Lingering rain in the early morning. Bugs doing a happy jig in the flower fields. If I weed, I come out wet from brushing against all that rain soaked plant life. And in the early morning at least, I'm getting my first taste of sharing space with The Nasty Bugs. It's not an invasion yet. More like the advance troops -- the scouters, are testing the waters. May they find happiness elsewhere!
The walk to the barn is still lush, green, lovely. And the rains stop and the sun comes out.
(With the last of the purple from the Meadow Rue, a plant that positively carries the Big Bed in mid spring.)
(another Clematis, growing right under a bird's nest in the eaves of the sheep shed)
(our meadow flowers are very small and dainty and very pretty!)
Back at the farmhouse I fix four fruit bowls -- for Ed, Snowdrop, Sparrow and myself. It's my daily routine in the morning and it takes a while. This person only likes those fruits. That person likes the stems left on the berries and he likes to nibble around the pits. I like big fruits chopped. Others prefer them whole. One likes every fruit available at the market, the other -- only two. This one like the tartest blueberries, the other -- the sweeter ones. You get the picture.
And I ask Ed what he'd like for breakfast, besides the fruit. The suggestion of going over to our neighborhood cafe, Tati Co for some bakery treats is floated. I'm on it! I bike over -- it's all of three minutes from our farmhouse -- only to find that they get fresh deliveries from Madison Sourdough every other day. As in yesterday yes, today no. Day-old croissants? That wont do! I drive over to the bakery itself and pick up some fresh stuff. All this makes for a very, very late morning meal.
(we switched places! he wanted the shade, I wanted the sunshine)
Weeding in the flower beds is in the company of The Nasty Bugs, and still, I persevere. I intend to keep up as best as I can, bugs or no bugs. Besides, when I've had enough of slapping away at them, I have the serenity and coolness of the farmhouse to retreat to. No air conditioning needed yet -- old buildings hang on to their internal temperatures as the seasons shift from cold to hot to cold again, not unlike the great bodies of water out there. The house will stay cool until it's cool no more and then it'll stay as hot as toaster oven set at max. That's when we switch on the air!
I pick up both kids and it's a slightly tight day because they do want their treat, and she does want her book time, and he does want his play time, and still, she has to learn her next set of lines (she has a total of I66, with 41 of those under her belt so far) and I have to drop her off at her Shakespeare program by 5.
But we manage!
(with a summer haircut!)
(An example of older sib status: they cleaned out their desks today. Snowdrop brings a sack of pencils markers scissors and such and hands it all to Sparrow. Art supplies for you! -- she tells him. And he is thrilled! A third grader's old school stuff! Imagine the flip side -- if Sparrow handed her the "gift" of his kindergarten desk stuff! One can hope that she'd at least work up a smile for his benefit!)
The earlier drop off means that I have time to squeeze in grocery shopping tonight. While Ed bikes, coming home just before the rains come down. Again!
Not to worry, there are full days of sunshine in the forecast. Eventually. In the meantime, bring it on -- the rains, the bugs, the wet nights. On the upside, I've ignored the hose. All spring. Hours saved. No watering needed. Oh yeah!
