Hidden Nature

Animal tracks in the morning reveal all the
nighttime goings on.


Basic comforts, but not too much more, make room for intangible comforts.

Four inches of snow outside, stacks of firewood and homemade aquavit inside—winter perfection.

Spices for aquavit:
-coriander
-cumin
-a sprinkle of caraway
-a few seeds of cardamom
-a piece of star anise, for color and ceremony, for a few days only.

Let the rest seep for at least a week, and serve so chilled that it’s syrupy. Very good for inspirational sipping.

The Animal Photo Op

But, of course, sometimes this can get out of hand...

Country Eggs

Country eggs have such a different flavor. If you were describing a perfume you’d say it had no middle notes, just the base notes of the meaty, bright orange yolk and the high notes of the white, with none of that midrange sulphoric yellow (That "eggy" taste that people who don’t like eggs have aversions to, with good reason.)

missive from the farmlife [or, iris]

dear emily,

the bird sounds here are intense right now.
They're migrating and Ashbourne farm is a frequent stopover on their route. ("I feed them so they come," says Carlton.)
From 5:30 to 9:30 is four hours of subtly fading harmony and dissonance, a chirping, trilling wall of sound.

On smells:
The smells here are so recognizable: The kitchen smells of old wooden cutting boards, smoky meat, and coffee. It smells the same as their kitchen in London. I imagine their kitchens have smelled that way since Italy.

No hay (although I think they throw some down on the asparagus beds) but miles and miles of rolling grass.

The lilac scent has grown oppressive. A spell indeed. Sweet, hypnotic, it sneaks up you and takes over. All floral! More floral than you can imagine. An unexpected embrace.

But I've become fascinated with the iris scent. I've always read that iris is the hardest scent to capture, to bottle. I'm starting to see why.

I've always thought that irises were so subtle as to be almost scentless. But this morning I picked one and was blown away (and relieved after all that showy and obvious lilac scent.) It smelled regal, of course, even purple, if that can have a smell, but this morning it also smelled like opoponax and sunshine. (Or the way sunshine smells on olive blossoms and leaves.) And something like pixiedust--like ground up Smarties made magical and organic.

Then I smelled the irises that had already been in the vase for a few days. It smelled most recognizably like a florist. Generically alive, elegant and anonymous.

love,
m