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| Some of the flowers in my garden now. |
“Whan that Aprill with his shoures soote
The droghte of March hath perced to the roote,
And bathed every veyne in swich licour
Of which vertu engendred is the flour,”
So begins Geoffrey Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales. In case you aren’t up on your Middle English, that (roughly) translates to:
“When April with his showers sweet with fruit
The drought of March has pierced unto the root
And bathed each vein with liquor that has power
To generate therein and sire the flower;”
I love the Canterbury Tales (written between 1387 and 1400). I love to read them in their original Middle English. When I was in college I took a class and spent an entire semester just reading and discussing the Canterbury Tales. But that’s not why I bring them up today. It’s Chaucer’s reference to April’s sweet showers. If April’s showers are sweet, last week was pretty sugary. It rained a lot. (Sometimes there was some snow mixed in, but I don’t want to talk about that.) Which brings up another verse that first appeared in 1557 written by Thomas Tusser in the April section of a collection of his writings titled, “A Hundred Good Points of Husbandry”:
“Sweet April showers
Do spring May flowers.”
We still often quote a version of it – “April showers bring May flowers.” If that is true, then we are in for a very floriferous month of May. I can’t wait to see all those flowers.
We had a few brief spells of relief from the rain on Wednesday and Thursday. I was in school all day on those days, but as soon as I got home I went out into the yard and stayed there until dinner time. I spent most of the time pulling up undesirable plants in my flowerbed. I say undesirable and hesitate to call them weeds because I actually invited them into my garden to begin with. When we moved here and I first dug my long border, my neighbor, Brownie Stilson, brought me a clump of forget-me-nots from his own garden. Brownie died years ago, but he was a good neighbor and gave me lots of much needed advice on gardening in Gold, I having been accustomed to gardening in Southern California. But before he handed the clump over, he cautioned me. “You better really like forget-me-nots,” he said, “because once you let them in, you’ll have them forever.” I assured him that I love forget-me-nots and I planted them. I do love them, but over the years they have spread and spread and if I’d allow it, they would completely take over the flowerbed. So every spring I pull out most of them before they bloom and set seed, only allowing them to grow in a few spots. And every spring they still come up everywhere all over again.
The other plant I spent those afternoons annihilating was violets. I love violets. They come up in my lawn every spring and I love it. They carpet parts of my woodland garden and I love it. But just once they came up in my long border and, thinking that I love violets, I let them grow. They have invaded the whole border, and would suffocate all other plants if I didn’t stop them. So I have to do violence to the violets. I rip out bucketfuls of clumps every spring as soon as I see their first leaves. I am a wiser gardener than I once was. I’m very careful about what I introduce to my garden now.
On Wednesday when I did the chores down at the barn, I decided it was time to let the peacock out to mingle with the chickens. I was nervous about it. The rooster can be aggressive. So after I let the peacock out, I sat in the coop a while and watched. The rooster didn’t care at all. Then on Thursday, Miriam and I let the peacock out into the chicken yard. We were afraid he’d try to fly out, but he behaved himself. Now he goes in and out with the chickens and roosts with them at night. He seems at home and that’s good.
On Friday (we’re on Spring Break now and won’t have school again until Tuesday), I spent the morning listening to Bach’s St. Matthew Passion, as I do every year on Good Friday. I love that music. Then when Stacey got home just after noon, we packed up the car and headed down to the Thayn’s house for the weekend.
We arrived there around 4:30 and found preparations for dinner almost done. On Friday evening Passover began and we had our traditional Passover Seder. We began this tradition many years ago as a way to help us understand what the Savior was doing at the Last Supper, which was a Passover Seder. It was actually the last Passover where he instituted a new ordinance, the sacrament of bread and wine, to replace the ancient sacrificial lamb. The breaking of bread and drinking cups of wine were already deeply symbolic parts of the Passover Seder. Then, after that final Seder, the Lamb of God was sacrificed for the sins of the world. Our Seder on Friday was a considerably shortened version for the sake of the small children. The food was fabulous. We had our traditional menu of apricot chicken, haroset, eggs, spring vegetables, and latkes.
