Work, it seems...

has taken over my life. Writing commitments? Back burner. Housework? Hah! Cookies? Well, I'm running a 5K this summer, so I simply can't allow those things within arm's reach. (Which is not to say I haven't been making them, I just have to stay far away from them. Sigh.) And so, since I have failed to post for the last three days, here are four poems for all you wonderful people who stop by to visit me. Luvs!


~Spring Goeth All in White~


       by Robert Bridges


Spring goeth all in white,
Crowned with milk-white may:
In fleecy flocks of light
O'er heaven the white clouds stray:

White butterflies in the air;
White daisies prank the ground:
The cherry and hoary pear
Scatter their snow around.        






       

Wonder and a Thousand Springs

 by William Alexander Percy

Along the just-returning green
That fledges field and berm and brake
The purple-veined white violets lean,
Scarcely awake;

And pear and plum and apple trees,
Evoked to bloom before they leaf,
Lift cloudy branches filled with bees
Strange as new grief.

A thousand springs will poise and pass
And leave no track beneath the sun:
Some gray-eyed lad, cool-cheeked as grass,
Will watch each one,

And wonder, as I wonder here,
And find no clue I have not found,
And smile before he joins me, near
But underground.   

         

~The Watcher in the Wood~

 by Dora Sigerson Shorter

Deep in the wood's recesses cool
I see the fairy dancers glide,
In cloth of gold, in gown of green,
My lord and lady side by side.

But who has hung from leaf to leaf,
From flower to flower, a silken twine—
A cloud of grey that holds the dew
In globes of clear enchanted wine ?

Or stretches far from branch to branch,
From thorn to thorn, in diamond rain ?
Who caught the cup of crystal pure
And hung so fair the shining chain ?

'Tis death, the spider, in his net,
Who lures the dancers as they glide,
In cloth of gold, in gown of green,
My lord and lady side by side.                          

  

AN APRIL MORNING by Bliss Carman
ONCE more in misted April The world is growing green. Along the winding river The plumey willows lean. Beyond the sweeping meadows
The looming mountains rise, Like battlements of dreamland Against the brooding skies. In every wooded valley The buds are breaking through,
As though the heart of all things No languor ever knew. The golden-wings and bluebirds Call to their heavenly choirs. The pines are blued and drifted
With smoke of brushwood fires. And in my sister’s garden Where little breezes run, The golden daffodillies Are blowing in the sun.

 

And.........COOKIES!!!!!!

Lemon Blueberry Fans

Ingredients

1 cup butter, softened

1 3 ounce package cream cheese, softened

1 cup granulated sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon finely shredded lemon peel

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 teaspoon lemon extract

 2 tablespoons cornstarch

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

2/3 cup blueberry or raspberry jam or preserves

Finely shredded lemon peel (optional)

Directions

1. In a very large bowl, combine butter and cream cheese. Beat with an electric mixer on medium to high speed for 30 seconds. Add granulated sugar and salt. Beat until light and fluffy, scraping side of bowl occasionally. Beat in the 1 teaspoon lemon peel, the vanilla, and lemon extract until combined. Beat in cornstarch. Beat in as much of the flour as you can with the mixer. Using a wooden spoon, stir in any remaining flour. Divide dough in half. Cover and chill for 1 to 2 hours or until dough is easy to handle.
2. Preheat oven to 375 F. On a lightly floured surface, roll out one of the dough portions to an 1/8-inch thickness. Using a round 2-1/2-inch cookie cutter, cut out dough. Place dough rounds 1 inch apart on an ungreased cookie sheet.
3. Spoon 1/2 teaspoon of the jam onto the center of each round. To shape fans, bring opposite sides of each dough circle up over the jam and pinch them together where they meet, forming a point at one end.
4. Bake in the preheated oven for 8 to 10 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. Cool on cookie sheet for 1 minute. Transfer cookies to a wire rack; let cool. Repeat with the remaining dough portions. If desired, sprinkle cookies with additional lemon peel before serving. Makes about 54 cookies.

(I love these things, and eat WAY too many when I make them. Therefore, I will not be making these until AFTER the 5K this June.)