farmette life

The sun is back! Outside, the temperatures hovered dangerously near freezing at dawn, but bounced back quickly to May levels in the course of the morning. It's a beautiful day at the farmette!

But breakfast is a rather serious affair.





Ed and I are in the thick of a dispute: I have wanted to purchase a sandbox for Snowdrop for a while now. Ed thinks this is the world's dumbest idea.
There's so much for her to explore outside! You don't need to add stuff.
There's so much creative play in a sandbox!

We've been going around this for a while now and I have to say that my lobbying for a sandbox is a scaled down effort, as I originally was ogling a whole playground set on craigslist.

There are play grounds all over this town! (That's Ed again.)
But you always have to get in the car and drive to them. You can't just say to the girl -- want to go out and play for a few minutes?
There's plenty to do here!
There would be more to do if you ever cut back the grass to levels that Snowdrop can navigate! (Lately, he's been on a kick to let the grass grow tall. Really tall. For example, he has yet to cut it at all this year...)

When Ed's friends stopped by yesterday, they were incredulous: you mean you wont build the little girl a sandbox? 

He reconsiders, but reluctantly. How big do you want it?
I show him an example of a nice one at Home Depot. Frankly, it's easier just to pick one up there. 
Ed agrees. To a tiny one.

But at the last minute, I opt for a slightly bigger one with a play area next to it. Ed sulks.


Still,  it's a beautiful day at the farmette!






The cheepers follow me everywhere...






You just have to love this time of the year with your entire soul!


Snowdrop is absolutely ready for an adventure after school!






But I keep our neighborhood walk short. It would be nice to take advantage of the good weather and spend some time exploring spring at the farmette.

Ed is there to greet us as we arrive. Of course, the first glorious thing to show off is the big blooming crab. We're thrilled to hear the hum of bees all around it! (And yes, a beekeeper was to set up a hive for us this spring, but he hasn't done it yet.)






Snowdrop is happy to stay outside. She runs to the barn, feeds the cheepers, discovers an egg...






And now Ed is determined to really get her excited about the simple things around us. Like the pile of wood chips out back.






Snowdrop is much bolder with him than she is with me. This same pile of chips did nothing for her when the chipper dumped it here  a month ago. (Want to go up? No!) But now that ahah's treating it as his own Mount Everest, she must take it on as well!






Me, I do what I would have done back in my childhood days at my grandparents's village home in Poland: I make a dandelion wreath.






Well, Snowdrop's head is large, but not that large! It is, nonetheless, a fine necklace.






She and Ed proceed to build houses out of chips. We listen to the birds and the sound of a distant train...






... and even though he says nothing, I know what he is thinking -- you do not need a sandbox!

And I know what I am thinking -- oh, a sandbox would be so fine for her on this beautiful day! Decked with dandelions!






But the little one is oblivious to this unspoken current of opinion. She is joyous. She is as thrilled to be finally outdoors as I am. She is the king of the mountain!






Oh, farmette life! It is so very beautiful! The old farmhouse is our piece of heaven. The flower beds are sumptuous. The porch envisioned and pieced together -- a piece of art! Work here is never ending but so very rewarding.

And then there are the two of us -- so very different, so very stubborn, so full of (often diverging) vision and ideas. But surprisingly (who would have thought?!), so happy. Only perhaps not this morning at breakfast. Love held, but scowls prevailed.

the week the crabs bloom

I had worried that last week's overnight frost killed the crab apple blooms. The buds stayed shut. They seemed unhappy. But I know now that it was only their petulant protest against the gray, cold, wet days.

Today the biggest of the crabs relented and so you will have the start of an Ocean week where I profess my great love for these trees! It is a magnificent display!

Now all we need is the sunshine and the ascent to May-like temperatures. We're promised that this all will happen tomorrow, but in the meantime, it's not so bad out there! Or, we want to believe it's not too bad and so after breakfast...






... we are outdoors. In jackets, yes, of course, but we get right to the weeding and chipping that has been on hold for more than a week now.

(Another grand bloomer, though still on the young side: the new peach.)






