her little bridge to the adjoining road, she sniffed

the moist morning air and felt a lift of her heart. The air was 

full of green, damp smells, a sign to her of the warming and

the coming of spring.

Iona Wishaw - Framed in Fire

Spring can be deceptive. Warm bright sunshine beguiles me outdoors, but then a sharp wind off the ocean has me huddling into my coat collar. But the parade of blossoms and the constant birdsong remind me that we have come through another winter and daffodils give way to tulips, then peonies, and so on. I came home from a couple of days away and found violets blooming in the garden. I do try to keep them under control for they spread easily, but I don't have the heart to eradicate them. How pretty they are. They also look nice decorating a cake. One year I sugared them and they kept for a long while. 

Our Easter was wonderful. Songs and readings at church followed by a dinner with the family and an egg hunt in the garden. The children did the egg hunt after the main course and before dessert, giving them time to run off some energy. 

When it came time for dessert (unbaked cheesecake with a berry sauce), young Cora said she didn't want cheesecake. Instead, she held up a piece of kale she'd picked in the garden and said she would eat that. I think by then she was full of Easter chocolate and didn't want anything else sweet. But kale in place of cheesecake? 

We made a trip to the mainland this week to see my parents and siblings. It was good to be together. My parents are doing well, living independently in their own home and doing their own cooking and cleaning. They volunteer still. I take a cooler full of prepared meals over for them to put into their freezer for the days that they don't feel like cooking. My sister shares meals with them, too. 

The ferry ride was beautiful both ways. On our way out, I noticed a dark curving shape breach the water to the side of the ferry and many passengers went to that side and watched a pod of Orca Whales swimming by. I never tire of such a sight. 

This evening I went out to check things in my greenhouse. On the way back indoors I stopped to watch a Golden-Crowned Sparrow on the ground. He was very bold and didn't seem at all fearful. How lovely it was to watch him pecking on the ground and hopping here and there. 

There's a carpet of forget-me-nots (myosotis scorpioides) under the rosebushes just now. The yellow centres indicate that there is pollen available for any busy bees, and the white centres are a warning that all the pollen is gone. Rather efficient, I think. 

Blueberry bushes are also blooming, indicating a good crop of blueberries if all goes according to plan. There have been fat bumblebees buzzing and I hope there are many more pollinating insects in the days to come. 

I'm a wee bit late with seeding my vegetable patch this spring. It's been so cold and damp that I didn't want to be outdoors and I'm sure the seeds would not have done well. I've begun my tomatoes indoors, and it will be the end of May before they go out after being transplanted once or twice. 

We returned home this afternoon. Tomorrow will be filled with housekeeping duties, coffee with a friend in the afternoon, and shopping for groceries. 

I recently listened to The Lake Isle of Innisfree by Yeats recited by Luke Nolan. I love the line "and live alone in the bee-loud glade." The video is less than two minutes long and you might enjoy listening, too. 

Wishing you a wonderful weekend.

A Saturday in April

 

Today feels like Spring! Sunshine, birdsong, no wind, and everything bursting into leaf and bud. I have waited for such a day. Ah April! The Red Currant bush along my walking path is such a beautiful bright pink. My garden is not a large one and it seems that every plant I admire I want to have, but simply cannot. I take great delight in admiring others' gardens and plants growing in the wild, like the one above.

Soft petals swirled around me as I walked under this gorgeous prunus tree. I anticipate its blooms each spring. Such a cloud of loveliness. I thought of how beautiful the world is and how safe and helpless I feel in my own small corner of it while elsewhere bombs and guns destroy and kill. Beauty has power, creating an ache and a longing for wholeness. If only evil men would take the time to let beauty seep into their souls. 

Weeping Willow trees remind me of my childhood. A very large one grew between a farmer's field and a road not too far from my home. I, and other children loved climbing it. How high we felt looking down over cars passing underneath. The acid green of spring waving in the wind brings it all back. 

I stopped to watch a bright American Robin splashing exuberantly in a bird bath. Such flapping of wings and spraying of water. He perched on the edge to dry off, cocking his head at me with little fear. How loud the robins are in the morning. I hear them at first light and think what a lovely sound to wake up to, then fall asleep again.

Some of my recent reading. The Beatrix Potter Gardening book and The Country Commonplace Book are both ones I dip in and out of. Spring by Michael Morpugo is from the library and I'm enjoying his account of Springs present and past in his corner of Devon. A few Cadbury mini eggs and a pair of bunnies also look springlike. 

This week I dyed a few eggs with purple cabbage, cranberry juice, turmeric, and tea. I keep them in the fridge most of the time, but for tomorrow's Easter Dinner they will be part of the table decoration. We're hosting the family. Everyone contributes something, so it's not too much work for anyone. There will be a "treat" hunt, not just chocolates, for the littles in the afternoon. I asked the 15-year-old if she was still interested in an egg hunt and she didn't hesitate to say, "yes!"

I wish you all a most Happy Easter as we celebrate Jesus' Resurrection bringing hope and joy.