Quarantine: Week 5

Week five. The civil war between Mike Davis and the squirrels rages on. No amount of olive oil will keep the enemy at bay. They have grown resistant to his battering upon the windows. Only a full scale frontal assault will send their troops scattering, but even that has proved futile, for they always regroup and return with larger numbers to make their ascent upon the pole once more.

During peace time, we are visited by Mr. and Mrs. Cardinal, the local chickadee population, dozens of white breasted nuthatches, chirping sparrows, a tufted titmouse now and again, a few brown-headed cowbirds, and once in a rare while, a striking goldfinch.

Saturday we had gorgeous weather, so we spent the entirety of it outdoors. Mike’s project was to empty and reorganize the shed.

I repotted a bunch of our houseplants, cleaned out the garden beds, and pruned all the hostas.

After a serious day of yard work, we kicked back in the gazebo with cocktails made from the infused vodka we made a few days ago. We’re calling it a New England Sunset: herbal infused vodka, ginger beer, and a splash of Maraschino cherry juice.

And of course, our weekly cheese plate. This one featured a honey goat cheese, smoked gouda, and sharp white cheddar, accompanied by red grapes, fig jam, horseradish, and local honey.

It was also perfect outdoor grilling with a cigar weather.

Straight from the grill: apple cider pork chops with roasted broccolini and potatoes. Nice and rustic fare.

We also had Beef Bourguignon, adapted from a Julia Child recipe. The perfect dish for a long, cold, snowy day. Which is exactly what we woke up to.

This is what four inches of snow looks like on April 18th.

This is especially bizarre because our pool service guys came by this week to install a new swimming pool pump and salt water chlorinator. We officially open our pool in three weeks. I hope the snow stops by then?