The droghte of March hath perced to the roote,
And bathed every veyne in swich licour
Of which vertu engendred is the flour,”
So begins Geoffrey Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales. In case you aren’t up on your Middle English, that (roughly) translates to:
“When April with his showers sweet with fruit
The drought of March has pierced unto the root
And bathed each vein with liquor that has power
To generate therein and sire the flower;”
I love the Canterbury Tales (written between 1387 and 1400). I love to read them in their original Middle English. When I was in college I took a class and spent an entire semester just reading and discussing the Canterbury Tales. But that’s not why I bring them up today. It’s Chaucer’s reference to April’s sweet showers. If April’s showers are sweet, last week was pretty sugary. It rained a lot. (Sometimes there was some snow mixed in, but I don’t want to talk about that.) Which brings up another verse that first appeared in 1557 written by Thomas Tusser in the April section of a collection of his writings titled, “A Hundred Good Points of Husbandry”:
“Sweet April showers
Do spring May flowers.”
We still often quote a version of it – “April showers bring May flowers.” If that is true, then we are in for a very floriferous month of May. I can’t wait to see all those flowers.
We had a few brief spells of relief from the rain on Wednesday and Thursday. I was in school all day on those days, but as soon as I got home I went out into the yard and stayed there until dinner time. I spent most of the time pulling up undesirable plants in my flowerbed. I say undesirable and hesitate to call them weeds because I actually invited them into my garden to begin with. When we moved here and I first dug my long border, my neighbor, Brownie Stilson, brought me a clump of forget-me-nots from his own garden. Brownie died years ago, but he was a good neighbor and gave me lots of much needed advice on gardening in Gold, I having been accustomed to gardening in Southern California. But before he handed the clump over, he cautioned me. “You better really like forget-me-nots,” he said, “because once you let them in, you’ll have them forever.” I assured him that I love forget-me-nots and I planted them. I do love them, but over the years they have spread and spread and if I’d allow it, they would completely take over the flowerbed. So every spring I pull out most of them before they bloom and set seed, only allowing them to grow in a few spots. And every spring they still come up everywhere all over again.
The other plant I spent those afternoons annihilating was violets. I love violets. They come up in my lawn every spring and I love it. They carpet parts of my woodland garden and I love it. But just once they came up in my long border and, thinking that I love violets, I let them grow. They have invaded the whole border, and would suffocate all other plants if I didn’t stop them. So I have to do violence to the violets. I rip out bucketfuls of clumps every spring as soon as I see their first leaves. I am a wiser gardener than I once was. I’m very careful about what I introduce to my garden now.
On Wednesday when I did the chores down at the barn, I decided it was time to let the peacock out to mingle with the chickens. I was nervous about it. The rooster can be aggressive. So after I let the peacock out, I sat in the coop a while and watched. The rooster didn’t care at all. Then on Thursday, Miriam and I let the peacock out into the chicken yard. We were afraid he’d try to fly out, but he behaved himself. Now he goes in and out with the chickens and roosts with them at night. He seems at home and that’s good.
On Friday (we’re on Spring Break now and won’t have school again until Tuesday), I spent the morning listening to Bach’s St. Matthew Passion, as I do every year on Good Friday. I love that music. Then when Stacey got home just after noon, we packed up the car and headed down to the Thayn’s house for the weekend.
We arrived there around 4:30 and found preparations for dinner almost done. On Friday evening Passover began and we had our traditional Passover Seder. We began this tradition many years ago as a way to help us understand what the Savior was doing at the Last Supper, which was a Passover Seder. It was actually the last Passover where he instituted a new ordinance, the sacrament of bread and wine, to replace the ancient sacrificial lamb. The breaking of bread and drinking cups of wine were already deeply symbolic parts of the Passover Seder. Then, after that final Seder, the Lamb of God was sacrificed for the sins of the world. Our Seder on Friday was a considerably shortened version for the sake of the small children. The food was fabulous. We had our traditional menu of apricot chicken, haroset, eggs, spring vegetables, and latkes.
