Not-So-Lovely Surprises

Yesterday I showed you some of the wonderful surprises

that can be found when wandering through the woods

on a beautiful spring day.

(A note on fiddleheads:  we do not eat ours, as I am not savvy

as to what type is edible.  Not all fiddleheads are edible.

Some, in fact are poisonous, and some are carcinogenic.

Instead, I just enjoy them photographically.)

As for morels... they are a variety of edible mushrooms 

that are very easy to identify...

with nothing else that looks like them... if you know what you are looking for.

If I had been wandering in the same place,

at a slightly different time,

however,

I might no longer be amongst the living.

Just where I was hunting for morel mushrooms the previous 

morning, a tree snapped in half and came tumbling down into the woods,

crossing the path of the driveway.

This is the second tree around the farm that has

bitten the dust thanks to a fierce wind storm.

This one smashed through the fence.

Every time we have a wind storm like that,
I worry about our old pine tree next to the barn.
It's the oldest living thing on the farm and is
well over 200 years old.

After the winds died down a bit,

the rain took over causing water to flow across the land

in places where it doesn't normally flow.

Streams crested over their banks,

as all of this excess water coursed towards the river.

Spring, in all of her beauty,

can be fierce and destructive as well.

Needless to say, the only animals who ventured out of their 

shelters yesterday were the guineas.

And they stayed pretty close to the barn.

We all stayed hunkered down inside and waited for

sunnier days.

I made a pot of carrot bisque,

and a pan of lemon-glazed blueberry rolls-
a recipe from the newest Magnolia Table cookbook.

We finished our day of not-so-lovely surprises

with a roof leak (from horizontal rain)

and a fire in the microwave.

I was merely melting butter in a pyrex dish...

and the microwave decided to catch itself on fire.

I was sort of glad when this day came to an end!

Hopefully now that May has arrived,

we will soon see some extended sunshine and warmth.

I am ready to open the windows and doors and allow 

some fresh air to circulate through the house.

Another Friday has arrived...
and I am very excited!
The bricks for my shed floor are being delivered today.
I cannot wait to start working on the interior,
so that I can get all of these ideas out of my head!