100 happy days :: day 49

sunshine. blossoms on the mirabella tree. oh, and have i mentioned sunshine!! 

so welcome!  so much happy!

monday's lesson in spending your energy wisely

i learned a lesson this evening that i really need to remember. because it was something that i already knew, but rarely act on. i was supposed to go to one of those soul-draining meetings this evening. but i had had a headache all day and so i said i couldn't be there. and oddly, at about the same time, the clouds lifted, the skies cleared and the sun came out. really, i mean it. and my headache faded. and i went out to the barn and i spent time checking on all of the animals. we've got a regular nursery going around here - frankie's mama pepchen has 3 new kittens. this little black hen hatched out 4 fluffy little chicks (i zoomed in, i don't dare get too close, she's a meanie pants). and the bunnies, two batches, are almost 2 weeks old.

our coming 2 filly has gained weight in leaps and bounds since her worming and has shed her winter coat and is looking very pretty (tho' i didn't have the camera on me at the time, so i'll have to show you that another time). and after i tucked the horses in with their grain and some fragrant hay, i stepped out of the barn and across the greening field (i don't know whether it's wheat, barley or rye, but whatever it is, it's coming up fast), there was a deer grazing in the distance. the air was full of birdsong and it was peaceful and glorious and my soul felt restored. way better than some meeting full of senseless powerplays by a sexist, racist troglodyte. with my energy levels filled to overflowing, i can see him for the silly little man he is, rather than being angry or wound up about it. maybe my own skies have cleared now and it won't ever go back to how bad it was. but maybe, just maybe, i'll have to skip another meeting or two to be sure. in the meantime, i'll just enjoy this beautiful, peaceful calm contentment that has come over me after spending the evening in the company of my animals, the garden, the trees bursting forth in all their glory of green and the cool evening air, tinged golden by the last waning rays of sunshine. i will remember that this is how it feels to have made a good decision, just for me.

watching the asparagus grow

at long, long last, it was a lovely day today. warm, sunny, light breezes. i swear you really could actually see the asparagus growing. tho' my dad needs to get back here and weed it again. the weeds, you can definitely see them growing, right before your very eyes.  i also planted 50 strawberries plants today. in a month or so, we're going to be so glad i did that. it's such a relief that spring seems to have actually come, i was really beginning to lose hope.

spring cleaning

these two springy 'bobs are nesting now that spring has arrived.

in honor of spring, i did a bit of freshening up around here today. if you checked in this morning my time, it was a big, giant mess, but i like it now, tho' i'm still looking for a good set of social media buttons - ones that include facebook, twitter, google+, instagram (look for me, i'm julochka, of course) and pinterest, as those are my bloggy-related social medias of choice. if you know of any, do let me know, as my searches for that particular combo have been in vain.

it is such a relief to have sunshine today. as you undoubtedly noticed, i get positively glum and navel-gazey in the grey, drizzly weather we've had of late. but just a little bit of sunshine turns it right around.  even our chickens have been joyful today and the horses are ecstatic that we put them out on the grass. it's like the weather knew that spring was officially here. and it was just in time.

i hope it's spring where you are (or autumn, if you're down under - that's my other favorite season).

unfolding

i awoke this sunny spring morning,
filled with such a sense of hope.
eagerly looking forward to the day,

the week,

the month,

the year.

feeling like a butterfly.
unfolding out of my chrysalis,
spreading my wings.

breathlessly taking flight.

it's time.

in spring a (not so) young woman's fancy turns to...cocktails

the sun came out at long last this afternoon. the garden table beckoned. the birds sang. and after a long day at work, the lure of a relaxing cocktail was irresistible. but i didn't feel like an ordinary glass of my old pal chardonnay, nor was it quite warm enough to break out the rosé. the sun-kissed late spring air whispered of something a bit more exotic, something a bit seasonal, something sweet yet tart. in short, a cocktail worthy of one of the first late spring sunshiney days.

i stared into the refrigerator and caught sight of the bright jar of rhubarb syrup i made last weekend, bright and inviting, flecked with black specks of real vanilla suspended in its sweet, slightly thick pink goodness. we'd start there. there was also the ubiquitous bottle of schweppes indian tonic in the fridge-that's-not-a-smeg (sigh). i turned to the liquor cabinet and spied the bottle of thylandia genever, a danish-made, slightly golden historical (tho' newly produced) gin precursor with a whiff of juniper about it. hmm, it sounded perfect. and it was. i give you the rhubarb gin fizz...

the rhubarb gin fizz
it's pinker than this, i couldn't resist a bit of processing

much closer to the true color

you don't need controversial historical gin relatives to make this, use your favorite gin or even vodka. to make the rhubarb syrup, i cooked down about 30 rhubarb stalks (mine are a bit thin, if yours are thick, use less), very slowly with only a little water. after it was cooked, i put it in a strainer over a bowl and let the gorgeous pink liquid drain through, overnight, actually. i didn't press it a whole lot, as i didn't want any bits or pulp in it. then, the next day, i put the clear tart juice back in a pan with a generous cup of sugar (it was probably 3+ C of liquid) and a whole vanilla bean pod that i sliced in half and slowly brought it to a boil. i put it into a canning jar and sealed it, but it's already half gone, as we've used it to make sodas all weekend. as a soda, we had it mixed with plain water or schweppes lemon or fizzy water - it just depends on what you're in the mood for. but it's pretty heavenly with the genevere. tomorrow, i'll give it a whirl with the real stuff - hendrick's, my best and favorite gin (loved by a small handful of people, all over the world).

to make the cocktail, i poured about 3 shots of the rhubarb syrup into a tall glass, one generous shot of genever and filled it up with tonic. perfectly tart yet a bit sweet and with just the right hint of vanilla.

normally, i post recipes over on domestic sensualists, but this one seemed more like a moment of perfect clarity. i am brewing a rhubarb post for over there, so do check in with us soon. but first, grab yourself a nice springy cocktail.

it sucks to get old but at least we have spring

have you ever gotten new contacts and had them make you sick? i got a pair of contacts with two strengths in them - bifocals, if you will (it seemed appropriate on my thirty-thirteenth birthday) - just to try them out. they have the bit in the middle for seeing your book or your knitting (which have been a bit fuzzy around here of late) and your real prescription around the outside edges. apparently, your eye will work together with your brain and figure it all out and eventually, you'll clearly see the things you need to see. however, apparently my brain and my eyes were not speaking, because they made me almost instantly nauseated. and i stupidly kept them on for several hours. even after i removed them, it took hours for the nausea to wear off. and kinda ruined my birthday dinner. so anyway, for lack of anything better (and because i'm getting up at the crack of insanity to drive three hours), i give you signs of spring...