Signs of Endless Rain

It's always a matter of precision timing to get out for our morning walk. We don't always get it right. This morning we got quite wet, although it didn't look bad out the window. As always, by the time we were at our furthest point from home, the dispiriting drizzle had changed to a serious downpour. At least it washed off the last vestiges of mud from our Spring Lake adventures yesterday. I don't know what it is that makes drops cling with such determination to certain branches and not others, or how the mushrooms can appear fully formed overnight, but even in the rain, nature can be quite delicate and beautiful.

Without much necessity to go on this particular day, but with nothing better to do, we drove across town to a family owned kitchen shop with the express purpose of buying a microplane slicer to replace the one we have which has worn itself out on radishes, onions and cucumbers. I might have had a slight ulterior motive to photograph one of the turn of the century appliances on display there. It's a good thing we took the scenic route because when we got there, a sign on the door announced that they are closed on Sunday.

OilMan is now growing tomato plants from seeds in our garage. His tiny pots get much more attention than I do...grow lights and a heating pad underneath them 24/7. They will need to be up-potted to slightly larger pots several times before the seedlings can be planted in the ground in May when it is warm enough for them to grow.There was a moment, well, a couple of days, of panic when he couldn't find the seed packet he's ordered from someplace in Oregon. He was convinced they had somehow jumped from his pocket to the trash, or that Blake had eaten them but they turned up underneath a pile of newspapers he had laid out to protect the table.

I do understand his dedication and curiosity, but I will be very interested to see whether it makes a difference in the taste/appearance of the tomatoes. Maybe it is just a healthy competition with my friend Tobi who even collects her own seeds from her own tomatoes....