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!

Snow Day means birds!

Yes, we have real snow this morning. Enough on the ground

to make tracks, attract wildlife looking for food and water, and

take photos of beautiful birds doing what birds do on a cold 

snowy morning.

I was up ready with my camera right after sunrise

Snow around here means birds. 

A lot of birds!

We prepared the feeding stations yesterday afternoon as it did

seem certain snow would fall last night.

Here's a list of the birds I've seen today. Male and female

 of most species, some the same color others total different, but

certainly an amazing array of colors and sizes, each enjoying their

choice of feeding, on the ground, on the seed and suet feeders, and

on the porch floor and porch rails outside the dining room window.

Red-bellied Woodpecker

Black-capped Chickadee

Eastern Bluebird

 Northern Cardinal

Tufted Titmouse

Eastern Towhee

Carolina Wren 

Blue Jay

Mourning Dove

House Finch

Dark-eyed Junco

American Robin

Mockingbird

White-breasted Nuthatch

Brown-headed Cowbird

Song Sparrow

House Sparrow

Pine Siskin

 

No, not a bird, but he's a really good vacuum cleaner after

they've eaten!

I took an awful lot of photos today, so many in fact I had a real problem 

with iCloud loading them on my laptop - some were from my iPhone, most 

from my camera which may have slowed the transfer down.

Anyway, here's a later than planned post with some of the birds who

 visited today - even if you're not really a huge bird lover, I think you might

 enjoy seeing them on a perfect winter's day.

Winter day down south. . . . . . . . .

It felt different this morning. Really like a winter day.

 I was out out on the front porch just before 7 AM.  

Scattered more birdseed along the rail, flipped the frozen WELCOME 

flag which had become tangled around its pole in the strong night wind, 

and noticed the fountain was frozen solid. The birds use it as another

 place to drink and bathe. A word to Bob later and he was out melting the

 ice with the tea kettle of warm water. Within minutes many birds arrived 

and I took a lot of photos through the window.

 I'll sort through them and share with you later.

Tall and elegant, the now blooming Apple Blossom amaryllis is part of my

 tiny tabletop "garden of earthly delights" and a third flower is opening with a

 fourth still in bud. There are new pots also, both from that quick run to

 LIDL yesterday which was mainly for salad greens and veggies. 

Snow, perhaps several inches coming today, we need to be prepared.

I couldn't pass up a pot of fresh bright green basil to snip, and of course the

 blue hyacinth in its own glass vase (just $2.99!) called out to be taken home. 

Who doesn't love a hyacinth before the garden ones appear in spring.

The fragrant aroma is wafting toward me as I write.

Note: These hyacinth bulbs are grown by a Women-Owned business in Pennsylvania. 

Way to go ladies, thank you.

The green bud in the the righthand pot will hopefully be another tall stem, 

and is the third amaryllis I've managed to regenerate this winter!  

As mentioned previously, patience and care often brings them into bloom

 over and over, so although good quality bulbs are somewhat expensive, 

you can get many years of pleasure from them.

Take care today, and over this weekend if you live in the areas where

 very cold and possibly dangerous, weather conditions are expected.

Here the southeast, and mid-Atlantic, may be bad with snow, ice and 

windstorms. Firewood at the ready, soup made, warm socks pulled on!

Yesterday flew off into the history books. . . . . .

 

. . . . . . however, like all the recent January days, it left me with some gentle, 

simple thoughts.

~ An afternoon cup of excellent tea as 4 o'clock rolled around ~

This is one of my favorite black teas, a gift from friends Marilyn and Jim in

 Oregon who stopped by to visit us last year. It as our second meeting as

 we visited with them several years ago when travel was easy and safer.

Marilyn is your 'go to' tea lady - and her lovely blog Delights of the Heart

will inspire you with tea info, poetry, photos, kind thoughts, and so much more.

This blend similar to Earl Grey, is No.55 Lord Bergamot, by Portland, Oregon Teamaker Steven Smith.

"A flavor somewhat superior to traditional Earl Grey. Fragrant Ceylon Dimbula and Uva are artfully combined with select teas from India's Assam valley, then scented with bergamot essential oil from the realm of Reggio Calabria, Italy." 

Teamaker Steven Smith

I find one silky tea bag fills my smaller tea pot with enough for two good sized

 cups of delicious tea. I like the note on the tea bag envelope, 

"Steep 5 minutes, while pondering the Earl's affair with the Duchess of Devonshire."

A Scottish shortbread - Walker's my favorite - always goes well well with tea.

~ The power of a flowering bulb ~

Once amaryllis get going they grow so quickly.

Last evening the four buds on the second bulb to bloom

 looked like this.

This morning, the buds have changed a lot.

What fun it would be to have a time-lapse camera to film all this.

~ My thoughts in regard to new books - I love new books ~

. . . . . . .will have to wait until another time.

I have a lot to share about these particular ones, so please come

 back if you would like to learn more.

They are thought-provoking: covering good-for-us food, 

objects of art, gifts for special people. . . . . .you know who you are.

Meanwhile, enjoy this day. We have bright sunshine, cool 

temperatures and a forecast of much colder days and 

nights ahead with possible snow/ice come Friday.

Firewood is piled near the door. Thoughts include even more cups and

 mugs of tea, coffee and hot chocolate - and perhaps toss in a warming

 snifter of cognac later when the flames are dancing on the hearth.

 Trying out a couple of new soups will mean a quick trip out for 

vegetables tomorrow. 

Then curling up with those new books, knitting, writing, listening to old

 recordings of Yanni, Kitaro, Enya, whilst writing - all of whom bring back

 so many memories. 

My history.

. . . . . and speaking of flying, a Mockingbird arrived to nibble crumbs on the

 front porch rail. Birds seem to know when snow is coming - they

 stay closer to the house and porch, and of course I love that.