Easter – thehomeplaceweb

Spring is late again this year. Having survived a particularly brutal winter, which started early and never let up, we’re all tired of the snow and the cold, and anxious for the first signs of spring. So, here’s my take on the Six on Saturday Garden post….

March 20 – The first official day of spring – saw my first robin, who was uncooperative for a photo-shoot, hopping away every time I got near. Unfortunately the zoom lens on my camera is broken so this is as close as I got.

March 22 – The tulip and daffodil tips are peeking through on the south side of the house and some of the rose bush stems are starting to turn green.

March 23 – Went out for a walk for the first time in weeks, the wind was cold but the sun was bright, and the neighbor’s snowdrops were out in full force.

March 25 – The Angry Bird – I opened the front door to check the temperature this morning and saw the morning doves have returned. One was sitting on the front step, looking quite perturbed now that it has to find a new place to nest. They are life long lovers and creatures of habit, but as they didn’t build a nest last year I thought it was safe to install new light fixtures. I’m feeling guilty but my new lights are so much nicer than the old.

Mr. And Mrs. Lovebird

March 26 – So nice to see a blue sky again, especially against a budding maple tree.

March 27 – saw my first crocus while returning a book to the library. Their flower beds are always gorgeous because they have professional gardeners maintain them.

March 28 – first spring-like day, 15 C, and first milkshake from the Dairy Queen – chocolate of course. Drove home with the windows down.

March 29 – The ice is gone from the river and the sunlight is sparkling on the water again.

March 30 – our first all day spring rain flooded the back forty, but brought a tinge of green to the grass.

March 31 – brought a return to winter and a couple of inches of snow – the robin was not amused. The snow hung around for a more few days – is this some kind of April Fools joke?

A pot of hyacinths can provide a small dose of beauty,

while we wait for this.

What wonderful sights await us in a few more weeks. Happy Spring!

Spring Fling – 2016

After the earthy tones of winter, we are all craving the colors of spring. Pretty pastels, soft greens, yellows, purples and pinks, all the colors of nature when she’s decides to put on her spring fling. Even though it’s not yet warm enough to sit out on the deck, we can always dream, and decorate with a few Easter egg touches until mother nature agrees to cooperate. Never fear, this blog is mostly pretty pictures. (There may be cake at the end.)

Paperwhites, started in January, can be an early reminder of spring and it is wonderful to come home to such a heavenly smell. Hyacinths are great too.

I forgot to buy Paperwhites this year, so I made do with a new candle in one of my favorite scents, rose water.

Victoria magazine is one of my favorite reads. I have a collection of old editions in the basement and like to browse through them for seasonal decorating ideas. For those weary of winter and in search of an early dose of spring the new 2018 March/April edition is a feast of gorgeous color.

I found this garden gate table decor at Winner’s a few years ago and thought it might make a nice centerpiece, with some daffodils in the middle.

Also found this cute little guy to put inside one of my indoor bird cages.

I saw my first robin yesterday, but he was camera shy and got away before I could point and shoot. They will soon be getting plump and fat, and preparing their nests. This is a well behaved bird, who chose her birthing bed wisely, a sturdy tree with lots of supporting branches.

This is a badly behaved bird who chose her nesting place just to annoy me. Apparently morning doves mate for life, and these two lovebirds have insisted for years upon building their nest on my front light fixture, so I have just resigned myself to never ever getting new light fixtures because what would be the point.

Mr & Mrs. Lovebird

They are very efficient creatures who can assemble a home in a day, and often the nest is built and the eggs laid before I even realize it, and then I don’t have the heart to do anything. But last year I was ahead of the game and brushed the twigs off before they could get a head start. After a few days of this build and toss tussle, they finally gave up and went elsewhere, but then I felt guilty. I had destroyed their home, when they were just trying to feather their nest, the same as I do. This year I am hoping we can co-exist somewhat peacefully, except they do tend to coo a lot, which is annoying so early in the morning.

The crocus usually pop up where ever ever they feel like it, sometimes in the middle of a bush, seldom where I planted them. There must be a secret underground passage for wayward bulbs. My elderly more sensible crocuses are still hiding under the lavender but these younger braver souls are blooming in front of the library.

These pretty blue flowers are one of the first signs of spring, but spring has been very late this year so this is a picture from last year. It’s not my yard but I wish I could get them to populate on my grass.

The annual trek to buy the windup Easter chicks…..they break after a few hours but what little one doesn’t love them.

My mother always had an Easter lily on the farm, and coming home after church for our family dinner of ham and scalloped potatoes is associated with the smell of the lily on the kitchen counter near the sink. (Perhaps I remember it so well because of the two hours spent washing dishes by hand pre-dishwasher days!)

Can you smell it?

Traditionally, we would either have a cherry cheesecake for desert or coconut angel food cake or a pineapple upside down cake. This year I made a pineapple upside down cake, using the recipe from her old Purity Flour cookbook. Sprinkle brown sugar (I like lots), in the bottom of a well buttered cake pan, lay out the pineapple slices and pour the cake batter on top – voila, a fast and easy desert.

Pineapple Upside Down Cake

I nixed the cherries though because of the red dye, (we didn’t worry about such things back then), although they do make a festive touch. You could try strawberries perhaps? If you haven’t time for that, President’s Choice makes a perfectly acceptable frozen cake in individual portions. (Note PC is a Canadian brand.)

PC Pineapple Upside Down Cake

Although we can’t bring our spring clothes out just yet, I have noticed the weather girl on my local tv station has switched from her winter scarfs to her spring ones. If I had such a vast collection of colorful artfully tied scarves I’m sure I could learn to love inclement weather too. I am sure there must be a stylist on set to drape all those scarves just so……the art of the scarf might be a French technique? She is predicting possible snow flurries for Easter tomorrow, so I hope the bunny bundles up.