Friday

Our CSA farmers sent us a message -- things are growing very slowly this year. My eye doc, whom I saw in the wee hours of the morning, tells me that's all anyone ever talks to her about -- the weather. The flower growing farmers tut tut tut as they close doors to their greenhouses to keep the cold wind out. The shoppers aren't coming yet. We who dare face off with the weather, zip up our jackets and clench the jaw and hope for the best.

It's a very challenging early growing season.

On the flip side, the Wisconsin maple sugar tappers are rejoicing. The cold spring has made for a longer sap flow and a more intense syrup flavor. The money is definitely in maple syrup this year! In our home, Ed is the maple syrup guy. I'm the honey person. (He is the only one I know who routinely drizzles syrup over his oatmeal in the morning.)

And it is getting warmer. Very slowly but very surely.

I finish up my plant purchasing at Natalie's and Kopke's (both are local growers just up the road from us), realizing that now I have to actually go outside, cloudy skies not withstanding, and plant the stuff! Uff! 

Nine tubs filled, some umpteen more to go! 

(Oh great. The cheepers have discovered my white alyssum -- their favorite flower to munch on!)

I break for Snowdrop, who comes running out of school to show me her art class paper mache bug. Do you remember paper mache from school? I do! Long strips of torn newspaper, dipped in some mixture of flour and water. We called it rabbit snot! -- she tells me. Kids these days!

A meditative pause before we come into the farmhouse...

Once inside, we get lost in a book we read together. Cover to cover. All chapters. Can't put it down. It never ceases to amaze me how good children's fiction can be. Honestly, I think it just gets better and better. There are times when I want to dabble in writing stories for young ones. Then I hit another great one and I back off. It's a little like all your life you wanted to be a baker and then you go to Paris and visit a few pastry shops and say to yourself -- maybe not!

Evening. The cats are on the porch. It's warm enough for them to want to be outside and of course, it's dry where they are. Beyond their sheltered space it's raining. We'll have four days of this -- just warm enough to call it a full blown spring, but with periods of rain. Planting is put on hold once again. Well, I got a start in April. The new day lilies are in, a few of the tubs are planted. May will be a very busy catch up month!