RhinebeckFarm.com

Most of the birding content ends up on Instagram these days, but here’s an exclusive image for Rhinebeckfarm.com readers: a Cedar Waxwing. Like the morel, it’s something that has always been here but somehow we’ve never noticed until now.

Jen’s garden is not something that just “happens.”

Does paying Rhinebeck property taxes entitle you to send your child to the Rhinebeck High School Prom? Not really, but Sarah was able to attend as the plus-one of her pal Anna Lawson, far left. Here she is at a pre-prom, Mills Mansion photo op with the Lawson twins and, in blue, another former Fireball teammate, Maeve Szwed. The prom was held outdoors at Del’s Roadside (f/k/a Del’s Dairy Creme) on Route 9. Sarah had a great time.

Look at that smile!

After a year’s hiatus, Rhinebeck resumed its Memorial Day parade. It featured its usual assortment of hard-ass veterans, volunteer firefighters, and vintage cars, but it lacked the leavening presence of the children: soccer teams, tae kwon-do studios, cub scout troops, and the like — presumably because they are not yet vaccinated. Still, it was a welcome return to form, which we watched with the Burleigh family (and Geoff) from the Lawsons’ porch.

Last night we had dinner at the Kaimal-Lawsons, our first indoor social visit in over a year. The girls celebrated having completed the SATs, which were administered in the Rhinebeck High School gym. Today we celebrate Mother’s Day in traditional style, with breakfast in bed followed by driving Sarah hither and yon to various horse-related events. Happy Mother’s Day to all who observe.

They are very hard to evict at this point.

It took us about ten years to find our first morels and about ten minutes to gather this large bowl. It seems to be a good year for them. To the right is today’s haul from Jen’s proliferating asparagus beds. All will be sautéed in butter and tossed with fettuccini — a perfect spring supper.

This was my mother’s car, which my father drove here from Arizona after she died. Its quick, light steering made it fun to drive. I hope someone will take better care of it than I did.

Everything is bright green at the farm right now. If you can zoom in, you will see our corkscrew willows at either end of the picture, an unwanted Canada goose at left, our tiny flowering cherry behind the pond, and the shimmering bog beyond.

We are sad to return to New York today after three weeks at the farm. Springtime is all around, well represented by this young cherry tree blooming by the pond.

Daffodils are blooming everywhere, and so is our star magnolia (which we refer to as the cameo magnolia because it is very small).