tonight, with the possibility of frost

Tonight, with the possibility of frost hanging in the chilly air, I wrapped up in my gray wool and alpaca cardigan and stepped out into the twilight. I carried a bundle of old linens to my fledgling kitchen garden and tucked my herbs in for the night, the orange and white striped sheets making it look like a middle school campout, and I secretly longed for a campfire and starlight.

As I walked through my small garden, the black-capped chickadees came to visit, gathering seeds one by one in their tiny beaks. I hugged my sweater tighter and took in the work I've done over the past few days. The strawberry plants are blooming in their new spot. The peas are flowering too, and the lettuce seedlings in the raised bed are lined up like a parade, just waiting for a cymbal crash of sunshine to spring into action. The peppermint, lemon balm, and Kentucky Colonel spearmint are growing strong already, lush green growth stark against the cinnamon-colored soil.

I picked a handful of peppermint leaves for a cup of hot tea, crushing them just slightly between my fingers so I could breathe in their fresh scent. I lingered as the darkness began to fall, returning to the house only when the sounds of a neighbor and his dog broke through my garden reverie, scattering my thoughts like seeds for the chickadees.

* * *

I hope your night is warm and filled with simple comforts like fresh tea from the garden and the work of your own two hands.

in bloom

{from top: Angelique tulips, Japanese maple, dogwood, Tom Thumb pea shoot, herbs--yes, two-thirds are lavender, violet cake}

We celebrated all the spring flowers this week with a violet cake, picking the violets before the rainstorms rolled through one morning and letting their petals dry on our kitchen counter. We used the vanilla cake recipe from Apples for Jam, which yielded a simple, buttery cake and a sweet vanilla frosting. Definitely a recipe to pull out again and again, adding in berries, peaches, lemon balm, and mint as the seasons progress.

We filled our raised beds with soil, and now they're just waiting to be planted. I've got beans, cucumbers, carrots, peas, lettuce, chard, and flower seeds ready to go, but I need to figure out what to plant where. I'm thinking Companion Planting for the Kitchen Gardener by Allison Greer might help out (I love Allison's blog, Homesprout, and Liesl recently recommended this book on her new podcast).

* * *

What's growing where you live? Have you been doing anything special to celebrate the seasons? We've been eating outside every chance we get. It gets so hot and humid in Kentucky during the summer, so we're taking advantage of the mild weather right now.

mothering

It feels strange to be back in this space after so much time away. February passed in a fog of cabin fever; we were cooped up on bitterly cold days and were more than ready when the last snow of winter melted.

Now my boy and I are wholeheartedly embracing spring. He begs to eat every meal outside, even when we have to bundle up in coats and hats. We water our pea plants and check to see how much the tulips and daffodils have grown. It's easy to mark their daily progress and see where rabbits have taken a nibble or a bite here and there. I'm trying my hardest not to begrudge those rabbits their first taste of spring.

I planted those bulbs in the aftermath of my miscarriage last fall, orderly rows of tiny white daffodils, tall yellow ones, and tulips in white, yellow, and pink. I needed something to hope for, and so I buried those bulbs like promises to myself that come spring things would be better. All winter long they slumbered in the frozen soil, and I must admit that on more than one occasion I doubted they would sprout.

But they have!

I sometimes feel silly at how much delight I take in our daily ritual of checking on the sprouts, but I do delight in it nonetheless. My son and I share in the joy of these growing things. It's not a new baby, but it's new life, and I'll take hope where I can find it.

outside

Outside has become a taboo word around our house, to be used only when a trip outdoors is imminent. Jude clambers for the door whenever he hears the word, and it's pretty heartbreaking (for everyone involved) if we aren't indeed going outside at that very moment. Luckily we've had some beautiful spring weather and have been able to spend lots of time outdoors. 

We go for daily walks and check out our neighbors' front yard garden. They're growing strawberries, kale, beans, and other things that I can't identify yet. It's a beautiful garden with trellises, raised beds, and a flower-lined path, the kind of garden I'd love to have but know that I couldn't maintain right now. Maybe someday.

We've also been stopping by some neighborhood pocket parks. They've got wide open meadows and so many trees. The dogwoods bloomed over the last couple weeks, so everywhere we went we saw pink and white blossoms, and now the petals rain down with every gust of wind. Sometimes I forget just how much I like spring.

This morning we worked in the garden. Jude keeps himself busy carrying around clumps of dirt and rocks that he finds. I finally planted lamb's ear and pinks, and we got some zinnia and sunflower seeds in the ground. I hope they grow!

* * *

Thanks for your suggestions on what to plant with a little one. I need to make another trip to the nursery to round out my garden plantings for the year.

What are you planting these days?

*

a morning outdoors and garden plans

This boy loves to be outside, and, now that it's warming up, I'm happy to oblige. He helps me check the seeds we planted last week and always finds pots of black dirt to dig his hands in. 

