APR’ 20

18

 We've had some snow lately. It's beautiful and I am glad to have a break from hand-watering the garden beds. All of my little sprouts survived the snow from Monday/Tuesday just fine so I suspect they'll survive Thursday's snowstorm too. Still, I am very glad for the sunshine of yesterday and today. 

When I am stuck inside, I am more acutely aware of how I've settled into a kind of holding pattern. I feel as though I am holding my breath and waiting for signs to relax and exhale or to brace for whatever is coming next. I think it's better than feeling like I am under siege but the uncertainty of our times is an almost unbearable white noise. 

Thank goodness for all those moments of joy, levity, comfort, and pleasure that grace our lives. And, especially, all of those signs of spring! A robin has built her nest in the branches of the blue spruce in front of our house. Daffodils, grape hyacinths, tulips, violets, and dandelions are popping up everywhere. The trees have buds on them and the bushes have begun to leaf out. I admire their effortless dedication to the business of living. I can't even begin to count all of my lucky stars. Specifically, I've been thinking about how much I love our house and the many ways it meets our physical, spiritual, and emotional needs. 

Willa remains cheerful and very present. I try my best to emulate her. She talks about missing her friends and being excited for the time when we can all "be close again." She is so very brave and my heart cracks a little for her. She plays really well on her own. Shouts "hello" to every person walking/driving down our street. She even chats up the construction workers from a distance. Recently, her preschool teacher started hosting a story time on Wednesday's and Friday's on Zoom. We joined in yesterday and it was very sweet. I sat nearby with my mending.

Davis works as much as he can around our needs and has plenty of projects around the house and garden to keep him busy. He helped me rake out the spirea bushes. And, he also uprooted several volunteer elm trees that had sprouted up around them. We plan to plant some fruit trees and another spirea or two in the gaps. Nature really does abhor a vacuum. All of the garden beds could also use a fresh layer of mulch. I want to dig up the lawn on the north side of our driveway so that I can plant my squash, pumpkins, and melons there. He has almost finished the frames for the raised beds- they will hold poly or shade cloth over the beds. So on and so forth.

When I don't have work to do in the garden, I want to be baking. We can barely keep up. I bake half batches and freeze the rest for later. I recently tried a recipe for laminated dough and used it to make morning buns- coils of croissant-like dough filled with sugar, cinnamon, and orange zest. Next time, I will add pureed dates to the filling.