Picnic in the Park

In the beginning of summer, we found this Significant Trees Map of Orlando. We've been waiting for cooler weather to explore the different parks in our city. With the onset of cool breezes after sunset and the smell of autumn at 7 am, we couldn't wait too much longer and had to start. One is two blocks from our house, the other is across from my museum (we do weddings there!), and one hosts Orlando's oldest tree that is almost 400 years old!

We took a cool Sunday morning as an opportunity to visit a quiet park on a lake with Mordechai bringing along a picnic. We woke up early and after a morning walk with sleepy eyes, I made a quiche, sauteeing shallots and mushrooms, and even cooking with romanesco for the first time. S made a strawberry basil soda for us, and I warmed some almond waffles that I made earlier in the week. We brought water for Mordechai and a typical mornings earl grey tea for me. With all of the commotion of having an anniversary party in May, moving house in July, and adopting a dog in August, cooking brings back a sense of routine, somewhat therapeutic and certainly calming. I love entertaining guests for that reason: bringing loved ones into your home for what would have been a routine dinner without their company. One of my favorite bloggers, cookbook authors, and mother of seven, Mimi Thorisson says it wonderfully in a recent post of hers:

So we had this idea to throw one final glorious feast the Sunday before, cook everything that was missing from the book and have a blast of a time. And we did. We invited some of our favorite people and I started at the stove. It was a beautiful day, a beautiful feast. Of course it wasn’t seamless, we had a few mini-crisis. There were no cèpes to be found, the weather was fickle at best, Oddur forgot to buy gambas. In the end it all worked out, our friends unexpectedly brought the gambas, our other friends, the snail farmers sorted out the cèpes. Even the weather showed a kind side. If there was ever a “Manger event”, this was it. Oddur jumping on tables to photograph, dogs stealing food, more wine than perhaps was necessary and so much food that everyone left happy and heavy. - Mimi Thorisson, Manger blog

Mordechai, having never been exposed to a park or wildlife in his life, saw a bird up close for the first time, and heard the lake water lapping up on the shore. With every splash, he turned his head to see who was there. On the dock, he curiously stared at the water below. When we got home, he slept for hours, perhaps dreaming about his morning of firsts. When he finally got up, he stretched for miles from his tail to his toes.

After years of visiting parks and having picnics with S as just us two, this time we're visiting parks and having picnics as a few. Having Mordechai gives us an excuse to explore our city and re-visit our favorite areas with a new mindset. Having Morty has definitely been eye-opening and refreshing. The tail-wagging when we come home is pretty great too.