I took last year off from gardening, but this year I want to plant a few things for the two of us to grow together. I want to keep the garden small because I know realistically I won't have much time to devote to it. I'm thinking some colorful flowers for cutting, herbs for tasting, and lamb's ear for touching. I'm also hoping our strawberry patch produces lots of strawberries to eat. 

Any ideas for good things to plant to keep a little one interested?

* * *

P.S. Notes on my favorite baby basics are on my Ravelry page: Milo vest and Basic Newborn Hat.

good things lately

 Despite the recent storms, life has been full of some really good things lately. I thought I'd share.

{African flower hexagons}

Crocheting African flower hexagons outside is one of my new favorite things. I love having an outdoor space of my own now (except when the neighbor dog is out; she thinks I'm in her space and lets me know it).

{Our garden before the storm}

K made this raised bed with plans from The Vegetable Gardener's Book of Building Projects. It was his first solo woodworking project, and he did a wonderful job. The seats on each side of the bed make planting and weeding much easier. 

Also, even though the garden doesn't look as pretty after the hail storm, the plants are recovering well. I'm impressed by their resilience. We should have plenty of lettuce, chard, spinach, and kale in a few weeks.

{A new biscuit recipe}

We are breakfast-making people. Most weekends we'll make eggs or French toast or pancakes or biscuits. I usually make my tried-and-true biscuit recipe, but I just had to try out this drop biscuit recipe. The dough comes together quickly (great for bleary-eyed mornings) and produces light, slightly sweet biscuits. These biscuits are too delicate for our usual breakfast sandwiches, so we drizzled them with honey. Mmm... 

{A new mug. And a new class!}

I bought this mug at an art fair last weekend and love it so much that I signed up for one-on-one classes with the maker. I haven't been in a ceramics studio in six years! I'm so excited to get my hands in some clay.

{Game nights}

We have game nights several times each week. Sometimes it's just my husband and me, and sometimes we get together to play games with friends. Scrabble night doesn't happen often--we usually stick with newer strategy games. Our favorites right now are Dominion and Notre Dame.

* * * 

Also, today is the Kentucky Derby, which means drinking, gambling, and spending time with family. All good things.

What good things are going on in your life lately?

*

well, hail.

Beautiful, destructive, awe-inspiring hail poured down last night. 

It pounded the house from all sides, roaring with a force I've never heard before. It sent gallons of water streaming through our kitchen ceiling and tore through our window screens. It ripped my little garden greens to shreds and pockmarked our car. I've heard the phrase "the sky opened up" before, but had never experienced it until last night when buckets and buckets of hail fell in a matter of minutes. 

After a restless, rainy night, we're headed out to survey our house and the neighborhood. We've got a lot of tasks ahead: taking stock, repairing, making insurance claims. We're thankful to be safe, though. And we're completely bewildered at the strength and power of nature.  

early spring hike

redbud

K and I recently took a weekend getaway. We holed up in a cabin in central Kentucky, read, knitted, played games, and watched college basketball. We planned to have some lazy, do-nothing days, but the weather was so warm that we couldn't help going for a short hike. We hiked to the top of Natural Bridge, which isn't too strenuous, but is rather steep. The views from the top make it worth it, though. We also saw plenty of early spring wildflowers. 

Virginia bluebells

* * * 

The time away from everyday life felt wonderful.  

Where do you go for a weekend getaway?

little bunny

this little bunny just hopped by to say happy easter!

* * *

{my little bunny}

{pattern}

seedlings

sunflowers

billy buttons

Lately every time I walk through the kitchen I find myself stopping to spend time with these seedlings. More than once I've found myself eye-level with the dirt, scanning to see if more seeds are on the verge of sprouting. I give them a spritz of water and a bit of encouragement. This is the first time I've grown anything from seed, and I am amazed at how quickly they've gone from seeds to plants. The sunflowers grew their first true leaves, so I had to re-pot them to give them enough room to grow. And I just pulled my lavender seeds from their month-long chill in the refrigerator a couple of days ago. Already I can see a tiny speck of green in the soil, a tightly curled ball of leaves waiting to unfurl. 

Now I just need to start working on the yard so I'll have a place to plant all of these seedlings... 

* * * * * 

{good links lately}

• My friend Kristen is already hard at work in her yard.
• I feel like I can do anything when I listen to this Fun song.
• The sweetest photos.
• A pretty (and handknitted!) cardigan.
• Alice's spinning wheel makes me want one something fierce.

* * * * *

What's going on in your part of the world? Anything growing?

  

And it was all yellow...

{forsythia in the sky}

{best pizza place in the woods}

{homemade panera mac and cheese}

 {backyard surprise}

{woodsy yellow}

{yarn along: kalajoki sock}

first flowers of spring

I've finally put my snow dreams to rest for the season. Instead I've turned my thoughts to spring--digging in the dirt, identifying the mysterious green shoots sprouting in my backyard, and crafting with colorful yarn.

