Turtle doves…
I am sitting in the courtyard and two turtle doves are–well–courting–in morse code.
It is perfectly still with a suggestion of a spring breeze–quite sharp.
Ne’er cast a clout ’til May be out…
DOT DOT DOT (OVERHEAD)––Dot dot dot (is the answer a little futher off).
Now the dots are fading–a meeting perhaps, behind the church!
I’ve been waiting for the “cuckoo morse”–longer and softer as a call.
At last–yesterday afternoon–there it was–a brief, but unmistakeable COO-coooo.
A sign that things are moving on.
There are others.
Our neighbor–farmer Pierre, passed earlier on his tractor.
He’s been busy.
Some of his fields are showing garlic, looking proud–about six weeks to harvest.
Others are pale green with wheat and barley–shifting in the breeze.
Into this patchwork of greens and looking out of place are empty fields of brown–finely tilled–waiting to show….
My guess is sunflowers.
Last week the markets were struggling to offer anything new–but today, it changed.
Small artichokes tightly packed and bunched in fours, peas and broad beans have joined the upstanding green and white asparagus.
It is a relief to see some action.
Dill, tarragon and chives joining the parsley this week and large spring onions.
I have been busy too; making Vignarole–a vegetarian spring speciality in Roman trattorias.
The same artichokes, peas, broad beans and spring onions with a shredded lettuce.
The preparation is labour intensive–but the cooking is the simplest imaginable.
The eating as I remember is sublime.
We’ll see if it gets the DING from Meredith ce soir.
