And now, let's resume spring! (That was some cold spell... The garden survived, though the toll is still unknown. Some little guys are struggling. Always the little guys! The weaker plants, the little kitties, the vulnerables.)
The signs are good: plenty of sunshine and a gradual upswing in the temperatures.
Sure, breakfast is still indoors.
But the temptation to go outside is strong. At the very least, I spend some time moving most but not all of the big pots to their regular posts. (Some tender flowers would not like the lows that will still be with us tonight and so they'll stay inside a little longer.)
(The last tulips of the season...)
And then I run (well, drive) to join up with the grand kids at their home. It's our springtime Tuesday routine.
It's a funny playtime. Snowdrop is totally absorbed in a story that she is spinning with her Barbies (yes, she loves those Barbies and at her house it's where most of her storytelling takes places).
Sparrow, not to be outdone, appropriates one of the Disney Barbies and has her act out a wake up from deep sleep routine (with me providing a voice-over) again and again and again.
Eventually, they settle to do art.
And soon after lunch, I head home. I want to sow the rest of the seeds -- both flowers and the root vegetables (carrots and beets).
It is not easy to plant seeds when you have free ranging chickens at your heels.
We finish up with the veggies and I do many but not all of the flowers. More to do tomorrow. I have to pause with planting because the weekly groceries have arrived. I go on to spend a very soapy set of hours scrubbing stuff. Oh, but the rewards! Snowdrop will be very happy tomorrow when she sees the arrival of these!
Evening. Shrimp with veggies. It's a toss up! Go with the asparagus Matt the asparagus farmer delivered today...
... or use up the big bundle of broccoli from our grocery order?
Aren't we lucky to have such dilemmas...
Here's a treat: at least part of my dinner is with Primrose! I chomp down on broccoli, which happens to be one of her all time favorites, while she finishes off a dessert of berries. (And then washes herself up in the kitchen sink.)
(Goodnight, Primrose... Good night, grandma...)
And who am I thinking about tonight? Who gets my attention? The kids. Not only my kids, but all kids. The ones who wistfully say (as Snowdrop did today) - I wish this Coronavirus would be over. Kids who miss their friends. Their cousins. Their routines. Their days that did not include such words as social distancing. Their trips, their adventures!
Today, too, is International Nurses Day. Even if I recited all that nurses do in a pandemic, I would understate their importance and the toughness of their lives right now. So, just a brief but heartfelt thank you. Really, thank you.
The signs are good: plenty of sunshine and a gradual upswing in the temperatures.
Sure, breakfast is still indoors.
But the temptation to go outside is strong. At the very least, I spend some time moving most but not all of the big pots to their regular posts. (Some tender flowers would not like the lows that will still be with us tonight and so they'll stay inside a little longer.)
(The last tulips of the season...)
And then I run (well, drive) to join up with the grand kids at their home. It's our springtime Tuesday routine.
It's a funny playtime. Snowdrop is totally absorbed in a story that she is spinning with her Barbies (yes, she loves those Barbies and at her house it's where most of her storytelling takes places).
Sparrow, not to be outdone, appropriates one of the Disney Barbies and has her act out a wake up from deep sleep routine (with me providing a voice-over) again and again and again.
Eventually, they settle to do art.
And soon after lunch, I head home. I want to sow the rest of the seeds -- both flowers and the root vegetables (carrots and beets).
It is not easy to plant seeds when you have free ranging chickens at your heels.
We finish up with the veggies and I do many but not all of the flowers. More to do tomorrow. I have to pause with planting because the weekly groceries have arrived. I go on to spend a very soapy set of hours scrubbing stuff. Oh, but the rewards! Snowdrop will be very happy tomorrow when she sees the arrival of these!
Evening. Shrimp with veggies. It's a toss up! Go with the asparagus Matt the asparagus farmer delivered today...
... or use up the big bundle of broccoli from our grocery order?
Aren't we lucky to have such dilemmas...
Here's a treat: at least part of my dinner is with Primrose! I chomp down on broccoli, which happens to be one of her all time favorites, while she finishes off a dessert of berries. (And then washes herself up in the kitchen sink.)
(Goodnight, Primrose... Good night, grandma...)
And who am I thinking about tonight? Who gets my attention? The kids. Not only my kids, but all kids. The ones who wistfully say (as Snowdrop did today) - I wish this Coronavirus would be over. Kids who miss their friends. Their cousins. Their routines. Their days that did not include such words as social distancing. Their trips, their adventures!
Today, too, is International Nurses Day. Even if I recited all that nurses do in a pandemic, I would understate their importance and the toughness of their lives right now. So, just a brief but heartfelt thank you. Really, thank you.
