morning mist

hazy light shines through the early morning mist, making the landscape especially ethereal. thankful i had the chance to get out, still pajama-clad and barefooted, to shoot in it before the mist rose, burned off, and was gone.

inside-out

the view out the window this showery april morning. this rain is much needed, yet inconvenient. it will force me to find ways to stay content inside, which is unplanned - but not difficult to do.

outside-in

messing about outside, while i can, in anticipation of several days of much needed rain. here's tiny bugleweed, inside in a small pot on the kitchen windowsill. this is taken from outside, through the window. i just wanted to see if i could get the shot, that's all.

spring gift

tiny spring flowers, scrunched and stemless, delivered by the little girl on a day they were especially appreciated.

bloodroot

six small plants growing in the woods at the edge of the yard. i planted it there a few years back, hoping it would take off, like my neighbor's down the street. not so, but i am still happy to see this small patch return year after year. i feel fortunate to have caught it in this state, budded up with the grayish-green leaves still furled tightly around the stem.

pea soup persuasion

the weekend after easter, the holiday dinner leftovers are gone, and all that's left are scrappy ham remnants and the bone. time for pea soup in my biggest pot. the girl's hubby will want some, and goodness knows i do. we wait for this all year! but, with my mother gone and my sole pea soup colleague having moved on, i know i am making much too much for just the two of us.

the girl arrives and brings the little girl. since she lately admits to liking peas, we are hopeful that this is the year the little girl will join the pea soup club. to set the example, i devour a small bowl in her presence, smacking my lips while i extol its creamy goodness. when i offer some, she says she wants only a "no-thank-you-taste" on the smallest spoon i have. i suggest she close her eyes, afraid the green color may scare her off. she does, but at the last moment, she pulls away - and i have lost.

i send the girl home with a heaping container of the soup. i'm hopeful the little girl's father will have more success with her than i did. if not, there's always the freezer - or all the more pea soup for him and for me.

green and growing

tiny maples, their first set of leaves just emerged on spindly stems. the plant above will soon suffer its fate at the hand of a maintenance worker with a lawn mower. the one below will be plucked or tilled under by the good ladies of our local garden club when they replant this iron planter in the village of our town. but for now, they are green and growing, a hopeful sign of spring.

easter 2012

first off, yes - the easter balloon arrived as it does each year. a few days early, actually, leading one to believe that the easter bunny was intending to be busy on the actual holiday - or perhaps out of town.  regardless, the balloon became easter sunday decor and the attached carrots were beribboned and hung as a front door ornament. the little girl was present for all of this and was quite taken with the tradition.

speaking of tradition, i am not one to deviate from long-standing holiday menus. easter is always ham, my mother's delmonico potatoes (aka "cheese potatoes"), asparagus and dessert is always strawberry shortcake on warm buttermilk biscuits. but this year, the little girl requested chocolate cake. with candy eggs on top, a chocolate bunny, and a big strawberry. i can't help but wonder if a new tradition may be in the making.

the first of april

rabbit-rabbit

(rabbit-rabbit!)

happy april first.