Fickle February!

 

It's raining again today. I have to admit that the month of February has never been near the top of my list of favorite times of the year. It's not so much the ever changing weather this month seems to bring to the southeast, but more like the days are often veiled in gauze, not clear or crisp such as around the holidays - now long gone - or the busy thought provoking January days at the beginning of a new year.  

This past week or so it's been annual medical check ups with prods, scans, tests etc. Throw in the usual grocery runs, a long day of furniture hunting with granddaughter, and cat sitting for my neighbor. A few chilly wanders around the garden were not exciting, so much looks sad this month. The deer have been by at night nibbling any signs of green, and stealing the bird seed, however there are a few daffodils opening along the back fence. My later blooming camellia has blooms opening in the higher branches however below freezing night temps are expected over the weekend which may impact them.

Ms. Nala - next door cat!

Then of course comfort cooking in the warm kitchen has taken over. I like to think of myself as being an innovative cook of sorts, pretty good at making a dish out of whatever is hanging about in the refrigerator or tucked in the back of a kitchen cabinet. I clipped these recipes from an older UK Country Living - always my favorite magazine for so many reasons, especially food!  Both were really perfect  for cold and dreary night suppers . . . . . . . . . . . .

Potato, Caramelized Onions and Gruyere Galette

Very tasty hot from the oven, and a cold leftover slice with 

a bowl of soup and a salad made another quick good meal.

Rustled up a tasty Vegetarian Shepherd's Pie yesterday. 

This time I made the mash topping with a mix of yellow and

 sweet potatoes. . . . . . . . . the recipe called for lentils but I

added a can of black-eyed peas instead, and finely chopped

 a jalapeno pepper for a little heat. It was delicious. . . . . .

. . . . and served up for supper in front of the fire while watching 

season two of VIKINGS!  We're currently addicted to this

 Canadian created series (2013-2020) - a historical drama

 made for the History Channel.  

A really interesting show for chilly nights.

Frost damage to the early blooming camellia . . . . . .

. . . . . . but the first daffodils for the kitchen window!

Female Eastern bluebird on the front porch rail.

Male Northern cardinal in the rain.

Female Northern flicker in the fig tree.

Carolina wren on front porch seed bell.

Yes, still plenty of birds around, perhaps even more this coming

 weekend with such cold nights. We will scatter additional seeds

 and have the feeders full.

What are your thoughts on the month of February?

Friday thoughts -

Guess what. Yesterday, after searching a few places for a readymade 'floating frame' for the 'Singer' bird cards mentioned in my previous post, I ended up at Hobby Lobby knowing I needed assistance. I love that store. I headed through aisles of craft supplies, shelves heaving with knick-knacks, candles, ready mounted art, fabrics, yarn, masses of faux flowers and greenery etc.  A book title by an author whom I knew personally long ago came to mind, "Everything That's All." The Hobby Lobby store could qualify!

Arriving at the custom framing department way at the rear, I saw pony-tailed Cody (a photographer in his other life) still there doing custom picture framing. Thrilled, as he did such a great job for me last year, we got down to business and made a decision on how to frame the six trade cards. We agreed on vertical framing, between glass rather than acrylic, arranged the cards and, when I asked for frame suggestions, he placed two on the counter. One was perfect. I really wanted something 'antique', not modern or metallic with a glitzy shine. As the cards are almost 100 years old and the paper is showing a little age by turning a bit yellow in spots, real wood with a little antiquing was perfect. I should have the finished project in a couple of weeks and will look forward to sharing it with you then.

Meanwhile, today started out dreary with fog and misty rain so I baked

 blueberry muffins to cheer things up a bit.  

The world news is frightening and what is happening is horrific for the

 people of Ukraine. Feelings of hopelessness pervade the mind and we

 feel useless. We question so much and are getting no good answers.

Does prayer help? It must because nothing else will right now.

The birds are busy on the porch and continue to bring joy.

 We purchased new cushions for the three porch chairs this week but

 will save them until spring. Current ones are faded and have been

 gnawed and clawed by the pesky squirrels so are looking a bit tacky. 

With another weekend upon us I'm thinking of friends up North where

 snow is falling yet again and a severe winter weather advisory is in effect.

Stay safe and warm everyone . . . and please take photos of your beautiful 

snow-covered landscapes to share with us later.

Another February Already!

"One month is past, another is begun,

Since merry bells rang out the dying year,

And buds of rarest green begin to peer,

As if impatient for a warmer sun;

And though the distant hills are bleak and dun,

The virgin snowdrop, like a lambent fire,

Pierces the cold earth with its green-streaked spire

And in dark woods, the wandering little one

May find a primrose."