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| Getting ready for our Seder. |
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| We aren't praying, we're following along in our Haggadahs. |
Our Saturday at the Thayns was busy and fun. In the morning a group of us - Rachel, Miriam, Sarah, Tosh, and I, went into Pittsburgh to the Phipps Conservatory for their annual used spring bulb sale. They sell potted bulbs that were used in displays inside the conservatory’s huge greenhouses. We went for the first time last year and had to wait in a long line to get in. This time we went earlier and were not so far back in the line. The sale is a bit crazy. When they open it, people rush in and grab whatever they can - potted daffodils, hyacinths, lilies, and tulips. They also had orchids for sale his time. We came away with some great plants. I got some new orchids and Rachel got a lot of bulbs for her gardens.
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| At the Phipps: the line in front of us, the line behind us, our purchases. |
When we got home from that, we spent the rest of the day working in their yard, planting the bulbs, and weeding flowerbeds. They have a large amount of Japanese knotweed in their yard. It is a very invasive, nasty weed. Stacey and Rachel spent a lot of time and energy at cutting it down and spraying it with herbicide.
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| Working in the yard. |
Later in the afternoon we had an Easter egg hunt. While the girls were hiding and finding plastic eggs all over the yard, they saw a snake. We went to investigate and found not one, but seven little garter snakes that apparently had wintered in a low stone wall in their garden. The snakes were out sunning themselves on the stones. We watched them for a while. I like garter snakes. I wish we had more of them up here. That evening we dyed eggs, played games, and just took it easy and enjoyed each other’s company.
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| Easter egg hunt! |
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| Garter snakes! |
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| Dying eggs. |
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| Playing games. |
On Easter Sunday morning Hazel, June, and Mabel got to put on matching Easter dresses Rachel made for them. They also got to dress their dolls (that Miriam made for them last year) in matching Easter dresses that Miriam made for them. Then we went to church. We sang my favorite Easter hymns, “Christ the Lord Is Risen Today” and “He Is Risen.” Rachel and another sister in her ward played a harp and French horn duet as part of the service. It was all very nice.
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| Girls and dolls in Easter dresses. |
When we got home from church the girls went on a hunt to find their Easter baskets. Then we took some family photos and went in to eat our Easter feast. The food was excellent – our traditional menu of ham, funeral potatoes, pickled eggs and beets, fruit salad, zesty carrots, and rolls. It was also Mabel’s birthday. She turned two. To celebrate we had pound cake with strawberries and whipped cream.
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| Easter baskets. |
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| The family. |
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| Mabel's birthday. |
After that, it was time to come home. Stacey and I drove home in the Yukon (Hannah and Josiah drove it down last Sunday when they left for school). Miriam stayed another day and will drive back in the Subaru. She’ll be home later today. Stacey and I got home around 8:00 last night, too tired from all the travel time to do anything but unload the car and go to bed. That’s why I’m sending out the Journal today.
We are on Spring Break now and there is no school today. When I finish this and send it, I will go outside to work. My onion order arrived on Saturday and I will plant that. I brought back a load of bricks from the Thayn’s house that I’m going to use to line a new herb garden I made by the back porch steps where they elderberries used to grow. Then I have work to do down at the barn. I’m going to move the fence around the chicken yard to the other side of the barn so they have fresh ground. That will be a big job and once I start it, I won’t be able to stop until I’m done. So I’ll have a busy day doing things that I love to do. A very nice way to start the week.
We are on Spring Break now and there is no school today. When I finish this and send it, I will go outside to work. My onion order arrived on Saturday and I will plant that. I brought back a load of bricks from the Thayn’s house that I’m going to use to line a new herb garden I made by the back porch steps where they elderberries used to grow. Then I have work to do down at the barn. I’m going to move the fence around the chicken yard to the other side of the barn so they have fresh ground. That will be a big job and once I start it, I won’t be able to stop until I’m done. So I’ll have a busy day doing things that I love to do. A very nice way to start the week.
