The cherry trees outside have gone from bare branches to blossoms to ripe cherries in the space of only a month. The cherries themselves, alas, are not very tasty. Friends visiting here last weekend from Switzerland tell us that these cherries are used to make excellent homemade schnapps. The possibility of Jonathan and I managing to make distilled alcohol in our own home without accidently poisoning ourselves in relatively low, so we are giving the schnapps a pass. Songbirds with blushing pink throats fill the branches, pecking at the fruit and singing happily. So we have decided to think of the cherry trees as just very large, very lovely bird feeders.

Down at the pub, Daniele is also feeling the spring -- he is experimenting and feeding us all with the outcome. Two nights ago, we had a lovely penne with a creamy tomato basil sauce with exactly the right amount of hot pepper to make it sing. And then last night, we were gifted with the first fabulous pizza of the season -- anchovies and zucchini flowers. Daniele wants all the world to eat and to be happy. There are worse ambitions.