Nice days

What a week! It's t-shirt weather and we're loving it. Work outside continues (there's always something to do outdoors) and yesterday I got most of the deck power-washed. There were a lot of flower pots and other odds and ends to move and I didn't get it all done. I'll finish it this morning.

A flowering tree out in the woods adjacent to a vineyard parcel.

And I got the grill going for the first time this season. I grilled burgers for lunch and they were delicious. They were the last burgers we had in the freezer. Ken put together a new supermarket order for next week that includes some meat. It will be interesting to see what we get.

Speaking of hamburgers, it's worth noting that ground beef is not something that you can buy here like you can in the states. Butchers grind beef to order, of course, but only beef. They won't grind veal, pork, chicken, or turkey to order; mixing meats in the beef grinder is a no-no. Industrial manufacturers offer packaged pre-made hamburgers, but I don't want those. You can find seasoned ground pork, called farce (stuffing), in some markets and charcuteries. So, for burgers, we buy the cuts of meat we want and grind them at home, then form patties and freeze them for future meals.