Mother's Day comes

A barn swallow decided that one of my soil sifters stored in the rafters of the wood shed made a good foundation for her nest. Usually they just build directly onto the rafters. This mother for the first few days would fly out of the shed every time we went in ( the nest is closest to the entry) but now when she is sitting, she sort just keeps her eye on me and allows :) me do what I need to do. I took this photo mid morning yesterday, when she must have been out foraging.
Four perfect eggs:

I planted all three of the amaryllis in one pot a couple of days ago. I had them loosely wrapped in newspaper, and they were again sprouting in the dark. I think the stems will be shorter this time, but there seem to be many more blossoms at once. they are outside on the front porch which gets some of the afternoon sun, so it's a good spot for now.

Talking of porches, this is the little side porch and landing I mentioned I had scraped and painted the other day. a view to the west, and of the door to my studio/workroom. My herb patch is below right. I may paint the door the same chocolate colour as the door frame. The back and front porch railings are touched up only every few years because they have full roofs, but this one needs doing every other year because it is only partially covered and is on the moister, north side. The second floor siding needs some painting as well. I sat there on Sunday and Tuesday mid morning for a few minutes after the rain stopped and the sun came out. The sunlight was just right then.

The rhubarb is not as tall as it could be because I pulled up about 75 percent of it last fall due to over crowding. My mother-in-law makes the best apple-rhubarb pies. My friend E. , who has a strawberry farm, makes a terrific strawberry-rhubarb pie as well. I like the sweet/tart flavours, but one slice for the summer is usually my limit. ;)

I remembered to bring my camera when I went walking down the lane yesterday, but I saw no deer as I often do. They are very stealth when they visit our yard, but I can usually see some in the evenings in the neighboring field.

I'm doing cheese/spinach quiches for a gathering this weekend, and maybe a cold barley salad; yum!

I hope your Mother's Day celebrations are wonderful!