There's no question -- a day like this one deserves star billing. Brilliant sunshine, maybe a little cool (56F, or 13C), but you don't really need a jacket to go outside (so long as you keep moving about). And you can almost see the push from the plants and flowers: a week ago, they were mere stubs in the ground. Right now, they're splendid and strong!
(Happy, chasing a hen onto the picnic table. He really does have the majestic tail!)
So it's a given that this will be a gorgeous spring day. But there's more: it happens to be the beginning of a birthday celebration.
Initially, I was thinking that this coming birthday of mine should pass by quietly, without fuss and without much attention. Ed was okay with that! But my daughters protested. And so I reconsidered. Okay: let's do something small. Maybe a toast to happiness on the day itself (later in the week) and on this Sunday, so long as the young family is coming to dinner, let's do a cake! Ed, how are your baking skills?
After breakfast...
... I clean the farmhouse, he bakes. (He got some direction from Snowdrop as to what flavors should dominate: citrus! The recipe? As usual for him, something from somewhere on the internet, modified by his own views on how to do this efficiently. He's a "put it all in one bowl" kind of baker.)
I do help butter the bundt pan. I've used this baby long enough to know that if you don't reach the crevices exactly so, your cake will stick. But the rest -- it's all Ed. Orange, with lemon glaze.
Cake ready. We go outside.
I have a packet of dianthus seeds that can go into a pot, but otherwise, I haven't anything new to add today. So I continue to weed, chip and prepare. All the pots are now ready for new arrivals. Most of the beds are pretty well tended and ready as well. Things are looking good out there. And the sky! Oh, that great big beautiful sky, showcasing the new growth on the willows, the crab apple...
Evening. We cleaned up and fixed some trouble spots on the porch, but it really is too cool to eat dinner there. It'll be May before we can take our food outside. So, dinner, with the young family, is indoors. But bathed in sunshine! So much so that I have to cover the west facing window, so that the kids and their mom aren't blinded by the light.
The cake! Snowdrop puts in the candles, Ed lights them...
Wait, what's missing?
There, that's better, but not perfect yet... Oh, there we go! (via FaceTime...)
Beautiful indeed!
With thanks to all the people whose tireless work makes these days possible for those of us who are staying home.
With love.
(Happy, chasing a hen onto the picnic table. He really does have the majestic tail!)
So it's a given that this will be a gorgeous spring day. But there's more: it happens to be the beginning of a birthday celebration.
Initially, I was thinking that this coming birthday of mine should pass by quietly, without fuss and without much attention. Ed was okay with that! But my daughters protested. And so I reconsidered. Okay: let's do something small. Maybe a toast to happiness on the day itself (later in the week) and on this Sunday, so long as the young family is coming to dinner, let's do a cake! Ed, how are your baking skills?
After breakfast...
... I clean the farmhouse, he bakes. (He got some direction from Snowdrop as to what flavors should dominate: citrus! The recipe? As usual for him, something from somewhere on the internet, modified by his own views on how to do this efficiently. He's a "put it all in one bowl" kind of baker.)
I do help butter the bundt pan. I've used this baby long enough to know that if you don't reach the crevices exactly so, your cake will stick. But the rest -- it's all Ed. Orange, with lemon glaze.
Cake ready. We go outside.
I have a packet of dianthus seeds that can go into a pot, but otherwise, I haven't anything new to add today. So I continue to weed, chip and prepare. All the pots are now ready for new arrivals. Most of the beds are pretty well tended and ready as well. Things are looking good out there. And the sky! Oh, that great big beautiful sky, showcasing the new growth on the willows, the crab apple...
Evening. We cleaned up and fixed some trouble spots on the porch, but it really is too cool to eat dinner there. It'll be May before we can take our food outside. So, dinner, with the young family, is indoors. But bathed in sunshine! So much so that I have to cover the west facing window, so that the kids and their mom aren't blinded by the light.
The cake! Snowdrop puts in the candles, Ed lights them...
Wait, what's missing?
There, that's better, but not perfect yet... Oh, there we go! (via FaceTime...)
Beautiful indeed!
With thanks to all the people whose tireless work makes these days possible for those of us who are staying home.
With love.
