The ferns by Monday will be lush and full this is mid furl and almost unfurled~
The Secret Garden in our borrowed landscape is full of them..at this point I am pulling many out of my gardens..
Invasive..In the woods etc..beautiful..in gardens..invasive..
My humble rhubarb is coming up..I have a few recipes I wish to try..
We had a few rainy days..
And I made Coq Au Riesling again..Google and many many many blogs will lead the way:)
I used Nigel Slater's recipe..but amend as I go along..
This dish is even good reheated .
But on the first day..served with a nice egg noodle or spaetlze as my friend Linda recommended:)
Linda is into her 5th plus week of kitchen renovations..
It's beautiful!
But what a gal to withstand without complaining.
She is a cook a baker a chef extraordinaire..
So imagine..a family of 4.. no kitchen!
Bravo!
Our Amélanchier is at it's best~ Every season it is at it's best..excapt winter.. but right now after a long winter and full all white blooms..?
As my French favorite bloggers would say..Un poème.
I asked Lucas to guess how old it was?
I think he will remember now..his parents gave it to me for Mother's day the yearCcaroline was carrying Lucas..I said always remember Lucas that beautiful white tree out front..is your age.♥
And the Amandier?
I love that standard Flowering Almond..there is no reason not to.
Graceful..Pretty in Pink..Watatatow.
I do believe winter starves us to be insatiable for rebirth in Spring.
The violas are everywhere.. ene in our salads..white and blue..even in the grass..who cares? BEAUTIFUL!
And in a heartbeat..Lily Of The Valley will be picked in huge fragrant bouquets.
Muguet..a flower my mother adored..and I genetically..inherited her love of it.
This is the perfect time of year to start a garden journal if you have not..even if you do not have a garden.. parks..the forests..cities.. there is always a garden:)
Everything right now outside is simply a miracle.
Somewhere..I saw a deckled edge journal ..I really like deckled edges..
I was keen to have one..
I have some old sheets of watercolor paper..
I decided to rough tear a page and make a small 7.5 x7.5 booklet/journal out of it..
Punched holes and tied with a ribbon.
Fun to make..
PS Just tried the Costco Love Beets..a recommendation from my daughter..so handy..and great tasting..
A moments notice and you can add to salads..:)
And the latest news..
This just in..Sunday late afternoon..from our son-in-law~after a full coolish day in the garden..
Congratulations! You're the nana to your first perfectly healthy speckled brown egg!!
Congratulations, Nana! Speckled brown eggs………..I want to see! The ferns are lovely, but I understand the invasive aspect is difficult to manage. I have ferns in my garden too. Your garden journal makes me smile. I wish I had your artistic talent.
ReplyDeleteI know you are bursting with artistic talents.
DeleteYou are just humble.. never boastful..
I think once I started sharing..what I paint..(childlike) ..it encouraged me to often take out paper and pens..etc..
But I have no illusions..:)
I know how little I know..and how poorly I paint..
But I LOVE it.
You get into a little zone.
I like that zone.
Lovely! Lovely! The garden journal makes me smile too.
ReplyDeleteBest,
Bonnie
Nana, everything is so lovely - flowers are stunning and that salad and main dish looks so good.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful post - thanks so much for sharing.
Mary
Beautiful post. I understand the excitement over chickens and their first eggs. Enjoy!
ReplyDeleteThe ferns are lovely and yes, they have a tendency to take over. We have to thin them out every year. Coq au Riesling sounds yummy. I will have to explore that further...
ReplyDeleteI just love the beauty your create and share with us. Lily of the Valley is one of my favorite.
ReplyDeleteMadonna
MakeMineLemon
Sounds like spring is coming along nicely where you are. It is here also. Can't believe May is passing so quickly. I will have the grandkids for the first week of summer as their school is almost finished for the year. So far, I've decided we are going to make Duct Tape wallets and for Bella, maybe a purse. That stuff is expensive now though very pretty patterned now. Have to come up with some more things or they'll drive me crazy.
ReplyDeleteI'll have to look up those duck tape crafts.. give Oli Scotch tape and he is thrilled..
DeleteI can only imagine rolls of Duck tape..I have seen it at Michael's on sale I think?
Do you watercolor with them? Would they like that?
Lucas prefers chess.. but even Friday..A good 2 hrs were spent watercoloring w/ Max and Oli..I know 2 hrs is nothing in a week!:)
Treasure hunts?
Seems to me you home is a haven for adventures with the animals and your creativity Donna!
I find May is flying by too...
