Easter
Posted by Fiona Nevile in Bees, Cottage tales, Easter | 19 comments
Our daffodils
The birds wake me early. Singing to attract a mate for the summer. We have hung fat balls on the rose bush outside the kitchen window and marvel at the succession of birds that visit, wary and fleetingly to feed.
Our pond is full of frog spawn as the annual frog fest has finally run its course. We had the biggest ever turn out this year – there must have been over a hundred frogs in the pond. Where do the frogs go after there amorous frolics? Hopefully the majority stay in our garden to eat the greedy slugs and snails.
One of our colonies of bees survived the winter. We will split this colony into two using a Snelgrove board. This year we are going to pull all stops out to manage our hives. Suddenly our beekeeping has to move from a hobby to another stream of income. Properly labelled it is legal to sell our honey on the gate side stand. We are going for comb honey as it is so difficult to get hold of so sells for a premium. I will be using this excellent free software resource to help me manage our small apiary.
Seraphina is hosting Easter lunch today. She will serve lamb – traditional for Easter in our family. With home made mint sauce – Seraphina’s mint grows really well in a pot beside her French windows. Sob.
The flowering shrubs that we used for our Easter tree are gradually opening but the beech twigs are still dozing.
Danny has lots of his favourite chocolate to scoff and I have more ranunculus bulbs for the garden. Perfect.
Happy Easter everyone.
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Glad to hear you will be selling your honey – how exciting! I would love to keep bees one day. No space yet though!
A lovely time of year. Easter Greetings to you all
A Happy Easter, and good luck with your beesiness!
Pasg Hapus, as we say here in Wales!
It’s been a busy day here as Melwyn – one of our two British Saanen goats – went into labour well before dawn, producing two snowy little daughters; followed by Rally, one of the main Milkforce British Toggenburgs, who also gave birth to a big, bouncing milk chocolate daughter.
Meanwhile we’ve been seriously spring-cleaning the main Milking Parlour not to mention lots more serious DIY catching-up, besides; must take advantage of a sunny day when we’re both at home! So what for most people is a restful holiday is for us a typically busy day – taking advantage of the phone not constantly ringing to rush thru loads of ‘must-do’ stuff.
Dinner tonight will be salmon parcels stuffed with cream cheese & spinach, on a bed of wild rocket; followed by a roast joint of organically-reared tender pork with crisp crackling (as Tony can’t have any piggy products in the Middle East)served with herbed roast baby new potatoes, PSB & a seasonal veg medley over which will be sluiced a thick, creamy peppered mushroom sauce. Tony is as yet undecided, regarding dessert: does he indulge in a sumptuous Bread & Butter pudding with our Madagascan Vanilla gelato; or a dish of homemade creamy rice pudding made with the freshest-possible goats’ milk & cream from our Ladies…?
Regardless; I’m sure he’ll still find ample room for whichever dessert takes his fancy – along with his luscious Easter Egg…!!
Happy Easter to you all. I have had a wonderful afternoon with friends. Lovely food, wine and the company of old friends and new.
Hope Inca is continuing to make good progress. I think of her often. Lovely sunny weather here in Scotland today.
Happy Easter Fiona & Danny. I hope you have a wonderful day.
Did Danny have a chocolate Easter Egg before breakfast proper? 🙂
Happy Easter, Fiona and Danny, and all three lovely Min Pins.
Despite it being Autumn here (that gave Wellington a nice southerly drop in temperature for Easter Sunday afternoon) my zucchini is still producing heaps of flowers. And inside I have some broccoli, cauliflower, romanesco and spinach seedlings that are gathering strength for their outdoor deployment – winter here no where near as cold so they should produce edibles.
Do enjoy the lamb and time together over beautiful food and excellent company,
Michelle and Zebbycat
Happy Easter to you too! I agree that Easter is so much better than Christmas, more to look forward to.
Going out for dinner tonight but have no idea where just yet.
Happy Easter to you too. Roast beef for me, a rare find here in Latvia and of course I shall have to do the Yorkshire’s too
A happy Easter to you both, and to all the followers of this blog.
Roast chicken today as the family are joining us tomorrow for Easter lunch. One choccy egg to be shared by Nigel and I 🙂 and 6 cheapy growbags for me! Today I am planting the rest of my spuds in bags, pots and tubs ‘cos as usual I bought too many.