rhubarb rhubarb

The rhubarb is up! One tiny little sprout, but unmistakeably rhubarb. Yay! It looks like something has eaten one of the leaves, which is weird because rhubarb leaves are poisonous. In fact I've heard you can make an effective organic insecticide from rhubarb leaves. Be that as it may, something seems to have munched on my tiny rhubarb leaf. That'll teach it! My dad once told me that in the theater, when extras are supposed to talk to each other in the background, instead of actually speaking they just say "rhubarb rhubarb rhubarb."

I haven't done much yardwork in the past week, due to the weather and my lingering laziness. I did move a pile of rocks into the backyard. Also I got started on pulling up the vines from the yard, just inside the fence. It was nasty work because the ground was wet and mucky. It's raining so often these days that it may not dry out. Maybe I should just put down some black plastic and be done with it.

Last night we had our friends David and Herve over. Which was great fun, though of course I spent too much time cooking. I wanted to make it low key, but then I remembered that Herve is French, and cooking for a Frenchman was kind of intimidating. Still, I managed to make it look like I hadn't spent all day cooking, which was an accomplishment of sorts. David offered to bring me some heirloom daffodils. Which unfortunately won't bloom this year, but still it will be nice to have them for next year. The ones I planted last year are just now starting to come up. Much later than the ones that were here before; those are already in bloom. I wonder if the new ones are still adjusting to their new home, or if they're just later.