A WALK IN THE PARK

Not any park, my park. A wonderful creek travels along one side of our property.  It runs east to west.  It begins on the hill behind our house and runs all the way to town.  It is dry a lot during the year.  The last couple of years the rain that has terrorized our garden has kept it running almost continually.   It joins with another creek which crosses the property from north to south.  Dead ending in the east west creek.  I have never heard if these creeks have names.  We have been here since 1975, you would've thought we would have named them. 
You are looking up the west leg of the creek.

I turned around to walk back to the road, in front of me was the base of a sycamore tree.  Something had caused decay and there was a nice hole to hide things.  I know, if I was 9 years old again, I would be hiding secret messages for a friend.  We'd be pretending we were pioneers. 

A little past the tree, the east leg of the creek starts.  The creek is not traveling down hill at this point.  The force of the water has carved small and large pools in the rock layers. 

A reflecting pool in the east leg.

It's deeper than it looks.

When my children were little they swam and splashed in the creek.  Lower down, there are two very nice wading pools.  The nicest one is now filled in with sand and gravel because it hasn't had small hands with buckets cleaning out the depression in the huge rock shelf every year.  The water swirls around and around eroding away the rock.  It is about 18 inches deep and about 10 ft wide.  Like a big bowl dug in the rock. 

I never thought to worry about anything when they played  there.  They were warned to watch for copperheads, rattlesnakes and poison ivy.  I told them to keep a watchful eye for the snakes because they liked to sun and swim, too.  It never occurred to me the danger of the slippery rocks.  All I heard was the happy squeals coming up the hill.

Walking around the property is always full of surprises. Today isn't any different.  The dog woods are still in full bloom.  Did you ever notice the center of the flower is the true flower?  At least that is what it looks like to me.  There are little greenish yellow flowers blooming out in the center.

This dogwood blossom is on a little slip of a tree to the left of this small cave which is located in the side of the hill right next to the drive.  It goes back about 6 feet and then turns to the right.  We have thought we'd dig it out sometime to see if it opened up larger.  But, best laid plans of mice and men.  Hunny used to be 115 and 25...but now he is 175 and 71.  He used to be a spelunker.  Now he is a want-to-be farmer outstanding in his field.

Is it inhabited?  Occasionally we have seen my arch nemesis run into it.  Who would that be?  A 40 lb ginormous ground hog who terrorizes my garden.  He has been around for at least 4 years.  He is very smart about our live traps.  He learned he could steal the bait as long as he didn't let his fat posterior let the door close.  He could back-out at his leisure.  We have caught plenty of his relatives. 

Walking around the drive usually presents me with lots of blooming plants.  Today was no exception, except for the fact they were all preparing to bloom.  All I found were buds.  I saw monarda and solomon seal.  With this chill we are having it will probably be the weekend before they bloom.  There was one pretty surprise, my wild geraniums are starting to bloom.

This is the first year they are blooming.  Four years ago I transplanted them from a gravel area along the main road.  It was a very hot dry year.  I had to take water to them every day.  I planted them in a gravely place like they came from, but there was more shade.  I didn't know if they would acclimate.  Each year they returned but never bloomed.  I thought this past year they had rotted out from all the fall moisture we had.  They have come back, denser and more luxurious.  We'll have to see if they have more blooms.  Right now there are only 5 Blooms.

When you take a walk in your park don't forget to look up.  There is art in the sky.

Does this old man qualify for an Ent?

On my walks as I leave the house one of the first sights I see is a Maple.  It is just starting to leaf out.  It is one of the trees I can't wait till Autumn.  This tree is filled with orange, yellow and scarlet leaves.  It can be observed, while laying in bed, the morning sun highlighting each leaf.  All you can see is the beautiful crown.

Take time to take a walk,

Take time to share a talk,

With the plants and animals there,

Planted by Mother Nature with care.

Today I saw a bluebird sitting on the bird house.  Our red tail hawk was patrolling his territory.  The barn swallows are sitting on their nest.   Our raccoons must have had their babies, the mommas are begging at the back door each night.

Thank you for walking with me.

you can visit me also at:

http://gloriouscreations.blogspot.com/

Containing articles on cooking, crafts, quilting, stories, ect.

New article on "The Wedding quilt"

http://glosgarden.blogspot.com/

Not a garden blog.  There are articles which have nothing to do with creating or gardening. 

