As the weather turns warmer, thoughts of transitioning from cold-weather fare begin to nudge my cooking consciousness. And so I begin to set aside the kind of cuisine that's so comforting on icy winter days, and dredge my memory's recipe files for other, alternative meals. That was the case evening before yesterday and it will increasingly be so, as we steadily move from midspring to early summer. A fresh garden salad seemed about right, pairing it with a fish chowder; different taste sensations to freshen our appetites.

 

 

As for baking desserts, fruit combinations come to mind, and pies containing those fruit choices seem appropriate. Which meant, because I had apples that needed to be used, they were sliced, dredged with cornstarch and sugar, dampened with cranberry juice, then simmered until the juice had thickened and the apples were just about cooked. The steaming apples are introduced to a few tablespoons of butter, lots of cinnamon and last, raisins. All that's left to do is to roll out pie crust and bake the pie. As soon said, as done!

 

It was still fairly early by the time I got a chicken soup simmering on the stove for our evening meal, and the weather beckoned. Another blissful day of 20C, with the sun swimming happily in the vast ocean of the blue sky, warming the atmosphere to the extent that the gentle breezes that persisted most of the day were very welcome.

 

Jackie and Jillie shared part of their hike through the forest trails with two neighbouring dogs they've known for years who just happened to be coming through the trails as we were. They were all so absorbed in the aromas lifting from the forest floor they barely spent any more than the cursory backend sniff between them, before it was nose to the ground again.

 

Our eyes were busy, as it happened, looking out for more woodland wildflowers and we weren't disappointed. Trout lilies have spread their early-spring-blooming colonies over the years, and the plants themselves seem far more productive of flowers. In one area where the ridges and hillsides of the ravine rise above the trail far below street level, there are more flowers in bloom than we can ever recall; delightful, fragile and searching for the sun, the trout lilies with their soft, bright yellow and pale red stamens are a delight to the eye.

 

We came across other neighbourhood dogs out with a major focus on acquainting themselves with community news, and whenever they realize that the Cookie Man is in neat proximity they make a proverbial beeline for  his location, happy to be re-acquainted, and placidly sitting before him while making the statement that their good behaviour merits at least two cookies each.

 

Even the pair of Mallards were out yesterday, in an area of the creek we'd never seen them in before, steaming through a screen of saplings on the bank of the creek, just beginning to fill out with tender new foliage. We also noted that a few of the first of the spring woodland violets are displaying themselves; for the present, the emphasis is on 'few', but it won't be long before they begin springing to life everywhere.

 

 

At home, in the garden, we were surprised by the larger of our two magnolia trees; seemingly overnight, courtesy of the warmth and the sun the buds that had informed us throughout the winter months that this would be a good flowering year for the trees, had begun to open their bright pink flowers, a sight to behold.