“The richness of the rain made me feel safe and protected;
I have always considered the rain to be healing — a blanket — the comfort of a friend.”
Douglas Coupland
It has felt like Spring here the last few days with gorgeous rain that lulls me to sleep and leaves the whole farm smelling earthy and green. I absolutely love it.
Yesterday before the rains came I got to spend a few hours in my gardens pulling weeds, transplanting seedlings, and eating asparagus straight from the plant.
It felt so good to be outside in the sunshine, basking in the unusual winter warmth, tossing weeds over the fence to the goats who eagerly munched them up.
I love seeing the random plants growing from seeds planted by birds and wind. I’ve got tomatoes growing in the strangest places, strawberries leafing beautifully, and fennel thriving again after the goats got into it a month or two ago. The chicory has come back too, emerging lush and beautiful in all sorts of wondrous shades of green and purple. I can’t wait to use them in green smoothies and one of my favorite pasta dishes I first had in Bologna, Italy: penne with chicory and Italian sausage tossed with olive oil. Mmm. Good rainy day food for sure.
It isn’t Spring yet but it is absolutely wonderful to have glimpses of it, to remember what it’s like to spend each day in a sundress and flip-flops.
“When spring came, even the false spring,
there were no problems except where to be happiest.”
Ernest Hemingway
I love that. 🙂
I have had some wonderfully happy days this week – cozy, comfy days at home puttering away at all sorts of projects while the rain falls. Today I’ve spent in the kitchen making coffee liqueur and cherry brandy for an upcoming article and trying my hand at sauerkraut that tastes so good I can hardly bear to let it sit uneaten for another week or two while it ferments. Carrot Dill soup is on the stove and corned beef is simmering deliciously in the crock pot. It makes me smile to have so many good smells swirling together.
This afternoon I’ll be sorting through seed packets, seeing what I have on hand to plant and working on my new seed list for Spring. I’ll be focusing mostly on all sorts of herbs so I can use them in the medicines and toiletries I make for home use and share in my medieval medicine talks. It feels so good to make things from scratch and learn all sorts of new skills and information.
Now I’m off to brew a cuppa to go with my daily nip of dark chocolate, and cozy in for some reading.
What’s your favorite thing to do on a rainy day?
On a rainy day I like to snuggle in with a good movie or book. I have Pride and Prejudice on the PVR and I am sure I have watched it hundreds of times. It just makes me happy.
Ohh, that makes me smile, @disqus_2LQ5qLN5aY:disqus 🙂 I haven’t watched that in ages and really need to for it makes me happy too. 🙂 xo
Sounds like the perfect way to spend the day! My favourite thing to do on a rainy day is snuggle up on the lounge with my mohair throw, a chai latte and a good movie.
That sounds absolutely wonderful too, dear @tanyalloyd:disqus 🙂 We will have to set aside an afternoon to do that very thing one day soon. 🙂
There’s a saying among gardeners that “there is no such thing as a weed; just a plant growing in the wrong place” The day you find someone that knows the right place for oxalis and onion weed, let me know and we’ll ship some off to them. OK, that didn’t answer your question, but now that I’ve got it off my chest, I’ll get back to a good book. 🙂
@ken_powell:disqus you made me laugh out loud with your comment. 🙂 Aren’t some of those weeds the most frustrating things??!! I wonder if your onion weeds are the mystery weeds that are driving me batty. 🙂 Enjoy your book!
Here is a good article about onion weed, Krista. http://gardenamateur.blogspot.com.au/2008/10/understanding-onion-weed.html. It especially shows all the little bulbs which tend to be left behind if you try to dig it out. ‘Roundup’ painted on the leaves seems to work over time, but you need patience and perserverance!
Your fennel looks absolutely AMAZING! Such healthy plants … no wonder those goats couldn’t help themselves. Oh, how I’d love to be perched in your kitchen right now …
Oh a good book in front of the fireplace is always a good rainy day destination but as you know we have so many rainy days near Seattle that such activities can become habit forming!
what’s my new favorite thing to do on a rainy day? come visit you and hear about what you’re planting and cooking! it made my sunny day! and made me really hungry – at 8:40 a.m. in L.A.
have a great weekend hope it stays mild for you!
http://mlleparadis.blogspot.com
Beautiful pictures Krista. I love the fact that you are posting more often again 🙂 My favourite thing to do on a rainy day is cozy in and do some reading 🙂
When I had my garden I loved sifting through seed catalogs. Sadly too much time spent working and not enough time playing lately for me.
Glad that you got a glimpse of spring to come Krista, such a wonderful time of the year 🙂 beautiful photos as always and wishing you a very happy weekend!
I’m with Bellini–I love a good book or movie on a rainy day. Baking is also a good choice–makes it feel even cozier to be inside watching the rain outdoors.
My best friend’s mother spent her rainy summer days in the kitchen, baking. I can only assume it was a tradition carried over from her native Indiana, where the idea of turning on the oven in the heat of the sun would be unbearable. In Saskatchewan, however, a string of rainy days could bring on quite the surplus of baked goods. I remember one particularly rainy summer where the fruits of her kitchen ended up at church Sunday after Sunday. There was no way her family could keep up eating that bounty. Fortunately for our parish, she’s a fabulous baker, so many a sweet-tooth got appeased. I think of her and her delicious chocolate sheet cakes often, and get the urge to bake something everytime the sky turns grey.
Such a lovely post, Krista, rainy days are perfect for pyjama days indoors… cooking and reading. Love the freshness outdoors after the rain too!
I can’t believe you guys are already getting some spring weather!! Gorgeous.
I have never had chicory before but that pasta dish sounds so comforting for a rainy day. I love the rain as well. And being quiet with a cuppa tea and a good read is my favourite rainy day activity. =)
Ahhhh – nothing like the first hints of spring…lovely!
Rainy days are for walking in, knitting, watching netflix, writing letters to old friends, eating scones fresh from the oven, and dreaming of brighter days.