Would you believe that I spent 98% of the day indoors? Am I running from the heat? From the deer flies? Am I taking a gardening break since, you know, I'm caught up?
None of that. I have cooking and baking on my agenda for today. And both, last I checked, are inside activities.
So, a brief walk to check on the animals...
(Clematis, climbing the sheep shed...)
(the very last peony blooms...)
And a steamy breakfast on the porch...
And then I get to work. Why the added kitchen time? It's Sparrow's third birthday today and the young family is with us this evening to continue with his celebrations.
As I work in the kitchen, I think about being a second child. I'm one as well, though there was no third in my family. You could say that my upbringing has nothing in common with Sparrow's. I didn't even live in this country and on my third birthday, home for me was in the village with my grandparents (rather than in the city with my parents). Nonetheless, I know what it's like to be the "next in line." To have an older sister in school when you yourself are not yet there. To have her art outpace my scribbles.
Sparrow has a powerful sense of humor and he will not take the back seat during a meal time conversation, even though his stories can't stand up in content to those offered by everyone who is older at the table. But he doesn't give up. He just keeps on going and there is always a chuckle in him, which of course means that we all chuckle too.
So I think about this three year old as I first make the caramel sauce, then the cake layers and then the ganache for his birthday cake...
... and it strikes me that cakes in bakeries are way under priced because the labor involved is always so huge! Here I am, baking all day and it's just one cake and it's not even especially complicated, though I am once more trying a new recipe because with chocolate cakes you can never just settle for the one you did in the past, you always have to try someone's idea of THE best chocolate cake ever (this one comes from Tartine, though the sprinkles are a nod to a the boy who loves sprinkles).
The young family comes...
... and the heat drives us inside and now here we are, celebrating this little guy who happens to be both a younger brother and an older brother all at the same time and how remarkable is that!
And we linger and chat with the Chicago family...
... and eat dinner and open presents...
"Happy Birthday to you..."
"Happy Birthday to you..."
... and here's another thought I have on the subject of this day and birthdays in general: June celebrations are wonderful.
Typically we are not in a drought with crazy hot temperatures, but even as we are riding this heat wave, I have to say, the nights do calm down a little and the grasses are still green and there is that promise of a garden about to bloom. And perhaps most importantly -- the days are so long! So that when the young family has left and the dishes are put away and even at this late hour, I have time to go out for a little ride on my scooter to review the day in my head with the breezes blowing and the animals sharing my space and the pungent aromas of a lush landscape hitting me from every side and yes, it feels so good!
(the last climb uphill back to the farmette)
Happy days, happy birthdays, happy moments. They don't just show up on your doorstep. You have to look for them and make space for them and it's like baking a cake -- it takes time and it's not easy, but oh so worth it. And the more you do it, the more adept you become. Good cakes, happy birthdays, content moments. To be shared. With those you love.
