I have the power.

Sunday sunrise - it lied.

I have the power to make it rain.  Or not.  Please feel free to bow to my greatness.  Want rain?  Let me plan a day of errands for you on a day when it is "not" supposed to rain - these errands must be carried out at a distance from your homestead and in places of no cover and crowded parking lots.  Tired of rain?  I will happily come and bring my lemon tree to put on your deck.  It's guaranteed to make the sky as dry as toast.  No payment necessary.  I will just bask in the glow of your adoration.


Pfft.


I had a coconut cream pie to bake on Saturday for the upcoming Easter dinner on Sunday.  I almost had everything I needed.  Figuring I would make a dash north early in the morning to do a ninja shopping (dash in/dash out) because any rain that was forecast was for late afternoon, I raced around, did chores, made a list and off I went.  About halfway to Bennington, the skies opened and stayed that way until I pulled into my driveway.  Then it stopped.  It was magic.  Black magic.  While I was on my way home, I got a text from my sister that both she and Mom were battling colds and could we postpone Easter (or, more precisely, our celebration of same - there are limits to my powers...) until the next Sunday.  Hmm.  Would I mind not spending six hours making a coconut cream pie?  Not in the least!  I put everything away and realized I had grabbed a carton of non-fat half and half.  Sigh.  Really, though.  Why is there such a thing?  I called the store and they said to just bring it back and exchange it.  Heavier sigh.  It's a half-hour drive.  Instead, I donned garden gloves, grabbed a bucket and attacked the garden.  Three hours later, I had weeded out two raised beds, weeded my line of garden tires, clipped all the dead stuff, raked, shuffled the residue out to the woods (trying to levitate through Tickville) and then dragged myself in and made a quart jar of nettle tea.  Yes, I am still on the virtuous road.  Plus, my fresh nettles are popping up all over!  I have to say that I love nettle tea.  I know that drinking spinach-flavored water is not for everyone, but it's the bee's knees for me.  I worked on transplanting the rest of my pepper starts and started some zucchini and more kale (can you ever have too much kale?  I say, no.)


Since Sunday was supposed to be a mostly rainy day, I once again got in my car at the crack of dawn, drove north with my ersatz carton of cream, drove home, pulled up my BGPs and tackled moving my lovely lemon tree outside.  By applying physics and a lot of bad language, I did manage to wrestle it out of the sliding glass door and onto the back deck.  I placed it where it would get the most rain and sun, then cleaned the quail condo before the downpour.  Which never happened.  The skies cleared, sun came out and it hasn't rained since.  See?  Mystical powers!  My neighbor came over and we managed to get two of the willow hybrids pruned - not an easy job and he's finally letting me help (at 84, he has twice the energy that I have, but, still).  I selected a few more willow stems and stuck them in water to root - I have found homes for all the others.  I put up my bluebird house (although I think my timing is slightly off - but I'm hoping they will notice it and make a note for next year).  After ticking a few more things off the list, I went inside to see if there was something I could bake (purely out of self-defense).  Going through my fridge freezer, I came across a gallon bag, crammed full of frozen bananas.  Luckily, I have a great recipe for GF one-bowl banana bread.  Done! 


I tried a new-to-me recipe for dinner, Sweet and Sour Lentils, from one of the volumes in my vast Moosewood collection.  It turned out great - great enough that I am still enjoying it three meals later.


Of course, there is still a list a mile long of spring to-dos.  And there is every chance that I will run out of spring before I run out of things to do before it ends.  And so it goes.  Next weekend is stacking up to be a hair-raiser:  Friday night is a family birthday dinner for my youngest sis, followed by dinner at my place on Saturday with my friend, Cynthia, then Sunday is the new Easter.  I have broken down my pie-making steps to spread them over all three days - both to make sure it's finished and to save my sanity.  Blind bake pie shell Friday.  Custard Saturday.  Whipped cream topping Sunday. Then I am taking a baking hiatus.  Don't tell the barn crew.

The Spring Line-Up