long week-end

I hadn't picked up Snowdrop from school yesterday (Friday), I wont be picking her up on Monday, and Sunday's family dinner at the farmhouse has been moved to today (Saturday). Moreover, my regular Friday grocery shopping hopped over to this day and, too, here's another reason for confusion: we reached 90F (32C) this afternoon -- unheard of in May. And it's only going to get warmer in the next few days.

Routines are off the table. We have a mixed up weekend and the heat has set in.

Ed and I are up very early. He wants to plant the field in the back of the barn with leftover buckwheat. I want to do grocery shopping. Before breakfast. But not before a spot check of the garden! And yes, the irises are now opening up for us!






And the chicks greet me as if I hadn't seen them for ages!






Mid-morning offers breakfast on the porch.






And late morning is reserved for a trip to the downtown farmers' market. I meet up with Snowdrop and her mom -- everyone is happy to have a pair of sunglasses on hand!

(Waiting in line is tough for a little girl. Unless she decides to practice more interesting standing positions.)






Gaga (we're back to gaga these days), you can push them up when you're in the shade!






My daughter is less than three weeks away from her due date. A pause in the shade is de rigeur.






But what Snowdrop really loves and looks forward to each time we walk the market is when she can shed everything -- hat, sunglasses, stroller, market, the whole thing...






... and have an unrestricted romp.







Back at the farmhouse, I take stock of the garden. Most of it isn't suffering from the heat, but the new plants probably would benefit from some water. Look! Another iris -- this one from the siberian group.






And now it's evening. The young family is here and Snowdrop is keen on taking out new markers and a coloring book she just received from family friends. The girl is a very adept colorer, especially if she is let loose with purple and pink.






Dinner at last. On the porch! We do have a fan going somewhere out there, at its lowest setting, mainly because a very pregnant person isn't going to love the heat of this day. The dish panders to the tastes of pregnant women and little girls. The pasta is stirred with sauteed mushrooms from the market and sun dried tomatoes, which Snowdrop has long asserted are her favorites! Pea sprouts, also from the market, add a real spring taste to it all.






(Stuffing herself with the sun-dried tomatoes.)






Dessert? Cut up donuts and bits of cherry and other berry.






And perhaps this is the best part: on a day like this, there is no hurry. No school the next day, no schedule to consider.  We linger.                                                                                                                                                                                                                      





It's a beautiful evening for it.