Loving your Spring Monique! I love the way you share it with us. Beautiful words and photographs. Love LOVE your little watercolour journal. So beautiful. You are a treasure. I am going to look for a bread recipe here today as I want to make one and yours looks so lovely. I am planning on using only the dough cycle of my machine. Wish me luck! Have a wonderful Monday in your magical world. Thank you so much for sharing it with us. xxoo
ReplyDeleteI wish you luck luck luck luck.
Deletethere is no reason on earth with our culinary talents you will not succeed:)
You inspire me all the time Marie..!
How fun that you have a tree that Lucas' parents gave you the year he was born. What a lovely gift. Gorgeous clicks of spring Monique. Spring eluded us the last three or four days and instead decided we should have a Blackberry Winter and the temperatures dropped into the thirties. Good for the blackberries but too cold for the rest of us :)
ReplyDeleteSam
That Blackberry Winter is such a lovely way to put it..I think I read a book with that title:)
DeleteIf not someone should write one..
Hope Spring warms up for you ..NOW.:)
Magnificent greens..love those fern coils as they are opening. You capture them perfectly.
ReplyDeleteWish we had lily of the valley here too! Great idea with your gorgeous journal..you are a wealth of inspiration and ideas...and the salad looks too good to eat!
Wishing you a blessed week....I can see spring has sprung your side
Shel xx
It's funny Michelle..you could ask Jacques..all winter I say..:"I really don't mind winter".. and I don't..but when Spring happens ..it almost makes me sound like I didn't mean it:)
DeleteOh my word - your stunning fern photos make me see them as never before, beautiful, beautiful! Your garden and landscape is a little ahead of mine, mornings still chilly and breezy, so it is a delight to bask in yours. Your little watercolored book is oh so charming, and thank you for reminding me to order a new pair of Wellies ! Though pretty, my blue flowered boots sprung a leak last fall, which I only notice when I step in a puddle:) Spring has sprung!
ReplyDeleteMy first real ones Katrina.They are so comfortable..A tad too big but w/ big socks.. Luxury.
DeleteMy black rubbers were at least 35 yrs old..
Do ..order some..:) These run big.
I am like you..we nest cozily in winter..but it is amazing how Spring gets us out.x
In the song "Wildwood Flower" as recorded by Joan Beaz a list of flowers includes "the pale amalancher and iris so blue".So there really is a flower by that name.
ReplyDeleteI never knew!
DeleteWill Google..thanks!
The picture of the fern is so beautiful, love how they look as they unfurl. So you are a Nana to a brown speckled egg, how adorable. Lovely post.
ReplyDeleteI thought it was adorable he emailed !
DeleteThanks Cheri!
I am having a short break today. Dane is napping and John took Mack golfing :)
ReplyDeleteYour garden is catching up in big strides! I know what you mean about the fern being invasive. I planted some years ago and I have to dig it out where it isn't wanted. Long underground runners. That is such a nice story about Lucas and the Amélanchier ♥ What variety is your rhubarb? I planted Canadian Red and the stalks are thick and wide but not as red as yours. Sadly, my first rhubarb recipe of the season was a total disaster :( So much wasted rhubarb. The salad and chicken dish sound delicious! I made the lemon roasted potatoes you shared for a family dinner here Saturday night. Loved them!
Your journal is so beautiful! Your garden hat is so pretty on the cover with the ribbon. My journal is on my computer. Not pretty but I can always find it quickly :)
I remember Jacques dreams of the boys golfing with him..we used to talk abut him getting them junior memberships..and we gave Lucas his own set of clubs when he turned 4 or 5..
DeleteThe dream is now golfing range..one day this summer
I can picture John and M:-) What a sweet vision,and you can even join them..
I always said J would love that about you.
We enjoy those potatoes too..happy you did!
Today was heaven in the garden..it's edged..trimmed..lawn mowed..ohlala.
Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful!!! I love May too. We've gone from spring-green to full green, still so pretty!!! Love those Lily's of the Valley too, always my favorite, such an intoxicating aroma :)
ReplyDeleteStill spring green here..when the grass is like a golf course...of course short lived.
DeleteAnd it' s nice from afar but far from nice..pesticide free municipality and water restrictions..lead to..well not so pretty eventually.
Right now..it' s the falling in love all over stage!
The scent of LOTV..yes!
I will add a scratch and sniff feature when they open up!
