Spring and Small Things
Here we are, still suspended in time somehow… The days seem to have taken on a sort of fluidity where each just flows uneventfully into the next. The sunshine has added to the feeling of it being an extended summer holiday. We don’t have much of a purpose really; daily chores get done, Joe completes his school work. But this enforced slowing down is in some ways turning out to be a precious, once in a lifetime (hopefully) opportunity.
Spring has been late to arrive on Skye. It’s been such a long winter - always is, but this past one felt endless - and the warm weather has tempted us outdoors for most of the day. We eat out there, read, soak up the sunshine. Joe plays in the stream and climbs trees. The cat joins us when he’s not out mousing.
Because Jay’s off too, the load is spread a bit more. Usually when he gets time off work we’re rushing to get jobs done, or travelling somewhere. It’s never really restful. But now, we get to go for walks near home and eat breakfast together. He said he’s actually experiencing spring here - going out and noticing things.
We’ve found a new secret place in the woods. It’s a little dell with fallen trees covered in moss. The ferns and bracken are unfurling, the first bluebells are opening and in a week or so it will be transformed into a sea of sapphire. There are firs and birch trees, and you can look out across to the sea. Yesterday we walked there and ate a picnic. I know this doesn’t strictly fall into the ‘exercise’ category, eating sandwiches and cake in the forest, but we didn’t see another soul. Skye is a sparsely populated place.
On the way home we picked nettle tops and wild garlic, and later we made a big pan of soup. There’s been a lot of cooking going on lately - meals that involve a process, because we have the time and inclination. Jay’s been making lots of slow-cooked savoury stuff; I made a pie (rhubarb, gooseberry and apple) and have been revisiting Tessa Kiros’ book Falling Cloudberries. I have all of her books, admittedly because they’re so beautiful to look at, but the recipes are great too.
I’m going to make her Ricotta Tart with a Chocolate Crust this week, because why not?
Food shopping isn’t easy right now. Co op have the monopoly on the island and it’s a source of real contention. Shopping there can be frustrating (expensive, poor choice) so we usually do a combination of small local shops - we have a grocer in the village and there’s a great general store about 7 miles away in Glendale - and a weekly Tesco delivery (which we collect from Portree). But delivery slots are now impossible to book.
So we make do as best as we can. And life could be far, far worse.
I know it’s a real cliche, but you do notice and savour the little things. Small details which actually make life good. Like speaking to neighbours (well, shouting across the road or garden wall), or using a saucer with your cup of tea.
I’ve got an afternoon phone call planned with one of my best friends from back home - a nurse who’s been heroically juggling family life with caring for others in hospital - and yesterday another friend sent me a copy of The Simple Things magazine. It’s good to be in contact with the outside world, and with those who know me best. I miss them.
I’ve been doing a lot of reading lately. I subscribed to The New Yorker for three months back in February, partly because we were due to travel to New York for our holiday, and partly (mostly) because I wanted the free tote bag. Yes, I really am that shallow.
But I’ve been really enjoying them: the articles, the cartoons. Sometimes it’s good to look beyond the little bubble we’re in. But I’ve also been reading novels because I love them. Escapism is never a bad thing. So far I’ve experienced current day America in the midst of a pandemic (fictional this time but timely), a dilapidated English country house in the 1960s, and currently I’m navigating an unsettling Victorian gothic tale set by the sea.
I’ve been writing too, and am just about to start work on a commission for someone, a watercolour illustration. Inspiration has been elusive throughout the winter, but it’s coming back with the spring.
And now it’s time to wander to the shop for fruit and vegetables. I’ve been craving peaches lately but I’m maybe a bit early for those. But Jersey Royals and asparagus are definitely on the menu…
It’s all about the food.
Stay safe.
