It’s a writerly day for me as I type up my weekly blog post for Harrow and Finch, a press release for a new client in California, and my weekly column on country living for the Warwick Daily News.

I like these days when I get to sequester myself in the granny flat, a cup of elderberry tea to my left, and one of coffee to my right, and the cheeriest hand-crocheted afghan I found at a thrift store keeping me toasty warm.

Bear is busy working on his medieval high-backed chair, popping in for a chat now and then to make sure I don’t disappear into a whirlwind of words and images.

On writing days, I make sure that I sprinkle other activities in between projects so I’m not sitting for hours on end. Sometimes I go watch chickens for a while, or pull weeds in the garden, or hurriedly plant a few more seeds.

Yesterday I went for a ramble through our orchards, delighted to find our apple, peach, and plum trees covered in tiny, delicate blossoms.

There’s something about apple blossoms that gives me a thrill every time I see them.

In Autumn we planted a few old world variety apples from France and England, and their blossoms look so different than the original apples we bought. They’re voluptuous and full, and look more like roses before they unfurl into the familiar apple blossom shape.

The citrus trees are flowering too, and smell positively glorious, though the lemonades and blood oranges already have tiny globe fruits hidden among the leaves.

The grape vines are covered with baby grape clusters, and give me hope that perhaps this year we’ll get to make wine, juice, and raisins.

Most of the plums flowered weeks ago, but this fellow is late to the party. He got badly damaged in hail storms last year, but a severe pruning gave him a fresh start, and I think he’s looking rather dashing covered with ethereal blossoms in palest pink.

I’m so thankful that most of our fruit trees survived the horrendous summer storms of last year. We lost about a dozen, but one day soon we’ll replace them with new varieties, perhaps some cherries and more figs, or maybe hazelnuts, chestnuts, walnuts, and almonds.

It’s time to close my computer for a bit, and go out to the garden to plant the long lost seeds I found while cleaning out the granny flat last week. I’ve got Bulgarian Leeks and red and purple carrots, white Celeriac and yellow pear tomatoes, magenta silverbeet and a whole lot of cucumbers for pickling. Can’t wait to start harvesting all this goodness in a few months.

What helps you refocus on work when you’ve been sitting too long? xo