Food in the Time of Covid-19 and Blackberry Winter

We've always eaten well and that hasn't changed. But now, the evening meal is even more important-- something to look forward to when not much else is happenng, a reward for making it through another day unharmed. Last night, after John's gloved and masked weekly foray to to the grocery store, was no exception.  

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Cod, floured and sauteed in butter, cheesy grits, oven roasted asparagus and cherry tomatoes, topped with a sunny-side up guinea egg (look at that dark orange yolk!) and a squirt of sriracha, and a spinach salad with homemade ranch dressing. It was good.

We've also been having a bit of a cold snap--temps in the 30s and 40s. The old folks called it Blackberry Winter, a cold snap when the blackberries bloomed. That's why our dining table in the first picture is crowded wth tomato plants, waiting for warm weather so we can set them out. 

According to our weather report, things will moderate soon. May it be so. 

Blackberry Winter and Blue-eyed Grass

Blackberries are blooming on the hill sides and we've had a few days of chilly weather -- lows in the forties, highs in the sixties. Around here this kind of weather at this time of year is known as called blackberry winter.  It hasn't been cool enough to harm anything but I've had to shut all the windows and pull out my corduroy shirts and fleece vests.

This little green clump in the asparagus bed almost got yanked out till I looked closer and realized that it was blue-eyed grass -- not grass at all but a tiny, tiny (the flower is slightly smaller than my little fingernail) iris.  Such a pretty little thing!

And this is the blue-eyed grass's giant cousin -- a  bearded iris just beginning to unfurl.