I know I just posted my gratitude for lilacs a few days ago, but I can’t help myself. They are here so fleetingly, and with such a powerful presence. I can smell them from various places in the yard, their aroma a tender reminder calling me to come and stand or sit with them for a few minutes and inhale their cleansing fragrance. Like the wildflowers, their blossoms are more abundant this year than ever. Every couple of days I snip a few sprigs to bring inside and perfume the house.

I received a good-natured complaint today of a paucity of Wren images in recent posts, so we sat with the lilacs and rectified that omission. It looks like she’s diva posing, but the truth is that she didn’t want to sit still and kept snapping at gnats that were circling our heads.

I’m also grateful today for this fabulous Crispy Coconut, Asparagus and Green Bean Salad from Yotam Ottolenghi. I used the last of the wild asparagus and some green beans from last summer’s frozen harvest, and was grateful to have every other element in the kitchen including Aleppo pepper flakes and shredded unsweetened coconut, as well as fresh cilantro in the garden. It was an extraordinary combination of flavors and textures. I’ll be grateful tomorrow for the leftovers.

And I’m grateful that sourdough is so forgiving. I fell asleep this afternoon and let it rise too long, and ended up with a very wet, very flat loaf, which still cooked through with a beautiful crust, and will provide some very flat cheese sandwiches for this week’s lunches.