February 1st. 1842 ~ Hartley Coleridge 

Mockingbird

Eastern Grey Squirrel

Male House finch

Today I enjoyed the birds, baked pistachio muffins (shared with my neighbor

 who shared his excellent seafood stew with us), and did some

 much-needed paperwork. I feel as if I'm in hibernation . . . . . . it would

 be so easy just to be lazy.  February is never my favorite month. 

Thank goodness for Valentine's Day in the middle. It does lift the spirit

 somewhat with all those red hearts popping up, and makes me want

to write pretty cards . . . . . . and eat a little chocolate!

Flying, folding and food!

One of our resident Carolina wrens is very chatty today. 

Perhaps it knows more about the weather than 

the local meteorologists! I've noticed how the garden birds

 act differently when inclement weather is on the way or has

 arrived. . . . . . . . . . . . . .especially snow!

Yes, our third weekend in a row with snow which started 

at midnight Friday. At 7 AM yesterday I awoke to just a dusting, 

nothing like they are experiencing north of us!

Stay safe all of you who live in the New York-Boston-New England

areas where unbelievable snow accumulation is breaking records!

Meanwhile, books of all types seem to be central to my life

this weekend, especially cook books - searching for new recipes to 

try on the cold days, such as 19F here this morning, and more

 very cold nights expected through the coming days.

Soups and veggie stews are best.

I prefer bright crinkled Savoy cabbage when making a soup

and, although you can't see them here, the carrots had their lovely

green feathery leaves attached. I usually add at least some of

 them for added nutrients - Vitamins C & K and Potassium.

It turned out well with layers of flavor not usual in a vegetable

soup, such as a splash of unfiltered apple cider vinegar to wake up

 and enhance the other flavors, a piece of Parmesan cheese rind

 to enrich the vegetable broth, (always keep those when you cut them 

off your wedge of cheese as they are very useful - just seal in a bag

 and keep in the fridge, or freezer). 

Cold nights - hot soup - a blazing fire on the hearth.

While doing a little dusting - and oh how dusty it gets in these

 winter months when burning wood in an open hearth - other books

 I've been observing are these that I 'folded' some years ago.

I enjoyed doing that with old hardcover books picked up for a

 dollar or so at thrift shops and used book stores.

 

This morning was bitter early on but the sun is out now and it going to warm 

up to 44F.  A few patches of snow remain and the birds are still hungry. 

Many are coming to feed and drink.The sweet female Eastern bluebird

visited the front porch, and and male Northern flicker spent at least 10 minutes

 on the suet block - his first visit to the garden in quite a while.

Hope everyone is safe during the stormy weather.

Stay warm and here's hoping February will be a better month!

Birds are back and busy . . . . . . .

Pair of House finches - Eastern bluebird (male)

Today the feeders - filled yesterday, thank you Bob - are busy both in

 the front garden and here in the back garden.

Note, many camellia blossoms were blasted by this week's below

 freezing night temperatures, however the sweet garden birds 'soldier on' 

and were out this morning by the dozens around breakfast time. 

Chirping was ongoing - and the cat from new neighbors across the

 street made a pass on the deck so we sent her running of course. 

We are sad they feel it OK to allow this kitty to wander our busy

 neighborhood, enough said!

I grabbed the real camera, flipped up the living room blinds and

managed a few photos of some of the birds to share with all you

 bird lovers out there!

Carolina wren - House finch (male) - Northern Cardinal (female)

Pine siskin 

Eastern bluebird (male)

Carolina wren - Northern cardinal

Eastern bluebird - House sparrow (male)

Northern cardinal - Pine Siskin 

House finch (female)

Still hoping for a little snowfall, and that it sticks, come the weekend - I love

 to get photos of the garden birds in the snow.

Bird tails. . . .and tales!

 

Nothing visible through the windows these early mornings. Condensation on the outside where the humidity is so high, and the glass so cold on the inside due to the A/C pumping out . . . . . Bob likes it really chilly indoors, me not so much.

Later in the day our newest winged visitor to the garden is very visible and

 not welcome!

This is a juvenile Red-tailed hawk, extremely common just about everywhere,  circling overhead, sitting on telephone poles and fence posts, hanging about in the tall oaks ready to grab a rodent, especially a squirrel. Sadly, they also take rabbits, and I've not seen my baby bunny for a couple of days!

Here you see it looking up into the fig tree - later it was staring me down from a branch of the fig tree, seemingly oblivious that I was a human and just a couple of feet away with a camera in hand. I'm not sure who was the most surprised at that close encounter!

It's also flying onto our roof a lot - here you can see it's a youngster as it has yet to develop red tail feathers, and the breast is still speckled all over. Although this raptor does not take a lot of birds according to what I read, we did see it swoop down under our feeder and fly off with a small one busily nibbling on the ground, probably a finch. Yes, I know that's nature but I was angry, very angry!