There are blogs on the new born baby kittens we found and are mothering.  It is a blog where I will sometimes voice my opinions which will always be environmentally friendly.

HIDDEN IN THE GRASS

Last night our mower came back from the repair shop (the mower had a spindle failure).  I try to keep the areas along the drive neat and the upper pasture mowed.  I like the look of a park like setting (Our house is in the woods and there is no lawn).  We don't have sheep anymore so I have to substitute the mower.  As I mow, I now look down watching for holes and bumps and broken branches.  Ever since I dumped the mower over on top of myself.  I am very vigilant and observant. 

This is the mower.  April 11, 2009, I was under the steering wheel with the emergency brake embedded in my thigh and the mower deck smashing my calf (today is April 12, 2011).  My Hunny was on the big tractor and couldn't hear me call him.  It is true what they say about adrenalin.  I was able to lift the tractor off my thigh and start extracting my leg but alas my arms aren't long enough so I had to drop it back on me.  It ended on my ankle.  If I had worn my work boots like I usually do I would still be under the mower.  Luckily I had on tennis shoes and when I pulled my foot out the shoe and sock came off.  I had to walk up to the barn to find my husband.  The only thing I thought about on the trip up was, thank goodness my leg isn't broken. 

The reason for the accident,  HIDDEN IN THE GRASS, when I backed up was a groundhog hole.  The mower became unbalanced and started going over.  Did you know you can't jump off a riding mower.  Why, because the steering wheel sits in your lap, Trapping you.  The gear shift and other arms are on your right, further trapping you in.  Please be careful.  Riding mowers can be dangerous on level ground.

There are great and good things HIDDEN IN THE GRASS.  While mowing today.  I saw lots of spring beauties and Blue wood violets.  Then there were the surprises. 

VIOLET WOOD SORREL

Oxalis violacea

All the parts of this plant are edible.  I wouldn't recommend it though.  It is named for the oxalic acid content in it.  These can cause kidney problems in people predisposed to kidney problems.

FALSE GARLIC (crowpoison)

Nothoscordum bivalve

Lily family

Our pasture is covered with these.  I do not mow where they are hoping they will propagate further, they are not a nuisance.  For a couple of weeks in the spring they greet us.  The only time they are truly visible is in the early morning when the sun coming up, it highlights them (they're on a slope which faces east.)  When dew is on them they glisten like jewels.  Each year they get frosted.  This year will not be different, a frost is expected this weekend.  The petals are a creamier yellow than they appear in the picture.

MAY APPLE (Mandrake)

"the Witch's Umbrella"

Bereridaceae

Barberry Family

It's just budded up. I wonder how long it will take to bloom out?  Wonder if the extreme cold this weekend will harm it?  May Apple is fragrant with a strange but nice flavor. May Apple seeds and rind, poisonous. The resin of May Apple obtained from the root, is used in the treatment of warts. In England it is called Manroot (mandrake) believed to be alive and it screams when pulled from the ground and can make a man permanently insane.

I have read (never tried to) that you can peel and deseed the ripe fruit and use to make jelly. It is said the fruit is good fresh but should be used in moderation.  All parts of the plant except the fruit are POISON!  We have a lot of the plants, I may try them this year.  I am a big forager of what nature provides.

It's exciting, not knowing, each day what I might find HIDDEN IN THE GRASS. 

Hope your day is beautiful.

Other blogs by me to visit:

http://gloriouscreations.blogspot.com/

Containing articles on cooking, crafts, quilting, stories, ect.

New article on "The Wedding quilt"

 

http://glosgarden.blogspot.com/

Not a garden blog.  There are articles which have nothing to do with creating or gardening. 

There are blogs on the new born baby kittens we found and are mothering.  It is a blog where I will sometimes voice my opinions which will always be environmentally friendly.

SPRING BEAUTY

Sunday, April 10, I didn't have time for a walk in the woods.  We were  working hard weeding in the garden.  When we pre-weed before planting we put on a cover mulch to keep emerging weeds down to a minimum.  If the weeds make it up through the mulch we give a tug and they are easily removed.  Our mulch of choice in the spring is Wood Chips, in the fall we prefer a deep cover of straw.  Yes, straw adds weed seeds but it also mats down to provide a very thick dense cover.  It is easy remove to allow the ground to warm in the spring (taking the wind born seeds with them).  It goes straight to the compost pile.  Chips in the spring are nice because when we decide to use the bed we can till the chips in.  They help with the drainage in our clay.  

