Egg-static?

Happy all the current hols.

It’s the long Easter weekend here (ie, bank hols on Friday and Monday, though I worked like a dog Friday, which was a big surprise as Fridays are usually very quiet). Interestingly, the village is pretty quiet. All the people from up-country who moved down here last year are now holidaying elsewhere. Whatever.

We finally appear to have entered spring properly. Warm, gentle breezes, plants doing their thing. Haven’t seen any young bunnies yet, though I did see a couple of adult rabbits doing what I thought was reconnaissance a couple of months back, when the weather was still foul. Maybe they were so shocked that everyone is waiting till May to appear…

In any case I am hugely relieved with our current weather. We had an awful (and overly long, cold, windy and wet) autumn into winter. And winter hung around way too long.

Long may the good weather last.

The garden is now sorted bar two big sunflower plants which will go into the ground this coming weekend. The dog tooth violet is doing really well this year. I’ve got a strawberry plant in the ground (all my strawberries are in pots) that I didn’t plant. Wondering if that was a gift from a seagull. Waiting to see what colours all the self-seeded columbines will be and if the load of poppies from last year will reappear in a few months.

I’ve done very little this weekend bar watch back episodes of Gardeners’ World and the Beatles documentary (Get Back 1 & 2 — ended up racing through 2), walks with the dog, cooking in a desultory sort of way.

And thinking about the fact that I really don’t want to have another work day like Friday. I can’t seem to get work to fit. Ditching the evil client at the end of last year helped, but I’ve entered a weird sort of place where unless I’m really in the mood I resent anything that keeps me from doing what I want to do (whatever that is – reading endlessly, walking, yoga-ing, cooking, wandering aimlessly through the farm shop or Topsham, contemplating more travel, just being blank and admiring the tree in the garden opposite – I’ve worked solidly for around 40 years – that fact is starting to eat at me; it feels like a really really long time even though I know people who have had to endure longer).

Anyway, the dippy DIY guy was back this morning to sort the key safe he mucked up (it now works). The village is still done up in places for Easter (see various pics). We’ve got a lot more bees and butterflies than we did last year. The birds are seriously in full voice. Early morning here is sort of sublime.

(This is the flood gate in the village, which someone decorated …)

I’m still focused on Shalimar parfum but put on Cartier l’Heure Fougueuse today and am really enjoying the hay, horse thing for spring (notes: magnolia, bergamot, mate, vetiver, lavender, leather, musk, oakmoss). I gave my son a big white chocolate egg which had weird bits inside and got us Cream Egg marshmallows from the Naked Marshmallow company which were savoured but also dumped in hot chocolate to very good effect.

I hope you’re having a good longish weekend whatever you’ve gotten up to. Any good chocolate consumed or specific perfume you think fits with the hols?