Last weekend I went to the craft store to look for sewing and jewelry-making supplies to make a Scalloped Dresden bag and cross stitched jewelry. Unfortunately, I couldn't find all of the supplies for either project. Sometimes when I go to big craft stores, I get overwhelmed looking at all of the supplies and end up in the yarn aisle. The yarn aisle comforts me. I know what to do with yarn. So that's what happened last weekend. I came out of the store with a giant bag of yarn and no sewing or jewelry supplies. Again.

As soon as I got home, I broke out my crochet hook and dug into that bag of yarn. An indoor garden soon bloomed as these crocheted flowers flew off my hook. The African Flower Hexagon pattern is quick to learn and easy to memorize. This crocheted garden is a lot less work than the actual garden I'm planning!

* * * * *

What are you up to these days? I'm hoping to fill my Sunday with working in the yard, making cheese, baking bread, browsing at the thrift store, knitting socks, crocheting flowers, and cleaning up the house.  Even if I only check a couple of these things off the list, I'll be happy.

* * * * *

I also want to say that my thoughts are with the people affected by the strong tornadoes that ripped through the area this week. The scenes of destruction look unreal, and I can't fathom how much hard work and resilience it will take for the people and towns to recover. I'm so grateful Louisville did not get hit by the storms. I hope you are safe and happy wherever you are!

dream home

I've been thinking a lot about my dream home lately--the place where I want to spend my life and build a family. Yes, I've got a laundry list of wants and needs and wouldn't-it be-cool-if-we-hads. But when I really try to picture my dream home, here is what I see.

It's spring, and we've just planted vegetables in the yard. The flowers are starting to come up. They are old-fashioned varieties of roses, peonies, and lilacs that have been growing here for many years. We've planted herbs near the patio, just out the back door, for quick snipping around dinnertime. It's still quite cool in the evenings, so we spend time curled on the couch with piles of books and yarn. During thunderstorms we watch the rain out the wide front windows until the weather gets too scary, and then we hide out in the basement till it calms down.

Summer comes with its hot and heavy days. The kitchen is busy with canning and jamming vegetables from our garden and fruit from our trees. We've got summertime craft projects spread out across the long dining room table. Suppers are quick salads and grilled vegetables eaten outside on the deck. Evenings are spent on the porch swing with iced tea. When the mosquitoes drive us inside, we break out a board game and stay up too late playing.

Autumn is my favorite season of all. We pull quilts from the cedar chest and pile them on the beds. Windows stay open all evening long so that my porch-swing-knitting is accompanied by the sounds of Dinah Washington records. We carve pumpkins and line them up on the porch steps. We build the first fire of the season and feel so cozy in our living room. We cuddle under crocheted afghans for movie nights with a big bowl of kettle corn and hot apple cider.

During winter we put our stack of firewood to steady use, and our home is filled with the rich smell of wood smoke. We linger under the covers longer every morning, scurrying out in woolen slippers to put the kettle on. The Christmas records play regularly after dinner as we make wish lists and homemade presents. We bake more cookies than we could ever possibly eat and pack lots up to give away to neighbors and friends. The kitchen is the place to be this season. When it snows we clamber outside to make snow angels in the front yard and build an igloo in the back.

I am looking forward to many seasons in my dream home. I know that everything on my laundry list of wants is not going to be checked off, but I'm looking for a house that captures that feeling of home that I want. And a big kitchen would be nice, too! We're still on the hunt...

* * * * * 

What's your dream home like? Is it a cabin in the woods? A cottage at the beach? Do you live there now? I'd love to here about the place where you dream of spending your days. 

* * * * *

P.S. I've been listening to this song over and over. It's perfect for dreaming! (found via Cast On)

weekend snippets: kentucky in may

derby drink

I am having trouble getting back into the swing of blogging. I thought it would be no problem. School would end, and I'd immediately kick up my blogging frequency. Instead I've been dragging my feet. Of course blogging has been on my mind. Anyone who blogs can probably tell you that the question "Should I blog this?" crosses her mind like ten times a day. But my answer to that question lately has been, "No, too boring for the blog." All the things I've been doing have meaning to me--lunches, dinners, and teas with friends, derby parties, coffee dates, hours of knitting--but I'm having a hard time coming up with things to share here. I'm starting small. Scenes from my Kentucky Derby/Mother's Day weekend (a very good weekend indeed!):

my sister and my hat on derby day

* * * * * 

lettuce in mom's garden. we spent time on mother's day looking at all the new sprouts in her garden.

i found these prints in the mud. is that one near the top a raccoon?

glad to see my old wagon is being put to use carting firewood.

* * * * * 

I hope you all had a great weekend and are having a wonderful week. If you've got any tips for getting back my blogging pizazz, please let me know. 

How do you keep your blogging spirits up? And what would you like to see more of on Field Wonderful?