spring, full and beautiful

This morning, I could not leave, not for anything in the world. I could not get up from this miraculous moment where Ed and I felt warm enough to take our meal outside, on the porch.

True, it was a very late breakfast and so the temperature had already risen to 62F (17C). And we had put in a mountain load of work: I'd fed the animals...

Happy Easter, girls!

Ed had chopped up some of the branches of the trimmed tree, and I had done the somewhat yucky task of spring cleaning the porch. After a winter of snow, wind, dust, dirt and cat traffic, that space can look awful come springtime. I washed down the trim, vacuumed thoroughly, wiped down the furniture and changed the table cloths. 

And so we are ready!

My one concession to a morning of Easter foods is to buy and serve a Panettone -- an Italian yeasty, eggy bread. Ed makes fun of anything with candied fruit in it, but Olivieri makes one with just chocolate bits and it is delicious!

Ed scrambles up some eggs, and I feel like we have given this holiday its due recognition! 

And after all that wonderfulness, I just have to linger and be in the moment. I make myself a second cappuccino and I sit there and I have to say, the feeling of overwhelming peace and beauty is profound. 

Wow. It really is spring!

I wish I had pressing yard work to do, but right now, as I wait for the day lilies and the annuals (both should come in about two weeks), all I have is maintenance stuff and much as my flower fields appreciate my TLC, I have to admit, the IRS needs me to focus on taxes even more and so I do retreat into my lair and study sums and curse the complexity of this job, as I do every single year. I make no progress. The lure of the great outdoors is overwhelming.

We do take a walk in the afternoon and that is another piece of heaven. It's a new path for us, just a few minutes to the west, through a pine forest which, of course, smells divine. The feeling of immense gratitude takes hold and stays with me all day long.

In the evening the young family is here. 

(Kids, in their Easter regalia, in a field of Scilla Siberia, now blooming!)

They'd been in Chicago earlier and so they are a bit travel weary, but still, the weather revives us all...

...and we have a lovely dinner of roast chicken and roast potatoes and of course asparagus because every April meal should have asparagus in it!

And yep, those chocolate eggs for dessert.

I hope your day was beautiful. I hope you found peace and joy and that your table had good food on it and you had someone with whom you could share a moment of happiness today. 

with so much love...