Timing in a garden is important. Some of the loveliest scenes come around when two well matched plants join in unison and bloom their hearts out together. This year, the daffodils came early and the purple lilac is coming in late. They wont be completely in sync, but to me, it'll be close enough.






And of course, the view toward the crabs is fantastic!






It's really hard to believe that just a month ago we lived in a sea of browns!


When I pick up Snowdrop, she is, predictably, hungry for a stroller walk. And I'm okay with that, but I move quickly. It's still so cold today (mid 40sF, so about 7C)!

But when we finally drive up to the farmette, the sun comes out! Just for a few minutes, but it's so welcome!






Snowdrop is instantly drawn to the tulips (she is good at identifying the basic spring flowers by now). I look up to see her climbing the rocks to the flower bed.





Go ahead and admire them, little one, only do not pick.
She pauses, trying to decide if I mean it. I suggest an alternative: you can smell them!





Do tulips have a pretty fragrance? I don't know. But you can ask Snowdrop!


Evening. Have I told you how beautiful out crab apple pathway is this week? (From the kitchen window...)






The sun sets late...  8 p.m. today. The sky is clear enough now that I can see it out the west facing window.  So much beauty in one day! Incredible.

a tease

If April 1st is April Fools, what's May 1st? When I was a child, it was International Labor Day. Later, I learned of May poles and May baskets. Living now on the farmette, I'm wondering if this day's simple goal is to tease us. A sort of May madness -- not necessarily in a bad way. On the one hand, all those lovely flowers and blooms...







On the other hand, there's the fickle weather. You can't count on a fine day. Or a bad weather day. It's all rather unpredictable.

(Breakfast inside, of course.)






(A robin keeps us company: just outside our windows, in the old orchard blooming so heavily that it looks like there's snow out there!)






And this day is exactly like that. Crazy! Cold, not cold. A bit of blue sky, then stormy gray clouds take hold and the rain comes down. Unpredictable!

But so pretty.






I don't know what to do with Snowdrop after her school time: come straight to the farmhouse? Go for a walk? Will it rain? It looks positively threatening out there!

She settles my dilemmas by clamoring for a walk.

(...and a game of hide and seek!)






But at the farmette, she makes a run for the farmhouse. Smart girl.






If May 1st is a tease, Snowdrop surely picks up on this day's vibes. Push me over, ah ah! (Oh! I do not like this game!)






He does. Again and again.






Okay, you two! Knock it off. Do something less risky please.
Dance with me, ahah!






Wouldn't we all profit from a nap? (That's gaga speak.)


I'll leave you with post nap reflections on hair. Snowdrop finds a small hairbrush in the living room. I have to admit that I keep it there for Ed, and especially for the Ed who comes down to breakfast looking worse than terrible, just before I'm about to photographically commemorate my most revered meal -- breakfast. I use the brush if I can dodge his big hands that seek to push it away.

When Snowdrop asks -- what's that?
I answer, truthfully -- that's ahah's brush.

But of course, this doesn't explain things well enough. She must have concluded that Ed gets to use the brush. It's his to play with! She climbs up on his lap and asks him to please brush her hair.

Now, this is just so funny for me! I swear that, despite our time together, despite the fact that he flirted and flittered through many a girlfriend (well, perhaps not that many!), he has never ever brushed anyone's hair in his life! He's a guy with two brothers and a mother who lived far and on her own until her death -- believe me: no hair brushes ever passed through his large hands.

Until Snowdrop asks him to brush her hair.







But she is a girl with spunk and very quickly, she comes to the conclusion that she, too, is entitled. (And of this I am 100% certain: Ed has never had his hair brushed by a child before.)






The winds rage, the rain comes down. Finicky weather! Can't be trusted!  But here, at the farmette, all is just so fine on May 1st. So very fine.

Sunday, perfect Sunday

What makes for a perfect April Sunday? What are its essential elements? What would I look for?

Well, since I write somewhat obsessively about the weather, groaning at cold and wet days, rhapsodizing when skies turn blue and tulips open their faces to the sunshine, you'd look out today and say -- she must have hated this one! It's twenty degrees below average. It's wet. It's windy. You can't say many kind things about today's weather.

