cat slap fever...

 Hello, old friend!

With three consecutive 80 degree days, a lot is happening outside.  The lilacs are in bloom...

...nice in a bouquet with the last of the daffodils, still hanging on.

I even used them on Todd's birthday cake this year (by request, NOT another pie, but a coconut cake with layers of lemon curd).

The redbuds are blooming, too.  We have a lot on our property and I love them in bouquets, although like the lilacs, they only last a day or two.

The apple tree blossoms smell amazing right now.

Even after a mow, the yard is carpeted with violets.

They're great in tiny vases!

Claudia likes to come with me as I check for new growth.

I've found some great things on hikes, like Jack-in-the-Pulpit...

...and wood poppies.

Before the leaves started really filling in, I found a cercropia moth cocoon!  

Cercropia moths are the largest in North America.  Check out this beauty!

photo courtesy of Detective Gluck

Now there's so much green in the woods...

...I never would've noticed it!

We're making stabs at yard work...

...but it's slow going, as temperatures seesaw between the low 50s/rainy and 80s/hot.  Inside, we've got the usual cat drama - jockeying for the most comfortable spots...

...and the "us vs. the old lady" battles.

"Care for a chat?"

"I don't think so."

Calliope may inhabit "their" spaces quite a bit...

...but no one is happy about it and they fight all the time.  Oh well...maybe year #2 is the year they finally learn to coexist?  We'll see!

Have a great week!  

the last straw(berry)

 Spring is popping!

I planted bags of muscari bulbs when we moved here and I love seeing them every spring. 

I gathered up the last of the daffodils for our spring table and mantle...

...and made small-batch lemon crinkle cookies to celebrate the warmer weather.

I love making small-batch desserts, and Easter was a great chance to make a few things that were festive but in limited supply.  I started with candy.  We both love Reese's peanut butter eggs, but they have a lot of nasty ingredients.  It's really easy to make a healthier version at home.  This recipe makes only 5 eggs and uses honey, not sugar.  It's as simple as mixing up a few ingredients, patting the dough into a rough egg shape...

...fridge, then dip in melted chocolate chips.  Sprinkles, of course.

They aren't as sweet as Reese's eggs, but somehow tasted better.  I also made sweet rolls, modified.  I made a quick strawberry freezer jam from this recipe, and used the cinnamon roll recipe here for the quick bread (instead of a yeast-raised dough).  I crushed a few tablespoons of freeze-dried strawberries into the dough, rolled it out, and spread the jam on top.  Another quick roll and slice and they were ready to be baked.  By coincidence, a "C" initial!  Perfect!

Frosted with a lemon cream cheese and more sprinkles, they were perfect for our Easter spread, right next to the carrot pumpkin muffins!

I have to say that everything was tasty, but I was surprised at how much I enjoyed the strawberry rolls, considering that I'm not a huge fan of strawberry.  But the soft bread with thick ribbons of lightly sweetened jam running through was absolutely my favorite.  I will definitely be making this again!  

As much as we've enjoyed getting outside and finding new growth...

...I've been more focused on inside flowers.  My sweet peas are finally robust enough to move to the porch for a few days before being planted in the garden...

...and I've been eyeballing the many bags of old seeds that I've got laying around.  Some are 5 years old, and the only way to know if they're viable is to plant them.  I decided to do a test planting of three seeds per bag.  I spread soil on a blue tray and planted 15 different seeds.  After just a few days, success!

I've got about 50% germination.  Those bags will be added to my 2023 pile.  I'll give the other seeds another week, and then the bags will get tossed.  A lot to do...I haven't even started on cleaning up the garden beds or laying the paths.  It's been so rainy and intermittently chilly that I haven't wanted to start...but it's time, ready or not.  The kittens are loving the sun and it's time for me to get there, too!

Have a great week!

a bad rabbit habit

I ordered an embroidery stand this week and am loving it!  The paddle bottom slides under your leg and you can adjust the height of the arm as needed.  The clamp holds most size frames.  I'm able to work much more quickly this way.  

I'm going to keep making Yumiko Higuchi embroideries, but I'm also interested in trying other kinds, from Tudor-era tapestry work to more contemporary styles, like this embroidery journal.  This particular one was created by Amy Deacon, and the idea is pretty self-evident:  take an event or object from each day and embroider it into your frame. 

photo courtesy of Amy Deacon

It's not quite my style, but an intriguing idea and one that I might try next year.  I like the idea of doing something creative every day, even if it's small.  It's not an uncommon idea in textile circles.  For example, textile artist Ann Wood makes a fabric book every year, with one page added daily, sewn with random scraps and in a random pattern. It's unrefined, of course, but keeps you in a creative mindset.

photo courtesy of Ann Wood Handmade

There is a version of this for painting, of course.  You can paint a suggested theme each day:

photo courtesy of foxandhazel.com

Or, like the embroidery journal, just paint something from your daily life.  I've long been attracted to this idea.  Two books that I've owned and loved for years are Island by Garth and Vicky Waite and The Diary of an Edwardian Lady.  Great examples of older and more contemporary styles of nature journaling in a chronological style.

A selection from Diary of an Edwardian Lady

A selection from Island

I struggle with the focus and the skills needed to commit to a project like this, but I love the idea of daily creativity and am throwing around some simple 5 minutes a day ideas for a future challenge!

More inspiration all around.  We survived the awful storms last week...

...and the rain and warming temperatures have brought out the flowers!  Of course, I'm making as many bouquets as possible...

...and I've been tramping around in the woods behind our fields, looking for spring ephemerals.  Plenty of early growers, like a whole slope of Cut-Leaf Toothwort:

...and some Spring Beauties, too!

Mayapples are up...it must be spring!

I was hoping to get some Columbines in the garden this year.  I had so many at our Indianapolis house, sprouting up from sidewalk cracks and crowding out of multiple garden beds.  But although I've planted many different types, I haven't had too much luck with repeat blooms.  One of the problem is rabbits, especially this year.  I think it's going to be a bad year for them, and I can see where they've nibbled the growing Columbine flower stalks:

As fast as the flowers shoot up, the rabbits mow them down.  Deer, too, might be a problem this year.  I've seen plenty of evidence that they're around, much earlier than normal and closer to the house, too:

deer scat

I know that deer eat daylilies, but I planted clumps of them all around the yard and they've never been bothered by deer...until this year.  They've been eating down the foliage pretty regularly.  It's pretty much a foregone conclusion that we're going to have to fence in the flower beds, and put some kind of strong-smelling deterrent around the hostas and daylilies.  

Meanwhile, the little spring chores continue.  Pruning the roses...

...checking my mini greenhouses regularly...

...and keeping track of all the new green growth outside!

I love it!  Meanwhile, the cats are mostly appreciating our extra hour of daylight:

They're feline fine.  :)  Have a great week!