It was over 85, and the humidity made it miserable.  Including the fact we have not had the gradual introduction to this type of weather.  We headed down to the chip piles with our "Rooster".

The "ROOSTER"

On the seat is our dog, "Honey".  She loves to ride in the rooster.  She sits up like a firehouse dog, fearless as we drive head long down the steep drive.  Her story is here:

http://gloriouscreations.blogspot.com/2011/02/honey-in-snow.html

 The Rooster, got his name for the obvious reason he is red.  What is not so obvious he is a real scrapper, always running around.  It is a small dump bed truck similar to a golf cart;  eleven horsepower, not four wheel drive.  I can't use it in long grass, the grass will wrap around the crank shaft.  I love using it.  It's small enough to go into garden areas my diesel truck won't.  I can take it across the pasture without putting ruts into the ground.  It uses less gas than my car or truck, running up and down the hill to the house is "greener" using the Rooster.  Of course the greenest way and healthier way would be for me to walk.  It would be a 1/2 mile round trip.  I usually have my hands full or have to retrieve something from the house which would require the dump bed to carry it.  At least that's my story and I'm sticking to it.  LOL

TOOLS FOR CHIP RETRIEVAL:

Long handled round point shovel (so you won't get a back ache stooping over)

Kitty litter buckets (twelve fit perfectly in the back of the rooster).  The rooster has a dump bed but if you fill the bed you have to empty it and take the contents to their destination.  Filling the buckets accomplishes that. (Plus they are 5 inches taller than the bed giving you more room for more chips)

Garden Rake, not a leaf rake, to rake the chips back in the pile when finished.

Spading fork, I don't know if it's its name but it is a 4 tined flat bladed fork.

Bucket containing: Drinking water, brown jersey gloves, camera, clippers

Mantis Tiller:  Needed, the piles had not been disturbed since fall and the elements caused it to be packed and difficult to break up with the fork.  

  THE MANTIS

Our very used Tiller.
This is not a commercial.  We have no association with the company except for the fact we have owned 3 of them.  Not three at one time, but replaced the first one, two times.  The company has a great replacement policy.  If you return your "past repair" broken machine back to them you can get a refund towards the purchase of a new or reconditioned machine.

Our first mantis was purchased at an auction for 60 dollars.  It worked fabulously till we learned a lesson the hard way.  We loaned our machine to a "friend".  We have no idea what happened to it but it was returned with the motor frozen.  We were heart broken and started to inquire what it would cost for a new one.  That is when we found out about the money back policy and the reconditioned units.  Our "New" machine (we purchased a re conditioned one) arrived and we used it for years and it was falling apart.  Screws wouldn't hold together and the cover for the air filter was broken.  We knew we would have to plan on getting a new one.  This all happened when the bottom fell out of the economy. 

We must have a guardian angel.  We have a farm gate by the mail box.  When Hunny came home from work he stopped to open the gate and he called me. "Why did you leave the tiller down here by the gate?"  I said, "I haven't been to the gate much less leave the tiller there."  He said, "I'll be bringing the mantis up with me."

When he got out of the car he did indeed have a tiller in his hands.  It was a very new looking tiller and it had no tiller blades on it.  We gassed it up and tried to start it and it was frozen solid.  Someone left it knowing we garden and thought maybe we could fix it. We couldn't fix it but we did scavenge it.  We took our engine and exchanged it with the other engine.  Gassed it up and voila  a "new" mantis for us.  It has been two years and the only thing I can say is I wish I had two of these at one time.  Then Hunny could be tilling too.

TIME TO RETRIEVE THE CHIPS
 Before we arrived at the chip piles there were surprises on the drive.  The first plant I spied I was disappointed.  I had almost missed it's blooming.  We don't have a large population on the property.  We were greeted by Sweet Williams.

SWEET WILLIAM 
Woodland Phlox Phlox divaricata
I hadn't thought about transplanting these to another area (I have done it with wild geraniums).  Being there are so few I'm thinking about heading to the waste areas along the road and potting some to relocate them to our woods.  I have seen them growing in other places in the same place as May apples (which we have in profusion).  Their requirements are: part shade,  average to moist conditions.  This fact puzzles me because they are located in the gravel along side of our driveway and at the steep edge of the creek in the very dry clay and rock "soil".

