Planning meals to match the season is sometimes a challenge. Seasonal aside, yesterday's all-day rain and cool albeit humid and dark atmosphere called out for comfort food. So we took comfort in beef patties done in a mushroom gravy served over rice, with green beans as a side dish. Since we'd just been shopping we also had fresh, sweet raspberries for dessert. I had baked cookies on that rainy day so chocolate cookies with butterscotch-sea-salt chips went well with the fruit.

 

Today, on the other hand, we've got a bright, sunny day, not too warm with a lovely breeze, and that calls for fun food. Nothing more fun to eat than pizza, and I've got the bread dough waiting in the refrigerator since Friday when I made it thinking I'd use it at some time during the week. If there was a contest between one type of meal over the other, Irving and I would be on opposite ends. His preference is for the comfort meal, mine for the fun treat.

 

We had an early afternoon trot through the ravine trails today on a day that couldn't be more perfect for it. Irving had mowed the back lawn, I'd cleaned the bathrooms and we were raring to go since yesterday's trek through the ravine eluded us thanks to the rain. The forest is full of pilotweed among the bracken on the forest floor and it's now beginning to flower. Its stems have grown quite tall this year, as have the fleabane, and most other wildflowers; constant rain has suited them all well.

 

The real surprise, though, was to find wild raspberries beginning to ripen, their tiny bright red heads beckoning, come pluck me! and that's just what Irving did. Although it's so early in the season we're seeing many wildflowers coming into bloom much earlier than usual. It makes sense that the edible berries follow suit.

 

Once we returned back home, the garden reminded me that I've neglected it for a whole week. There's just so much to be done. So, I gave J&J their afternoon salad, then put on my garden gloves and began tackling all the little garden chores awaiting my attention. I started by emptying the backyard birdbath of its water, then refilled it with clean, cool water. Behind me robins were singing.

 

Then I planted another pot of parsley, watered the garden pots in the backyard, and went over to the front garden. I trimmed the large old rosebush that had completed its June bloom, and cut back errant branches on one of the Sargenti crab trees as well as the ever-growing Japanese quince beside the side door of the house. Then I planted the flat of wax begonias we bought at a closing-up garden centre yesterday morning. I can always find places in the garden where I can shoehorn another few plants in.

 

The walkways were full of woody detritus, fallen leaves, petals, cedar bits and spruce needles, so that  got swept up and deposited in the compost. Finally, it was time to water the gardens and our many garden pots. That's when Jackie and Jillie stormed out of the house and rushed over to supervise. Irving sent me indoors and did the watering instead of me. He always does a more thorough job than I do. And there's the satisfaction that comes with finally tending to a bevy of little garden tasks awaiting to be attended to.