Last night I was woken from a sound sleep by an incredible storm. Booming thunder shook the house, lightning lit up the farmyard, and rain hurtled straight down making an incredible racket on the roof. It was both scary and marvelous.
A few hours later we woke again, this time to a quiet but sodden world. The ground was like a sponge and laundry hung on the line the night before was so wet I had to wring it out before it would stop dripping.
We were thrilled.
Good, soak-into-the-ground rain is so rare here, that anytime it comes is cause for celebration.
Normally we’d drive straight into chores and to-do-lists, but this rainy morning Bear announced that he was treating us to breakfast. Never one to argue with a good idea, I hastily got ready and off we went.
It was wonderful to sit in a comfy booth, chat with friends who happened to be there too, and linger long over coffees and extra hash browns.
There was lots to talk about, for we’ve decided to plant another orchard, this one set aside for cider apples and cider pears so we can make our own hard cider in years to come. It was so fun to pour over lists of cider apple names from England, France, and Australia. Who could resist a “Brown Snout,” “Fox Whelp,” or “Bulmer’s Norman?” Not us. 🙂
We settled on ten varieties of apples and two varieties of perry pears, ordered our trees, and are now waiting excitedly for them to be delivered in a couple of months.
Between now and then we’ll be digging holes, building fences, and setting up bird netting to keep the fruit safe from marauding cockatoos, galahs, grass parrots, and innumerable other birds who’ve set up home on the farm.
After getting our cider orchard planned and a few errands run, the rain began to fall again, soft and gentle, and we arrived home in time for a cozy afternoon of cuppas and wood-burning, studying about cider-brewing and watching new episodes of “White Collar.”
On rainy days like this I like to make us special breakfasts, warming yet nourishing ones that are a bit out of the ordinary. This week I made a healthy apple crisp topped with oats, pumpkin seeds, and sunflower seeds drizzled with a bit of butter and some real maple syrup. While the crisp baked I made a quick batch of vanilla pudding lightly sweetened with a swirl of maple syrup. Dusted with cinnamon it made a warm, luscious topping for the apple crisp and made us feel quite decadent and spoiled.
What is your favorite breakfast on a rainy morning? xo
So glad to hear that you’ve had rain Krista. How exciting about your trees that you’ve ordered. That apple crisp sure does look good. I would probably say porridge for a favourite breakfast, unless my husband was willing to make pancakes instead… 🙂
I love porridge for breakfast too, @wanderingsheila:disqus. 🙂 Especially with butter and brown sugar. Yum! And any breakfast that someone else cooks is a favorite breakfast in my book. 🙂
o.k., well CAKE! but usually i’m more sensible and have oatmeal. gorgeous gorgeous flower pics! enjoy your rain. some coming our way too – just in time for the weekend (again)!
http://mlleparadis.blogspot.com
I’m grinning, paradis, because I was just craving cake. 🙂 So glad you’re getting rain too!!! Let it pour! 🙂
I’m so glad you celebrated the arrival of a good dosing of rain. It’s fantastic the rain didn’t just stick to the coast which is what usually happens. I do like the sound of your breakfast of hash browns xx
We are so happy that we got some of it, Charlie. You’re right, so often it doesn’t get this far inland. Hash browns are such great comfort food. 🙂
Can I please come and live with you?
That would be too fun for words, @budgetjan:disqus 🙂
We had bacon and eggs with sauteed mushrooms, grilled tomatoes and sourdough toast. I wouldn’t have made this but John decided it was Saturday and he was having a good brekky. He cooked most of it. 🙂 I’m thrilled about your trees. I remember when we planted our orchard in Victoria good fun.
Wow! John’s idea of breakfast sounds absolutely fantastic, @OrgasmicChef:disqus. 🙂 Especially since he helped cook it!!
Yum yum yum! I love making special breakfasts too 🙂 – have a gluten-free banana bread baking at the moment (with almond flour), love how the whole house smells like bananas and cinnamon, great way to start the day! Have a lovely weekend Krista 🙂
Ohhh, banana bread sounds so good, @TuulaR:disqus 🙂 The smell alone is pure bliss. 🙂
so glad you got some rain! I love oats with fresh on a rainy day 🙂
So glad that you and Bear took the time to slow down and have a fun breakfast! That always sounds like a good idea to me.
Hi Krista! Love the promise of the
new orchard. Imagine all of that lovely
cider!
I prefer rain to sunshine. It’s cozier.
A great rainy day breakfast to me would
be waffles. I make mine with almond
flavoring to give them extra flavor. A
big waffle, tea and my favorite book,
with rain on the roof ~ heavenly!
xo Suzanne