Across the drive from the Sweet Williams was a patch of tiny white flowers with pink tones.  Upon closer inspection there were two different plants. This is very poor soil.  I don't think you could even scrape up soil.  The clay and the rocks were covered with leaves but no soil to speak of.  Nestled among the leaf litter on the ground were Spring Beauties and False Rue Anemones

SPRING BEAUTY

Claytonia virginica
Purslane family (Portulacaceae)

Wow,in the purslane family.  Who would have thought.  The leaves have nothing in common with the purslane I pick in the summer.   That puslane is delectable steamed or leaves stripped from it and put in cream cheese with chives for a great cracker spread.  Spring beauty corms are edible but there is not enough there to warrant the destruction of such delightful spring surprises.

EASTERN FALSE RUE ANEMONE 

Enemion biternatum

 False rue always has 5 petals while rue has a variable number from 6 to 12. The leaves of false rue are much more deeply divided. The leaves are compound and are divided into 3 groups. Each group has 3 leaflets and each leaflet has 3 lobes. Flower stems divide with each branch having a flower. False Rue blooms about the same time as Rue, and sometimes in the same area .

Living rurally has many advantages but I know from when I lived in a suburban area that each of you can find little vignettes (microcosms of returning wild growth).  Just look where you walk

http://organicinstlouis.blogspot.com/2010/11/beauty-underfoot.html

Thanks for taking a walk with me.


You can visit me at:

http://gloriouscreations.blogspot.com/

Containing articles on cooking, crafts, quilting, stories, ect.

New article on "The Wedding quilt"

 

http://glosgarden.blogspot.com/

Not a garden blog.  There are articles which have nothing to do with creating or gardening. 

There are blogs on the new born baby kittens we found and are mothering.  It is a blog where I will sometimes voice my opinions which will always be environmentally friendly.

CHICKEN DELIGHT

SATURDAY MORNING
This could almost be considered an impulse purchase, except for the fact we knew we would probably get some new chicks soon.  We had not contemplated that it would be this soon.  Hunny had to run to the license bureau for the truck and trailers this morning.  On the way back he stopped at the farm supply store to see when they would be getting chickens in and what kinds.
Behold, Baby chicks were there and in a couple of the varieties we love.  

He called me about them and I said come home and we will get set up for them first and go back and get them.  We needed to:

1.  Get down the large dog cage from the attic in the barn. 

2.  Gather and clean the baby chick feeders and waterers.  

3.  Find a trouble light to hang in the dog cage for warming the chicks. 

4.  Round up a couple of blankets to cover the cage with to keep out the drafts.

5.  Find newspapers to use for bedding

After gathering all the items, we needed to assembled the cage and outfit it for the chicks.

We headed to the store and picked out our chicks.  We settled on the Silver Laced Wyandottes and the Buff Orpingtons.   The chicks were put in cute little boxes.  I don't think they were 8 inches square. Twelve chicks barely fit in them.    We decided to take all the Wyandottes they had (17) and 7 Orpingtons.  We've had Orpingtons for the last 4 years and I bet it was 40 years since we had the Wyandottes. Home we ran with our tiny parcels filled with precious chicks.

These are the two boxes of babies.

This is is their new home.  you can see the hand on the left putting a little chick's beak into the water.  To make sure each chick knows where the water is and will readily drink from it.  Little chicks don't automatically know how to find water.  They have to be taught.  Some people put marbles in the water dish to make the chickens peck at them and get a drink.

CHICKS INVESTIGATING NEW HOME

FINDING THE FOOD

MUNCHING A BUNCH

It is said watching a fish tank is relaxing, watching baby chicks is fun and relaxing.  The little chicks establishing who's who in the pecking order.  Delighting over the tiniest little thing.  If a moth comes in you see all of the charge after it and the one that catches it has to run continuously around because all the others are trying to grab it from his mouth. 

SUNDAY MORNING

 Next week I will post new pictures of the chicks so you can see their progress.  By nightfall last night the chicks had already grown the beginnings of wing feathers.  This morning they had grown even more.  It's like stop motion photography.  We are well on our way to our organic source of nitrogen.  

To our delight!

