It is the first day this year that we can have an al fresco breakfast. Such lunches and dinners have been commonplace in the last few weeks. The mornings, however, have been too cold, too wet, too cloudy or have exhibited other characteristics that discouraged Juana and I from taking our morning coffee outside.
But not today. The weather is perfect. Opening the door to the patio, the light from the sun filters through the trees and the temperature outside is the same as inside. The loudest noises come from the birds that are foraging for food, competing amongst themselves for the fattest worm or seed. Cars and landscapers have yet to start their day. Chipmunks are silent in their quest for nourishment as they scamper between hiding places.
All the deciduous trees have finally leafed out: hickory, walnut, oak, maple, dogwood, cherry, white and black birch, apple and a few ill-fated ash trees. They offer us shade that we will gravitate toward later in the day.
Last year’s dominant lawn weed was Japanese stilt grass, which cannot be found. Instead chickweed, broadleaf and buckhorn plantain, dandelion and a few others compete for dominance prior to seeding. Clover, wild strawberries, creeping thyme and violets are not part of that collection as we encourage their growth to complement the fescue and other grasses.
Freshly picked strawberries rest in a bowl for a short time before they are consumed alone or as adornments on top of a waffle or bowl of yogurt. Their sweetness and flavor are so different than the store-bought counterparts we have become accustomed to. When they fade from our garden, blueberries will take their place.
The air warms quickly with the rising sun causing us to alter our seating so we remain cool. The birds decrease their activity with the increasing heat and the last bit of moisture evaporates from the ground; we sense the increasing humidity and the realization that summer has arrived.
