Il mio giardino

I am so excited! Though the tulips are on their way out, I did not miss all of them, nor did I miss the peonies or anything else really. After giving my main peony bush some major TLC at the end of last season, I've got several large buds that will be absolute stunners when the open. Look at the size! And bleeding hearts are just such a cool plant. Their pink is more vibrant than this photo suggests, but nonetheless, you get a sense. Have I mentioned how much I love perennials?! I was amazed by how verdant and healthy the yard looked this morning when I finally ventured out to assess the state of it all after two weeks away. It was made abundantly clear to me how strong and self-sustaining the natural world is when you just leave it alone, or, at the least, give it proper respect. Everything was just so much darn bigger than when we'd left. Especially hearty weeds -insidious hairy bittercress (aka jumpin' jesus)- were half a foot tall, border plants and grasses had intertwined like tightly-clasped hands (my arbitrary delineations between them be damned), my trailing honeysuckle looked like it'd mutated into a hulk vine, the veggies were huge, there were so many worms in the compost that I almost wondered if the pile might soon fold in on itself, a tumbling, wriggling mass of energy.

Humans work so mightily to tame the environments around them, but I like and often feel humbled by the powerful force that is nature. Looking at the amazing maturation of everything in my little plot, I found a sliver of hope that despite our best and exceedingly selfish, short-sighted efforts to the contrary, perhaps people won't ultimately be able to conquer the Earth and all the life it sustains.

Loony night, Italian goods brought home

Last night wasn't as restful as I'd anticipated based on how tired we all were upon arriving home. After leaving customs, we went to Tom's parents' house to get Percy and once he and his food and such were loaded, we looked like a clown car of epic proportions. Anyway, we finally rolled home and rolled out, brushed teeth, donned jammies and tucked the boys in. I unpacked some of our goodies and then got a little friendly help from Ambien and called it a night. Next thing I know, Jack is running up and down the hall angrily, looking like a deranged Venetian boat captain: hat donned, shirt tucked into shorts, eyes rather wild. In a rather strong voice, I suggested he get himself in bed NOW. Two hours later, Oliver was up going on and on about some cake he wanted but which we tossed days ago, and so it was, that 4:40 was my wake-up call this morning. I feel a bit bleary, and did I mention that now Ol is on spring break and I've got not a few applications to read? Oh mon dieu. Ah well. I am excited about all these treats, just part of all we schlepped (happily!) home. Hoping to get back in the kitch today but we'll see.

Update: flight home

Get this: the "unruly passenger" was actually a group of six full-on old folks. They were all definitely 70s or older and were escorted off the plane by a phalanx of law enforcement personnel, including a huge beast of a man with "Alyssa" and a heart tattooed on his left calf. I hope he and Alyssa are still tight. In going on and on about the grotesque food products proffered to us on our way home, Tom reminded me about the worst of all: a sealed plastic box in which sat a mound of overly-tangy, Easter egg-yellow potato salad, one cornichon and a terrifying little wiener perched on top. Horrors!