So it seems our long-awaited Spring lasted little more than a week! By the time April rolled around, temperatures were pushing 90 and the flowers were fading fast. I joyously hung my first laundry load of the season out to dry—nothing says "see ya!" to old man winter like a clothesline full of flannel, fleece, & turtlenecks! I also managed to drag out the sewing machine & do some mending for my neighbor as well as knock out 4 panels of long-overdue undersink curtains for the kitchen (It's been over a year since our renovation & the recycle bins & trash cans still sit exposed under the countertops)—though I've yet to procure the proper hardware to get them hung & hemmed.
Honestly, I've been thoroughly preoccupied by yard & garden activities. I spent an afternoon mucking out my pond and started more seedlings. After a couple of days being shuffled in & out while nighttime temps dipped into the 40s, my little babies are spending most of their time en plein air enjoying direct sunshine. The day before Easter, Charles & I went on an epic poo run alongside a handful of my hipster community gardeners. We traveled into the countryside a county over to procure a pickup load full of well-composted horse manure which Charles immediately spread atop our fallow beds—it's yet to be tilled in as we await a special-ordered belt to get our ancient rototiller back up and running.
In the meantime, I scurried around tidying up the house & yard in preparation for a small Easter gathering. I'd envisioned a balmy afternoon with friends & neighbors on my patio surrounded by daffodils, tulips, violets, & my precious little underfoot weed-flowers, but most of the blooms had shriveled up in the freakishly summerish heat & by Sunday noon the patio felt more like a panini press than a pleasant oasis. We moved the spread under the carport where everyone enjoyed a boozy afternoon nestled alongside a giant pile of rusty, broken-down, dump-bound crap (I hope all were current on their tetanus shots!).
While this month's MSL gives detailed instructions on egg decoration, my gardening distractions led me to skip this activity. I did however turn to Martha's tri-flavored mini corn muffins, which were served alongside a firepit-smoked ham, wild greens & goat cheese frittata, & violet-strewn fruit salad as well as biscuits, sliced turkey, and asparagus casserole brought by guests. I'll admit to cheating & abandoning Martha's recipe for several boxes of Jiffy mix doctored with the directed ingredients (bacon & caramelized onion, orange zest & rosemary, jalapeno & cheddar). Martha didn't suggest to bake the muffins in papers, though she should have because they were a total pain in the ass to pry from the tins. Many lost their tops in the process & the whole fiasco took forever as I had to wait for them to thoroughly cool before coaxing them out of the tins & moving on to the next batch. I was still slaving away in the kitchen while Charles & guests were settled comfortably, booze in hand under the shady carport.
I did have the sense to bake the cake the night before. Somewhat inspired by Martha's Meyer lemon crepe cake (which looked like a total pain in the ass), I turned to my tried-n-true lemon cake recipe & topped it w/ a runny orange cream cheese icing & a handful of violet blooms just before presenting to my pal Carrie for her birthday.
As the week wore on, the heat wave continued and the trees kicked into high gear unleashing pollen in great opaque clouds that rolled across the landscape, settled in thick layers of gritty yellow dust on every surface, and lent a snotty green hue to the blue skies overhead. My front porch office was well established for the season, but I found myself retreating indoors for fear of doing damage to my laptop while wallowing outdoors in the botanical bukkake. I'm not sure how much it helped as the pollen easily wafted through screen windows and open doors & covered appliances, counters, furniture, shelves, etc. By midweek it even set off the fire alarm! I frantically batted it down from above the bedroom door & shut it up only to hear a mockingbird in the distance mimicking the shrill beep beep beep!
The rains came on Thursday in occasional bursts of drizzle, sending pollen & catkins cascading down the gutters & collecting in swirling pools that strangely resembled puddles of egg-drop soup. Seasonably cool temperatures were rolling in for the weekend and Charles, Andromeda, & I headed North to spend a long weekend visiting with my sister Becky in Chattanooga, TN where we posed for portraits w/ the infamous Choo Choo, frolicked in the riverfront parks, had drinks on the Delta Queen, hiked through Keown Falls to the top of Johns Mountain, and went hang gliding over Lookout Mountain! Chattanooga is a breathtakingly beautiful smallish city with so much going on. My little sis moved there on something of a whim about 6 months ago to take a teaching job & I've since spent about a half-dozen weekends there. This was a first visit for Charles & Andi and we are already planning a return.
In the meantime, back in Athens, summerish temps have returned and I've got poo-covered garden beds and dozens of growing seedlings eager to find a home in the ground—back to the dirt....
Funny you should mention toenails, as your soon to be ?0 year old Aunt and I just got back from a pedicure in downtown Guelph. It took a surprise visit from Brooklyn to get the job done. As usual your Aunt has amazed me with her culinary creativity which began with a breakfast of homemade mini-muffins, smoked trout, mixed berries and french- pressed coffee. We managed to also fit in a visit to your blog which we both find very amusing and extremely helpful (especially when you less creative aunt becomes overwhelmed and decides once again that it's take-out time). Keep on blogging!
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