As 2016 draws nears its end, I bid adieu to the drought conditions welcoming any gloomy rainy winter days ahead. The 2017 Farmers Almanac predicts a snow storm for us mid-February. Whatever precipitation we get will be welcomed. The winter birds are slowly returning to our forest. Across the gravel road in Clay's woods, the great male Pileated woodpecker pounds trees (never getting a migraine) in search of insects. The downy woodpeckers prefer balancing on suet. I also spotted the long-absent red-bellied and two hairy woodpeckers on oak tree trunks. Yesterday the male and female rose-breasted grosbeaks showed up at the heated birdbath. Cardinal sightings have been scarce all through the drought period. Maybe now that the creek behind our house has a small stream of mountain water again, the cardinals will return to the feeders. The first snowflakes floated quietly down melting as they hit the pavement this afternoon....
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When your children become adults, have families of their own and live many hours driving distance from you, Christmas Day is calmer and quieter. Through the years we've found holiday travel is too hectic and nerve-wracking. Today the house is void of family commotion, talking and laughing, little children spilling drinks and food on the floor. When it's just the two of you Christmas dinners unfold smoother without the bumps. This year Barb and Mike planned on joining us for the dinner. She was making her mouth-watering apple pie and a deliciously moist dressing. But a few days before Christmas, she developed a strong cough and this Christmas morning was worse and felt she needed to stay home in bed. Smart move when you're under the weather. Cliff and I would still do our Christmas dinner and see them when she recovered. When I removed the turkey pan from the refrigerator, just enough thawed turkey juice spilled from the pan to run onto t...
At 7:15 this morning the forest was still and serene. It was 47 degrees on our mountain. Warm enough for me to still walk around the porch and soak up up the quiet. Early morning is a good time for my brain before any infiltration of useless chatter or world news enters my ears. I often wake with thoughts I'd like to "pen" but the computer's not awake, (I could pick up a pen, I suppose) or I need to get moving for Zumba class, but this morning all is quiet and hushed. No matter what the temperature, stepping outside with my coffee awakens my brain. Brisk air on cheeks and bare feet remind me I'm alive and can sense nature's wonders. Early foggy mornings have a moist smell and feel. Fog doesn't have any taste. The house tucked in the woods up on the hill seen from our back porch, lights up when Christmas visitors come from Florida hoping to see snow. This year there will be no snow. I think of my family as Chri...
I'm ready for Santa. It's been too warm for snow, which really is ok. While waiting for the new refrigerator to be swapped out, I basked in the sun on the porch with a hot cup of holy basil tea. Even as the clouds rolled in, we reached sixty degrees. I'll soak up the sun while I can because January is not far away. Newest refrigerator with leveled doors and working water dispenser. I spent the morning bringing frozen foods out to the garage freezer. Luckily, I had room to squeeze foods in. Our Christmas turkey had been thawing in the refrigerator since Tuesday but I had to stick it back in the freezer for about ninety minutes while the old refrigerator was removed and the new one set up. I was able to put some of the foods on the back porch in the shade and milk and cheeses in the cooler. In the summer we keep a beer and wine refrigerator on the porch but with winter coming it's unplugged and stored in the garage. Now...
Rainy raw weather is a perfect time to sort through old magazines, with no intention of discarding any. As I browsed through issues of Mother Earth Magazines, articles that had been passed over sparked a new interest, something I haven't thought of doing or something totally out of my comfort zone, like "Build a Backyard Pond"or "Beekeeping Basics." Last spring's issue "5 Delicious Wild Greens" caught my eye when the paragraph began, "Free food abounds at your feet........" This "food" is none other than common weeds growing in most gardens and lawns. Amaranth, which my mother called "pig weed," terrorizes gardeners and farmers in every corner of the land. The author of the article puts common chickweed in salads as it is higher in iron than spinach. Lamb's-quarters, another of my mother's favorites, is exceptionally high in calcium and vitamins A and C and can be used in place of spinach in frittatas. ...
I think we're finally out of the drought cycle as we've had days and days of rain with no complaints heard from anyone. As of today, we've probably had about three inches. We actually got excited to see a trickling little stream flow down the rocks on Boulder Creek Rd. We need many more weeks of rain to soak the forest floors and extinguish the still burning fires. We've had a few cold nights and only lit a fire a few times, but there's a big push of cold air heading our way this week with temperatures dropping into the teens at night and 30-40 degrees for daily highs. It's winter soup and cornbread time again.