It’s dark and cloudy today, the air fragrant with the scent of rain-dampened earth and my cup of Earl Grey tea steaming next to me.

We’re moving slow this morning, weary and bleary-eyed from hauling, stacking, unloading, hauling, and re-stacking 170 bales of hay this week. When we finished sliding in the last bale yesterday afternoon, we were drenched from three rain storms and plastered from head to tow in hay and hay dust. Is there anything more glorious than a shower on such occasions?

It was a huge project but a fun one, mostly because we got to take beautifully scenic drives through the country and spend time with our friends, Doug and Avis, whose gardens I wrote about a while back. Their gardens are still stunning and inspiring, and when we took breaks from stacking hay, Avis and I got to wander through them a bit, sighing happily at all the flowers, vegetables, and fruit trees. She gave me poppy seeds from ones growing wild in her patch and a Pride of Bolivia tree that is going to be planted next to our chook yards where it will provide both shade and beauty with its leafy branches and gorgeous yellow flowers.

This morning I’ll be planting them along with the other treasures I’ve been collecting from sale bins and market stalls and seed packet displays.

I’ve got five varieties of tomatoes, multi-colored bell peppers, lush little basil plants, Jerusalem artichokes, Butternut squash, dill, lavender, leeks, red-cored carrots, and these gorgeous little oca yams that have sprouted marvelously.

Once everything is planted, I’m giving myself the rest of the day to cook, bake, simmer, stew, and make all sorts of delicious things. Bear is craving cookies with crystallized ginger and sultanas, and I’m pining for a good potato casserole with ham and caramelized onions and cheese. After so much hard physical labor this week, it’s time for comfort food and pottering in the kitchen.

What are you craving today? xo