All look beautiful Monique look like a beautiful spring:)
ReplyDeleteAt last:)
DeleteOh my gosh, that fiddlehead is a miracle, a brillant photo! And the rest, so alive, Brav Spring!! I just got back from Quebec City, went crazy at Librarie Pantoute. Look up the children's book: "Mon Poussin!" de Géraldine Elschner, I think you'll love it. Also, you might like "Loula part pour Afrique" d'Anne Velleneuve. I saw a puppet show out of Montreal, one of the most artistic shows I've ever seen, I was in tears, it was so beautiful. Go to: http://www.illusiontheatre.com/ There is so much beauty & talent in your Canada, you included!
ReplyDeleteI am going there .. have not been right there since I was 10.
DeleteYou made me excited :)
Thank you!
Will Google now:)
Both books look so cute..Mon Poussin( made me think of Alain..and it took you to make me aware of the marionnette troupe..Looks great!
DeletePS Of course I love your sweet little journal...
ReplyDeleteBonjour ma chère Nana,
ReplyDeleteUn petit billet bien riche... précieux tout comme ton petit livret avec tes douces aquarelles.
Je te fais de gros bisous ♡ et merci pour ce délicieux moment.
I had to look up Costco red beets which are everwhere in France...ready cooked
ReplyDeleteYUM
the chicken looks divine...I will Google
Ver pretty sketch!!
Love Beets.. not colorful like the chioggias but so handy Carol..
DeleteYou can easily make way less of Nigel's recipe..
It's quite the keeper.I just find you have to adjust the liquids to your liking and I love adding a few more herbs.
Oh Monique this post is so lovely full of all my favourite things, Like you I am always pulling out ferns where I don't want them, they come in my garden from the woods all around us. But your photo is beautiful. Along with your fantastic petite journal what a lovely way to paint such dainty flowers. I think that's an idea for me, to just do petite aquarelles I'm sure I'd do more paintings .
ReplyDeleteI see you like Nigel Slater, he's my favourite on Saturday morning TV. I love his simple way of cooking.
Hi Barbara~
DeleteI think I do like him..this is my first recipe of his..
I have to get the digger out and actually dig up a few more tenacious frens..But I do love them:)
Love hate relationship not much hate just stay put:)
Wondering if you ever read about Golden Milk?
The turmeric..pepper paste added to almond milk and coconut oil?
Could it help?:)
I thought of you.
I hope you are getting to enjoy some of this Spring.. there is one every year I know..but fleeting:)
Two of my very favorite things today...your rhubarb and lilies of the valley. I have 4 or 5 rhubarb recipes coming up, hope you can try one or two of them!
ReplyDeleteWhen I moved to Florida, my youngest son (then about 12) had been visiting family in Michigan and knowing how I loved lilies of the valley, brought me some, roots and all, to plant down here. So sweet, but you can imagine what happened to them!
Love, love your little journal...you are so talented. I would want to treasure it...never write in it!
I would love to winter plumbago and bougainvillea..and jasmine etc:)
DeleteSuch a beautiful salad and your main dish outstanding. It all looks so yummy. Your gardens are gorgeous and I can thoroughly appreciate Mother Nature. A secret garden, how sweet! Love your journal too. I have a very similar one. It is interesting to write in one and years later, read it. If you want some help with your labels, let me know. I know you could use this. xo
ReplyDeleteSo nice of you..your tutorials are perfect.it's the FOLE :(
DeleteFear Of Losing Everything!
I know I could use clean up..look at that side bar!+
Ferns and lily of the valley are perfect may flowers, every year I forget that I want to try and grow lily of the valley in pots. All the food looks so delicious and I love love your little deckled edge garden journal, so pretty!
ReplyDeleteI am certain you are busily creating away:)
DeleteCongrats sweet Nana on your first speckled egg....that egg is lucky to have you as its Nana!
ReplyDeleteYou Spring pictures make me so happy! You are really in your element...so happy for your clear joy in the season!
I am so glad you enjoy Nigel's Coq au Reisling...we love it too! That salad is a thing of beauty...i would love to stick my fork in the screen and take a bite!
Bisous xoxoxo
Today..my shopping list was yours:)
DeleteApparently we got a beige egg today.
I love my uppdates!!
Love seeing your boots in the garden!
ReplyDeletebeautiful pictures! aren't Hunter wellies the best!
ReplyDeleteMary
I do say I am very taken Mary♥
DeleteDe bons petits plats bien appétissants !
ReplyDeleteVotre rhubarbe commence à bien pousser, vous allez bientôt pouvoir vous régaler.
Your rough edged watercolor paper journal is beautiful. Something I would love to hold in my hands and page through. I think I have some paper too.... Hmmm weekend project?
ReplyDeleteDo it..paint it..share it:-) You see so many pretty things all the time..would be fun for you..
Delete