Last night I was woken from a sound sleep by an incredible storm. Booming thunder shook the house, lightning lit up the farmyard, and rain hurtled straight down making an incredible racket on the roof. It was both scary and marvelous.

A few hours later we woke again, this time to a quiet but sodden world. The ground was like a sponge and laundry hung on the line the night before was so wet I had to wring it out before it would stop dripping.

We were thrilled.

Good, soak-into-the-ground rain is so rare here, that anytime it comes is cause for celebration.

pink strawberry flower

Normally we’d drive straight into chores and to-do-lists, but this rainy morning Bear announced that he was treating us to breakfast. Never one to argue with a good idea, I hastily got ready and off we went.

It was wonderful to sit in a comfy booth, chat with friends who happened to be there too, and linger long over coffees and extra hash browns.

alyssum in the rain

There was lots to talk about, for we’ve decided to plant another orchard, this one set aside for cider apples and cider pears so we can make our own hard cider in years to come. It was so fun to pour over lists of cider apple names from England, France, and Australia. Who could resist a “Brown Snout,” “Fox Whelp,” or “Bulmer’s Norman?” Not us. 🙂

pink bougainvillea

We settled on ten varieties of apples and two varieties of perry pears, ordered our trees, and are now waiting excitedly for them to be delivered in a couple of months.

Between now and then we’ll be digging holes, building fences, and setting up bird netting to keep the fruit safe from marauding cockatoos, galahs, grass parrots, and innumerable other birds who’ve set up home on the farm.

orange blossom

After getting our cider orchard planned and a few errands run, the rain began to fall again, soft and gentle, and we arrived home in time for a cozy afternoon of cuppas and wood-burning, studying about cider-brewing and watching new episodes of “White Collar.”

On rainy days like this I like to make us special breakfasts, warming yet nourishing ones that are a bit out of the ordinary. This week I made a healthy apple crisp topped with oats, pumpkin seeds, and sunflower seeds drizzled with a bit of butter and some real maple syrup. While the crisp baked I made a quick batch of vanilla pudding lightly sweetened with a swirl of maple syrup. Dusted with cinnamon it made a warm, luscious topping for the apple crisp and made us feel quite decadent and spoiled.

apple crisp with vanilla pudding

What is your favorite breakfast on a rainy morning? xo