Bluebells and scilla

Most gardeners love blue. It goes with everything. This early spring flower looks like a "bluebell," but it's a type of scilla called Siberian Squill. It has strong upright flowers, while the wild English bluebell nods at the tip and blossoms on one side of the stem only. This squill actually grows in Siberia, it's that hardy. It spreads like crazy in a rich flower bed, and the lush foliage can smother the delicate lilies trying to poke through at the same time. Then it disappears and you forget about it until next year, so it's hard to get rid of. Not that you would want to, unless you have big mass in the wrong place like I do.

So the "major spring storm" never materialized and left our weathermen with egg on their faces. In fact it was bright and sunny yesterday, and looks like a mixed bag of weather for the weekend. I've been busy inside the past two weeks, and the weeds are having a heyday behind my back. Maybe I'll give the bookshelves a rest and get caught up outside this weekend. The tulips are at their peak, and lasting a long time in this cool weather.

The Havard Classics

The good thing about a painting project is you have to lay hands on everything twice. First when you pack it up (do I really want this?) and again when you put it back (do I still really want this?) When your stuff is out of sight, you realize what you missed and what you can live without. And the fresh cream paint makes everything look new and better when you put it back. Now the shelves are dry, and I'm ready to tackle books. Here's my opportunity to finally act like a librarian and create some order from 25 bags of chaos.

Many years ago, I bought a set of Harvard Classics from a friend; it was a big purchase at the time. They sit on the top shelf and we never read them, but it's nice to know they're there. The Harvard Classics series was originally known as "Dr. Eliot's Five Foot Shelf." It was compiled by Harvard University president Charles W. Eliot and first published in 1909. Dr. Eliot said that an education could be obtained by spending 15 minutes a day reading from a collection of books that could fit on a five-foot shelf. I like this American idea of self-betterment through study and discipline. You think of Abraham Lincoln walking seven miles just to borrow a book.

The Harvard Classics collection was a huge success when it was first published and 350,000 sets were sold in 20 years, so thousands are still moldering in basements and attics. For this reason it's surprisingly easy to find a complete set for $300 or so on Ebay. This works out to about $6 a book. I see there are also new hardcover and paperback versions (now public domain) in print. I should check Amazon and see if I can download one free on my Kindle. Although if I have a sudden urge to dig into some Greek drama or a light volume of Voltaire, I think I'll just pull down my own dusty copy.

April showers

Amanda, Tom and Nova had a safe trip home over the mountains yesterday. It's still winter "up there" with more snow predicted for later in the week. In the lowlands, we'll get rain and unseasonably cool weather for April. I noticed Sizzle put her spring shedding on hold for now, so she looks like an old buffalo with a fuzzy winter neck and sleek summer body.

I miss Nova's smiles in the morning. What a gift to wake up with a happy, shining face and take each day simply as it comes. So much we could learn from our little ones...

Over the land is April,
Over my heart a rose;
Over the high brown mountain
The sound of singing goes.
Say, love, do you hear me?
Hear my sonnets ring?
Over the high, brown mountain,
Love, do you hear me sing?

Robert Lewis Stevenson

Waiting for swallows

Barn swallows love horse barns. Every place I've kept Sizzle had them around all summer. I love seeing them darting in and out, and watching the baby heads sticking out of nests while I groom my horse. They make a mighty racket when the parents show up with a mouthful of food. The mating pairs arrive from South America about the beginning of April, so I've been looking for them lately. It's a happy day when you see the first one.

They travel so far, and here they're met by barn managers with a full range of emotions-- mostly tolerance but occasionally annoyance. Yes, they make noisy nests and their white droppings can mess up the barn aisles, but it seems like a small price for the pleasure and benefit they bring. After all, barn swallows eat nothing but insects, and help keep the stable flies under control. Which is why they like barns in the first place. Still, I've seen nests knocked down over the years by property owners, even with eggs in them.

I find it amazing that there are people who actually "don't like" birds. But there you have it. So I'm glad I'm at a civilized barn with kind people who would never disturb beautiful, useful birds. It's a true miracle how swallows find their way to a tiny rural oasis in center of a big city.

It's been cold here. Where are they? Late? Lost? Maybe just hanging out in warm Capistrano for a few days before the final push north. I don't blame them.

Nova's first Easter

Grandma put bunny ears on me and took pictures.

Then I found my Easter basket filled with baby things...

and I pulled everything out.

Then it was fun to sit in.

I got a bag of pretty blocks, and my dad played with them.

No candy for me, but I tasted each one.
Hope your Easter was happy as mine.

Happy Easter

Have a beautiful day, dear friends and family.