Saturday

You know, on this last day of April, with mostly cloudy skies and occasional rain, indeed, with storms and even a threat of severe storms, it really is very pretty out there! How can you not feel grand when the tree buds are so plump, when day after day, color saturates the landscape, when night frost is kicked out and the soil warms and the perennials push through and the daffodils? Definitely out in full force, scattered in nearly every farmette flower field.

It is a busy day here for me. I have a baked goods craving, and I consider whipping something up for breakfast munching, but time is a little precious, so instead, I drive over to the bakery and come back with an assortment of croissants and morning buns and chocolate babkas.

The kids come over then...

And we stay indoors because there is that threat of rain and besides, each child has a story to tell (Sparrow isn't always in a story mood, but quite often, I hear two parallel voices spinning tales out there in the playroom). And there's lunch to eat and there are books to read. We go for a common denominator -- not hard at all, as there are a number of books both kids enjoy.

(In leaving, she says -- "I'll race you!' This is a recipe for a total Sparrow upset. I tell him that in a few years, the upset may well be hers.)

In the afternoon, I chase the good weather. When it's not raining, I fix a couple of more pots and tubs and stick in the penstemon I had purchased for one of the beds.

(Ed takes out the trays of tomatoes and fusses with them outside.)

When the rain does come down, I unpack the lavender that arrived and is, for now, waiting in the mudroom. I am not 100% sure how to plant it (or rather how to protect the field from horrific weeds that grow behind the barn), which, I know, is a bit crazy, given that I have some 50 plants that are ready and waiting to go in, but I'm putting all this off until tomorrow. Today I'm still pulling weeds (everywhere!) and putting in annuals.

And when the rain continues to pelt the roof (such a lovely, rhythmic sound, don't you think?) I give in to the sleepiness of the moment and take that wonderful retired person's pleasure -- a late afternoon nap. 

Sure, we're really behind in our gardening. But everything is moving along nicely now and hey, we really are on the cusp of May already,  with its bounty of pinks and blues and yellows. Do you even remember how monochromatic my photos were from just a couple of weeks ago? Well now, not any more!

No, not any more.