Thanks for visiting. You can also visit me at:

http://gloriouscreations.blogspot.com/

Containing articles on cooking, crafts, quilting, stories, ect.

New article on "The Wedding quilt"

 

http://glosgarden.blogspot.com/

Not a garden blog.  There are articles which have nothing to do with creating or gardening. 

There are blogs on the new born baby kittens we found and are mothering.  It is a blog where I will sometimes voice my opinions which will always be environmentally friendly.

A MORNING WALK

I grabbed my camera and decided to walk around the house.  We have a circle drive (it completely circles the house).  I wondered if there was anything new in the yard.  I was thrilled when I came across the "Green Dragons".  This is what I have always called them. They are technically BELLWORT,

in the lily family.

Uvularia grandiflora

BELLWORT

Not too many feet away I spied the first violets of the season.  Spring violets are my favorite flower.  Did you realize all of the above ground plant is edible.  Violet flowers have a peppery taste.  The leaves taste like a great spinach, but have more texture than spinach.  There isn't the "fur growing" on your teeth aspect of greens like lambs quarters and spinach.  If you forage violets please remember to only take a leaf or two from each plant.  If it is a very dense plant you can harvest more.  Eat all the blossoms you want.  They are far superior to pansies in taste. 

Wild violets that are different colors have different tastes.  The lighter their color the less taste they have.  I also have yellow violets in the yard. 

Viola sororia

WOOLY OR DOWNY BLUE VIOLET

The dogwoods are starting to bloom but they hadn't opened enough to get a good picture.  My redbuds are open and mostly tight budded.  The redbud flowers are edible.  They have a lingering flavor of peas with a little spiciness.  The Redbud is referred to as the Judas Tree.  I imagine it is because it blooms just before the dogwood.  The redbud is in the pea family. 

 

Cercis canadensis

Redbud

Today the clouds are drifting over the sun.  Making a mostly cloudy day.  It is trying to decide if it will rain or not.  When the sun comes out, the shadows form on the ground from the leaves that are trying to spring out of their restraints.  April in Missouri lets you know it was worth all the icy, snowy, days this past winter.

CALCITE

Rock formation along the drive the grandkids call their "Treasure Rock"

Thanks for visiting with me.  I share more of what's happening on the farm here:

http://gloriouscreations.blogspot.com/

Containing articles on cooking, crafts, quilting, stories, ect.

New article on "The Wedding quilt"

 

http://glosgarden.blogspot.com/

Not a garden blog.  There are articles which have nothing to do with creating or gardening. 

There are blogs on the new born baby kittens we found and are mothering.  It is a blog where I will sometimes voice my opinions which will always be environmentally friendly.

A WINDY DAY

April 6, 2011 is today in St. Louis, Missouri, USA.  It is a gloriously warm windy day.  I debated whether to write this in my garden blog or my everyday blog, http://www.gloriouscreations.blogspot.com/ .  I was at the barn on a mission to retrieve the covers before they either blew away or they ripped the rose bushes out of the beds.  The last two nights in our valley, we have had heavy frosts.  The only thing I covered were my roses.  I had drastically cut them back, two of them had been moved to new locations over the weekend so I was very afraid their foliage would be damaged.   We were very fortunate we didn't loose all of them this winter.

Last year was extremely hard on the roses, the Japanese beetles ravaging them and fighting the blackspot from all the moisture we had (October was the wettest October ever). They were defoliated so many times.  Spraying with baking soda didn't help because the rain and heavy dews continually washed it off.  It never had a chance to change the PH on the plants.

I only lost two of my bushes. Hooray.  That isn't the the reason why I am quickly composing this blog.  I am writing this blog in praise of the Wind and the Sun.  On impulse I decided to take my bed sheet wash down with me and dry it on the line.  It is a make do set up which has given me many moments of sighing blissfully.

For years I had been telling my husband to set me poles in the ground and string me some hanging lines.  I love to hang clothes.  It is a very relaxing job (unless you are fighting and cussing the wind or if it is too cold to be hanging out).  Today is the perfect hanging day.  There is a medium wind that is steadily blowing, not gusting.  The sun is out only covered by light fluffy clouds.  What do I use to hang on since Hunny hasn't done the deed.  I did the deed.