The thing is, it completely doesn't matter! Oh, I suppose it would have been like a sprinkle of gold dust had we a bit of sunshine on my brief stroll to pick asparagus, or to greet my family, or to walk them back to their cars, but honestly, I was too full of warm feelings to notice something so insignificant as The Weather.

Rain? Wind? Clouds? Ha! You did nothing to spoil things for me! It was, in fact, the perfect Sunday.

Once more, you'll have a page of family photos. They are my treasure trove: they speak to my delight and joy and ardent belief that in these vignettes you can find bliss.

Call this an early pre-breakfast:






And now it's time to prepare brunch. I have company!

Snowdrop, let's go pick asparagus for the noon meal! She grabs a ride, because it's such a long distance! (Less than a minute's walk, even for tiny legs.)






Back inside, she wants to step out on the porch and watch Ed unload wood chips. No way, Snowdrop. Close that door!






Her aunt and uncle are now at the farmhouse and she is all smiles and giggles for them. Here, Snowdrop has entrusted her baby to my daughter, who now has to help me cook with said baby slung on her hip.






That's right, Snowdrop: get someone to baby sit while you go off and engage in fun construction projects!






Back and forth she goes, between aunt and uncle, loving them both and, like her gaga, wanting to hold on to them and keep them here!






... with a kiss.






Getting the men to play ball with her...






And so it continues, back and forth, kitchen, play room, living room, then kitchen again.






Everyone is finally here and we sit down to brunch (centered around a Mexican mushroom frittata from the Egg Shop Cookbook.)






...with some pastries for dessert. Snowdrop knows that this weekend is to celebrate my birthday, this time with my younger daughter and her husband. She asks -- where are the candles? Okay! I have some! More candles, gaga! No, Snowdrop -- two is quite enough!






Happy girl...





Happy me!

Some presents to open from this duo...






And then we settle in for a bit of downtime. You know, to digest it all.

Snowdrop makes a boat out of one of the present boxes and Ed, who has always used the example of discarded cardboard as the perfect alternative to the unnecessary purchase of toys ("so much more room for imaginative play!") has a smug grin. I roll my eyes, but with a smile.

Her aunt and uncle push her back and forth across the choppy seas of the living room floor.







And now everyone must move on and return home and this should be my final photo, but in fact, the day still has at least a few elements of family, and it has the pleasure of one more meal, this time around the dinner table. (A smile and an exchange with mommy...)






After, a look at a PBS documentary on puffins...






... and the day draws to a close.

Yes, a most perfect set of hours.  A Sunday that will long shine for me: an example of the best of the best. Despite the miserable weather outside.

Saturday visits, celebrations and other happy moments

A weekend of picture postcards!

Not so much outdoor ones -- it's so cold today! (Low 40sF or just upwards of 5C) But plenty of family ones. We're continuing birthday celebrations, but that's just a very small excuse to get together now.

A quick look out, to make sure it's not raining (it's not, so that's good)...







Breakfast...






And then off to the farmers market, where there aren't the usual crowds, for good reason! It's cold!






Snowdrop is thrilled to have her aunt and uncle join us this week. Up from Chicago, they entertain her constantly and joyously.

Many pairs of eyes to watch her! She is one content little girl.






(Lots of morels for sale this week. Not many takers. Expensive!)






My very best daughters...






A selfie...






Brunch, at Heritage Tavern. The little one is delighted to be included!






The three women...






She loves bacon!






Fixing her aunt's hair...






Back at the young family's house...






We all settle in to draw.






Evening. We go out for a birthday dinner at La Kitchenette. I have just two photos for you: one, of my son in law, sitting right across from me, amidst all the glassware of a dinner out...






... and the second, of the restaurant staff bringing out the pistachio and strawberry birthday tart. Because it is my birthday. Well, it was my birthday...






And outside, the wind howls and the rain comes down and we shrug our shoulders and look ahead to the beauty of the next week and the week after.