We started our day watching the sun rise over the Atlantic Ocean. We were in Cocoa Beach on the east coast of Florida, and we took one last walk on the beach before driving across the state. We ended our day on the west coast of Florida, where we watched the sun set over the Gulf of Mexico.
The butterflies haven’t arrived in droves yet, but I’m hopeful that by the end of July they’ll be here. I walk the garden every day to turn leaves over and look for caterpillars. So far I’ve found none. I may have spotted a couple of swallowtail eggs on the rue; I’ll keep a close eye on that.
Meanwhile, the garden is in full bloom. Most of the flowers I planted serve as nectar sources for butterflies and bees; hummingbirds drink from them, too. The caterpillar host plants aren’t as pretty, so I haven’t photographed them, but I have five different kinds of milkweed for the monarchs, lots of dill, rue, and parsley for the eastern swallowtails, and a spicebush for the spicebush swallowtail. I hope they’ll all visit this summer.
I never make cutouts to top my pies, but I did today because the recipe told me to, and it made sense to leave a lot of open areas for steam, because strawberry-rhubarb pie usually ends up soupy, which drives me bananas. But I didn’t know how pretty it would turn out! I think this is the most beautiful thing I’ve ever made! Besides our children, of course. I think I’ll make cutouts for all my pies from now on.
Strawberry-rhubarb is my husband’s favorite, so I was excited when rhubarb showed up in the produce section this week and I could make this for him for Father’s Day. Also, I love my new camera 😍.
When the garden first begins to return in March, I might find something new to get excited about once per week: a snowdrop, a sprout emerging from the cold earth. Now, dozens of new things happen every day. I can sit outside and admire the garden for hours.
Today I wandered around with my camera, then looked back at photos from when I mulched on my gardening vacation in March. It’s so different now, and it’s only May!
My husband and I talked this morning about how we’re numb from the routine of life, day in and day out, every day the same since the pandemic began: same meals, same surroundings, same walk around the neighborhood.
Today we decided to break routine and go for a hike at the Cascades, a waterfall nearby that we’ve hiked to in every season: late spring when the rhododendrons bloom and the meltwater rushes in torrents down stream, summer when the canopy is dense and green, and no sunlight hits the forest floor, fall when yellow and orange and brown leaves fall, and winter when rock faces twinkle with icicles and the falls freeze over.
What we realized today, though, is that we’ve never been in early spring, before the leaves come in and shade the trail. This time of year, sunlight can reach the forest floor, and wildflowers bloom everywhere. I’ve never seen so many flowers on this hike. I was delighted for all the pretty things to photograph with my new camera and lens. I shot all of these with a Fuji X-T30 camera and the XF 35mm f1.4 lens.
I’m still not great with my new camera. At least it’s warm outside now so that my hands don’t freeze while I fumble with the settings. I finally ordered the lens I’ve been saving for; it should arrive this week. I am eager for a fixed focal length and to be able to open the aperture as much as I want to. I worried I wouldn’t get the lens in time for spring flowers, but I think it will be just in time for the tulips, redbud, dogwoods, lilac, and everything else that follows.
Butterfly Mind 