30th
The house is positively storybook. Out front, a dozen kinds of flowers flop and tumble down the granite pavers leading from the front door. Squirrels chase each other from rose-covered trellis to ginkgo tree, and on the sunny porch railing, a little green lizard suns itself. The cottage landscape is soft, a little haphazard, the work of a gardener who knows the benefits of just a little neglect. It’s the kind of fairytale scene that makes you wonder if pies are ever cooled on the kitchen window sill.
Well, no. First of all, the bouncy dogs in the backyard most certainly would demolish any baked goods before they reached a nice temperature for serving (a handwritten sign over the sink warns to “Put Paris out when cooking”) and secondly, the resident cottage-dweller and painter Chatham Murray tips the sugar and spice recipe decidedly in the latter direction. …
