66 Square Feet (Plus)

If you open a sweater up, assuming that it is empty of a human and lying flat on a  nice, soft surface like a bed, Pirelli will dive right in, disappearing deep into it and curling himself quickly into a ball. This is not the time to put your hand in to stroke him. Not unless you're wearing armor. Or armour.

When he relaxes, about 10 minutes later, he will stretch his feet luxuriously, and allow them to show. You may stroke him now, and he will make a small, extended grunt of contentment, before turning himself upside-down and stretching his legs again and spreading his toes

You can see the leaves are dusty. Time for a wipe-down. 

This tree barely grew last summer on the terrace: user-error, I think. A bit too much water. I have been exceptionally careful with it in the last six months and it seems to be recovering. Blossoms in themselves are not a sign of robust health; even sick trees can bloom. An evolutionary response? "She's killing us, make seed!"

There are already several tiny green fruit set among the drying petals of the older flowers. I will make the tricky decision whether to remove some (so that the tree's energy goes into foliage production). 

There are signs of green life, though - four new, tender shoots growing from the trunk. Two were below the graft line (and would reflect whatever the root stock is), though, so I snapped them off, with gritted teeth. The graft line, or union, is where the rootstock and the scion re grafted together, and apparently root stuck suckers can be very vigorous.

Outdoors, everything is frozen. So the greenhouse in the bedroom is very welcome.

This New Year's Eve we treated ourselves to Champagne and a supper of smoked salmon on toast, with asparagus and a fennel slaw, followed by squashed, roasted potatoes topped with crème frâiche and salmon roe. The little jars of roe were $13. The next roe up, American sturgeon, was $80. After that Osetra sparkled at $180.

Salmon it was. And very delicious.

And now, in light snow, and sub-freezing temperatures, we walk to see the fireworks at Grand Army Plaza. Squirrels, raccoons, possums, birds, cats, and dogs, cover your ears. Poor things. When will we ever learn?

See you on the other side.