Dear Reader,
Hello, again! This week and last have been very busy. I’ve been preparing my home for a visit from my sister, Sanswinda, and her two dogs, and running hither and yon celebrating birthdays and Mother’s Day (USA), going to a retreat, and galas and concerts for the end of the school year. I took Wednesday off to let my brain recover from a migraine and to let my body recover from the stress of performing.
I made bread from scratch by hand, and realized it had been more than 15 years since I had taken the time to slow down and actually make bread instead of just using my bread machine. It was so calming and centering to stand at the counter and knead the warm dough, able to look out over my backyard and garden. When my son came home from school, I sent him out on a strawberry hunt (the season’s first), and made shortbread while I waited for him to come back in. Since he only found two strawberries, I let him eat them and I showed him how to use jam to top the shortbread instead. He was delighted!
These simple moments, with the fresh bread, shortbread, jam, and family time, are when I feel the most connected to who I am, and to the world around me. Looking at the greenery in my yard, I’m put in mind of the shire as it is depicted in LOTRO. My apricot tree shades the raised planters with strawberries, the raspberries lean awaiting their trellis, the roses are blooming, and the breeze carries the smell of the freshly baked bread.
When my family lived in Colorado, in the big city, you’d smell asphalt, hot cement, and fumes from cars. While I still catch whiffs of that now and again, especially with the roadwork along my commute, I find there’s something about the smell of freshly cut lawns and alfalfa fields, flowers, and moist soil that calm and refresh my spirit. I’m not a huge fan of the bugs, but as I pull weeds, I let them scurry off unmolested to find new homes.
Attached, I’m including pictures of the ripe strawberries (I just picked eight more today!), the volunteer snapdragons that are preparing to bloom, and sheep and lambs when my sister and I visited our grandparents last Friday. I’m also including a recommendation for a book that I have enjoyed reading. Braiding Sweetgrass by botanist Robin Wall Kimmerer is an excellent read for people who love nature, are curious about ecosystems, and want to improve our environment. I’ve enjoyed it immensely, and am working to incorporate some of the principles she talks about, like companion planting, into my own garden. Oh, I almost forgot, I’m including a picture of the lake from the retreat since I missed writing to you while I was gone.
Sincerely,
Cyndars
Snapdragon volunteer
Snapdragon volunteer
The lake during retreat
Strawberries!
Strawberries
Sheep and lambs at Grandma and Grandpa’s
Sheep and lambs at Grandma and Grandpa’s
