(from The Ones that Disappeared are Back by Emily Dickinson)
With our fourth Nor’easter, it’s now apparent that March does indeed intend to go out with a roar! I’m not complaining, getting to sleep in as school was cancelled, leisurely drink coffee while enjoying spelt-blueberry pancakes, in no rush to be anywhere, is fine with me.
I’m not sure how the flowers and budding trees will feel about it, but it is what it is, so I decided to capture a few pictures and watch the progress as we have transitioned from morning sleet to now thick flakes, on this second day of spring.
Above, one of our many squirrels enjoying his fair share of sunflower seeds before the rain turned to snow, and below “red” enjoying some seeds of his own in a different spot…
The picture of the cardinal and finches below is blurred by the window panes, but they are a such a cute trio I had to include them…
The mourning doves are gathering seeds as the snow falls around them…
A strange sight to see snow on such vibrant pink….
Ferns, a fun hiding place for Gabby, seeing yet another snowfall…
Maybe this will be the last snowfall, who knows….but it’s all beautiful nature just the same. A very happy day to you all, whatever your weather may be!
With three Nor’easters in the last several weeks, March has certainly come in like a lion. It still remains to be seen if this transitional month will exit like a lamb-one can only hope! As I look out my widow, spring is literally budding forth…time for one last look back at this year’s winter memories.
female Eastern towhee enjoying sunflower seed
American robin, below, enjoying morning sunlight on rocks before getting drink from waterfall…
Geese oblivious to the icy waters…
A variety of birds decorate the bare branches like natural ornaments…
Tufted titmouse enjoying a sunny morning at the feeder…
Sparrows breakfasting together…
Grey squirrel gone rogue… enjoying an acorn instead of raiding my bird feeders…
Male cardinal enjoying what’s left of beauty berries…
…and posing beautifully on dried hydragenea blooms….
Downed holly tree, one of a handful that fell in creek in past few months…lots of spring clean up awaits, but on the bright side, our main creek view has greatly increased….
The hammock became a convenient platform feeder during the deep snows..
And many other seeds were enjoyed under the protection of a sleeping vine…
Blue jays continually beautified our landscape….
The below adorable site I happened to catch one morning made me really glad I have not gotten around to fixing this bird home….
I was so glad my husband came to get me one morning to watch a flock of robins enjoying the holly tree berries…
Our bench sat vacant as a silent watcher over the frozen creek and snowy landscape…
And so, another winter is almost past in our part of the world, and the beauty of spring now begins to bud forth, replacing one natural beauty with another. Whichever natural tapestry God is weaving in your part of the world, I hope you enjoy the daily show!
Until next time!
∼Jen
Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love…Psalm 143:8
As I sit here typing, a Nor’easter is blowing up a storm, literally, outside my window, snowflakes are sparse but fat, our wood-duck nesting box is submerged by the creek, but daffodils are blooming, despite it all, across the street in my neighbor’s yard.
I have been gone off and on for the past week with my dad having surgery in the Baltimore area, and it feels good to have a free morning to prop my feet up and write before I tackle my chores. On that note, I have to say I enjoyed reading my blogger friends’ posts as I sometimes sat in a waiting room, so thank you all for sharing your many talents!
One of the things that has brought a smile to my face lately is my little scrap garden I have growing in a tray in my kitchen, so I thought I’d share. For those of you who don’t know what a “scrap” garden is, it’s getting new plants to grow from kitchen scraps you would normally throw away.
celery, beet, ginger, carrot
I like to juice as often as I can, daily when able, so I have lots of scraps, and discovering how to grow a scrap garden is just another of the benefits. I am fortunate that I am able to buy all these plants locally, organic and non-gmo…otherwise, they don’t go in my juicer.
this always reminds me of sand art, liquid form
My favorite juice recipe is carrot, celery, beet, lemon, ginger, and green apple, and several of those ingredients can be regrown. Basically you just cut off the bottom portion of say celery, or beet, place in shallow bit of water, set to the side and let the transformation begin. Call me weird, or too easily amused, but when I see the tiny little leaves emerging I get absolutely thrilled!
new celery leaves emerging
Last year I started this “garden” late, maybe mid-summer, and though I don’t have pictures to share, my celery grew beautifully when planted outside. Our property is mostly wooded, so pots that get some sun are it for a garden, and the celery filled one nicely. The stalks really were too thin and woody to enjoy outside of soup, maybe lack of water, but the leaves were prolific and tasty and made for a delicious chickpea salad, which I’ll share the recipe for below, and soups as well. Read here for the many health benefits of juicing celery.
Beets are anti-inflammatory, a good cleanser and digestive aid, to name just a few of the benefits. The beets I planted last year from this method really didn’t develop, again only the leaves, but the leaves are very nutritional as well – read here to see how they compare to kale.
Ginger
Ginger is my best friend when I am flying or riding in mountainous terrain….for someone who gets motion sickness, I cannot suggest this wonderful herb enough! During cold and flu season I like to make my own ginger/clove/elderberry infusion and drink throughout the day. It is a powerhouse of nutrients which you can read about here, so I like to add about a thumb size to the juice. This is a good article on how to grow ginger…a new houseplant…one that will nourish you when you wish to dig up a bit of the rhizome.
new leaves forming to left of carrot
Lastly I have the mighty carrot! I don’t have high hopes for eating the carrot itself once I plant them outside, but again, the leaves will offer a great deal of nutrition which I read about in an article just last week, which included a recipe for carrot top pesto. Carrots are the bulk of the juice I make, and we are all aware of just how great they are, from cleansing the liver to helping to prevent cancer, read more about them to be inspired to juice them, or roast them-my favorite way to eat them cooked.
chickpea salad
As promised, the link to the recipe for the chickpea salad is at https://cookieandkate.com/?s=chickpea+salad. I actually use the recipe from her cookbook, which I highly recommend, but simply substitute out the parsley for the celery leaves, and use raw red onion instead of the peppers and olives. It is wonderful after sitting overnight especially, and looking at this picture now I think I need to go soak some garbanzo beans!
Birds, Blooms and all things Beautiful 