Resurrection!

No, not that one. I'm resurrecting this blog, and celebrating the resurrection of the outside, natural world as well.A fitting day to do it, after these years of it lying fallow.

I love Easter, but for me, Easter is not a religious holiday. We atheists don't do religion, after all. For me, it's a celebration of spring, of everything coming alive once more. The grass is green. The primroses are blooming, the daffodils, which started timidly a few weeks ago, are now in full bloom. The peach trees are putting out buds, testing the air, getting ready for the warmer days ahead. 

In the surrounding farms, fields of colza are showing islands of yellow and soon there will be huge swathes of yellow fields of it, patchworked into the green of the surrounding fields. The fields of colza, or rapeseed, were one of the first sights that made me fall in love with France. It's a stunning vista, huge fields of brilliant, intense cool yellow, that seems to make the landscape come to life, wake up from its winter sleep, wake up with a splash of sheer joy.

A resurrection indeed! 

Tulips and Grape Hyacinths

Pansies

View from the Porch this Morning

Unlike my experience in Massachusetts, I've never seen snow here on Easter Sunday. Today is no exception. The sun is shining, the porch I'm sitting on is so warm it's hot. The flowers on the terrace, under the bird feeders, are resplendent with pansies, tulips, grape hyacinths. The tulips are the star of the show right now, ruffled parrot tulips pale pink and yellow. There was a third thing planted with them, but there's no sign of whatever it might have been, and I can't remember at all. The joy of being seventy - I have an excuse for being forgetful, a trait that has actually plagued me throughout my life.

In many of the local farms, fields of colza are showing patches of yellow and soon there will be huge swathes of yellow colza flowers, patchworked into the green of the surrounding fields. These expanses of colza, or rapeseed, were one of the first sights that made me fall in love with France. It's a stunning vista, huge fields of brilliant, intense but cool yellow, a color that makes the landscape come to life, wakes it up from its winter sleep, with a splash of sheer joy.

Yes, a resurrection indeed!

Easter Dinner

Here in France, the traditional Easter dinner is lamb. We prefer ham, but here hams are mostly country ham, which is delicious but not what I want for Easter dinner. I want soft cured ham, glazed with honey and mustard and adorned with cloves. This year we cam across what we thought might be just the thing in a local supermarket. It's a jambonneau,and is actually a ham hock, with the bone still in, and looks for all the world like a tiny, tiny ham.

We bought one, John put on a glaze and warmed it in the oven along with the roasting potatoes, as it was already cooked. Here's photos of the little wonder. Admittedly, it looked more like a ham before it went into the oven, where it came apart a bit. But it was delicious! A perfect two-person 'ham' even though it's a bit ragged looking. Next time, we'll try tying it up before cooking it.