Sunday Stroll

"Anyone's life truly lived consists of work, sunshine, exercise, soap, plenty of fresh air, and a happy contented spirit."

Lillie Langtry 

Today will be a gardening day here, rather than a walking day... although I hope for a ramble in the woods after the work is done.  I will not be able to post photos even if I walk; still experiencing trouble with the tablet that serves as my camera.  However, I will check back for other strollers and add links if any one strolls.

So... if  you stroll and post about it, please leave a link here and I will make a list so others can find you and share your stroll.  

Where ever you are, whatever the weather, I wish you a happy contended spirit.

Mother's Day

Day off from the stroll... 

Cold and windy here and family coming to visit. 

Where ever you are, whatever the weather, I wish you a beautiful day.

I have a hundred farm chores to do this weekend, but rain arrived over night and it looks as if it will stay for the next several days, along with some very cool air.  I will need to make a new to-do list, of indoor tasks.

What do you like to do on a rainy spring day?

I think some cleaning and organizing are at hand, but also work on aligning the tension on my old Singer treadle sewing machine so I can actually do some sewing on the NEXT rainy weekend!

Where ever you are, whatever the weather, I wish you joy and a quiet sense of accomplishment.

Wacky Wednesday Meal Plan

Am musing between two dinner ideas for tonight:

Idea 1: Dips and Dippers, including a Sorrel Pesto recipe that I sought out. I have fresh lemony sorrel in my herb garden and making a pesto seems like a great way to use it.  Might also make hummus and a peanut butter dip with apple slices as a dessert.

Idea 2: Tempura Veggies, including sweet potatoes and maybe some early local asparagus that is starting to appear at farm stands.  My own asparagus is in its first year and I am supposed to "leave it alone" for this year.  I'm trying but I may have to sneak a little nibble!

What are you making for dinner tonight?  Do you plan ahead or just decide on the spur of the moment... or like I often do, after a frustrated foray in the pantry?

Where ever you are, whatever the weather, I wish you a lovely day and a beautiful evening meal!

Meal Planning Rut

It is that point of the year at which I am tired of winter foods, but it is not yet time to pick fresh bounty from the garden.

For these next few weeks, I am going to try this:
Movie Night and Munchies on Monday
Taco Tuesday
Wacky Wednesday (Just picking something fun  and unusual)
Thirsty Thursday (Get out the Juicer and have fresh juice and a salad or sandwich)
Friday Feast (loads of fresh fruit and veg)
Soups, Stews and Stirfries on Saturdays and Sundays

Monday Muse - Bird Song

This post is in response to a comment from my friend Nan, of Letters from a Hill Farm.

Though not all are what you would call songbirds, these are birds that I have seen and heard frequently this spring.  I know I am forgetting a few.

Robins

Blue Jays

Nut Hatches

Swallows

Partridge

Sand Hill Cranes

Crows

Cardinals

Hawks

Turkeys

Mourning Doves

Pileated Woodpecker

Seagulls

Hoot Owl

Mostly I see and hear my brood of barred rock hens and their ringleader, the rooster.  People think of roosters as noisy, and at the break of dawn perhaps they are, but you haven't heard a ruckus until you've heard one of our "girls" lay an egg!

Sunday Stroll Invitation

"Look at your feet.  You are standing in the sky.  When we think of the sky, we tend to look up, but the sky actually begins at the earth."

  ~Diane Ackerman

If you have time to stroll, please let me know in a comment and I will link to your stroll so that other gardeners and nature lovers can walk along with us.  

My walk with my son last week was lovely, and I was unable to share it with you because of technical difficulties.  I am still having the same problem, so today will share my stroll in words rather than photos...

This morning, the sky is translucent... a pale robin's egg blue.  

The air is alive with bird song and playful breeze.

The ground is lush from spring rains, and beginning to burst into bloom.  

In the north yard, bright yellow trout lily with her speckled leaves is unfurling.

In the herb garden, daffodils and hyacinth have awoken 

so late that they are joined in the dance by orange, purple, white and yellow pansies.  

The day is a bountiful offering from the Earth.  I accept it joyfully.

Where ever you are, whatever the weather, I wish you joy.