April Moments

Here are a few random moments from the first half of April. Cherry blossoms spotted on one of my morning walks with Blake.

From another morning walk. There was low mist across the field behind our house. With the reflection of the low, early morning sun it was like looking at a lake of gold…magical.

The same field, but looking north. What is remarkable about this picture is that the sky is completely blue, apart from a few wisps of cirrus clouds. We live in the flight path to London City Airport, plus we see a fair bit of air traffic passing over on the way to other London airports, or going to and from the rest of Europe. But this particular evening there wasn’t a single vapour trail to be seen and it absolutely stopped me in my tracks.

Some people might find it annoying to have planes coming overhead, but (environmental issues aside) I find it kind of comforting. It makes me feel connected to the rest of Europe, the rest of the world. So it’s a bit eerie to see a drastic reduction in flights coming overhead.

Another morning walk floral find. Pretty bluebells! And Blake. About three seconds before he peed on the bluebells! :-D

We had some very nice, almost summer-y days in early April, so I wasted no time and washed some of our quilts so they could go outside in the sun and the breeze to dry. That smell of quilts that have dried in the sun!

Because the weather was so nice, we even had a bbq. Twice! The second day, because I wanted something other than just a burger, I came up with this easy ‘dish’. I chopped peppers, tomatoes and onion, mixed them with a can of chickpeas, a bit of olive oil and various herbs and spices. Then put it all in a foil tray that went on the bbq for about 25 minutes (I should have left it a bit longer so it would have been a bit more charred.) Served it with couscous and some pearl barley I had in the freezer plus some Oatly fraiche with pressed garlic and herbs. It was really nice! :-)

Another morning walk find. I love camellias. One day, I want to get a camellia plant in the garden. Those pink blooms!!

Tulips picked in our garden. I love tulips, one of my favourite flowers. It is a singular joy to be able to pick them in our garden. I try not to pick too many at a time, I want there to be plenty in the garden still! And I keep them in the vase for far longer than Tony thinks is reasonable, but I love watching the tulips wilt. How they change colour, often intensifying and the almost sculptural curl of the petals….

Another appliqué flower…I love making these. :-)