One last nod to my trip before we move on to the garden. I was lucky enough to make it to the main market in Barcelona, and saw the most amazing stands of seafood and sausages and hams! The vegetable stands were not as impressive as I had hoped, but look at this beautiful display of fresh eggs!
Now I am home and in my own yard, and it is just a wonderful time of the year to wander about, touching and smelling the fruits and flowers. The garden in late April holds so much promise! Insects and diseases are yet to take their toll, and everything is fresh and green and looks oh so productive. Lets step away from the vegetable garden for a minute, and look to some of the other edible plants in my landscape. Here is a young new European plum (the type you use to make prunes, and that we learned to love fresh for breakfast, two years ago in Sicily). This is the trees first full year in the garden, and I am thrilled to see a few fruit on the branches. The fig is covered with it's usual, early crop of big fat figs. The apples are too numerous to count; we will have to thin these, and soon. The shitake logs are budding with new mushrooms. Finally, the lavender is in full bloom, and it's aroma is almost too good to bear. Yes, it is spring, and anything is possible in the garden!