There was an 8ft x 8ft set up of scaffolding next to the garden fence.  It had been set up to discourage the deer from charging down the pasture hill and vaulting into the enclosed garden.  I wiggled, pushed, heaved and drug the scaffolding away from the fence and went to retrieve the rope I had bought (years ago) from the garden shed.  I strung that rope back and forth across the scaffolding.  The only problem is it is only about 5 feet off the ground.  I have to fold things which are long to keep them from dragging on the ground.  Sheets I just fold in half and hang the short edge on one line and then hang the other short edge on annother line. 

I hung the sheets before I started uncovering the roses and doing the barn chores.  Barn chores are feeding the cats and chickens.  By the time I finished every thing the sheets were ready to be folded.  They smelled so heavenly.  Did you ever notice how different sheets smell in the different seasons?  Sheets dried in the spring smell soft and cool.  Summer sheets have a warm hot clean smell (cotton kissed by the sun has a very distinctive smell.  Ask Yankee candles, they have a candle in that scent that is wonderful).  Winter sheets have an icy smell, like the air just before it snows.  Then there are fall sheets.  According to the day you will have a miriad of smells.  The sharp smell of damp leaves, the crisp smells of a frost coming on, the bright smells of an over warm day on the fallen leaves, if you have recently had a rain, those autumn smells change even more.  Whatever the season, what ever the smells, it all translates to a sighing experience to lay down on those sheets which have been dried by nature. 

If you have never put clothes on the line to dry, try it, it is a life altering experience.  Not to mention the money you are saving on the electric bill.

Thanks for sharing time with me.

  I share more of what's happening on the farm here:

http://gloriouscreations.blogspot.com/

Containing articles on cooking, crafts, quilting, stories, ect.

New article on "The Wedding quilt"

http://glosgarden.blogspot.com/

Not a garden blog.  There are articles which have nothing to do with creating or gardening. 

There are blogs on the new born baby kittens we found and are mothering.  It is a blog where I will sometimes voice my opinions which will always be environmentally friendly.

WATCHING AND WAITING

Gardening is on the back burner.  I should be starting seeds but so much has been getting in the way.  The amount of snow the Midwest is having is a real drag.  I am spending my days trying to put my house back in order.  This past summer I spent every waking moment involved in the garden.   This year has to be different.  As much as I love the garden and being outside I was totally burned out by the end of the season.

Meanwhile I am watching and waiting for the first sign of spring.  I am watching our skies and our bird feeders.  After the snow Friday night the feeder was loaded.  Sure wish they would stand still a minute while I took their pictures.  This is one of only a couple of Jays we have. 

 Last year we had a deluge of Jays but this year hardly any. 

We have been having a couple of pairs of Cardinals but they are very shy,

 another bird flying in startles them.

Later in the day I decided to put the food in dishes.  I used the Tupperware hamburger patty maker dishes. They worked great and the birds really like having their food separated according to kind. 

A little wren and a junco enjoying lunch.  The wren is picking through the leftover parrot food from our parrots.  We have two varieties of juncos that visit the feeder.  We tried chicken layer in one of the pans.  The birds, so far, barely touch it.  I wish I had some really great pictures of the birds but alas the light and the flighty birds aren't cooperating for taking pics.

Saturday morning watching for the birds and wondering when the snow will stop.

Meanwhile I do have to get my act together and think about seeds for planting,

as well as seeds for the birds.  I hope you are having a warm, sun filled day.

Thank you for stopping by.

SUPPER SURPRISE

Which was also a super surprise.  We had been working outside part of the day.  Bringing in the wood from this pile for the stove (we had to dig it out of the snow in the blog pix..lol).  We do not heat just with wood heat.  It is just an auxiliary support system.  But I am spoiled by it (We used to heat only with wood).  I can maintain a 71 through the day with the stove and it feels so warm and cozy, but when I only use the electric heat at the same temp, I am running for a sweater.  

When we are working at heavy work all day the last thing I want to do is cook (cooking is one of my favorite things).  Searching through the cabinets and freezer for something quick I realized I had the gnawing hunger for pasta.  I normally make my own pasta but do have a supply of "store bought".  (Have you ever tried cooking pasta in the crock pot?  Works real good unless you like aldente pasta, then you have to watch it close.)  Pasta can be a very quick meal. 

Barilla pasta had a sale a couple of weeks ago and I bought several varieties that I had never tried.  I have favorite styles, one of which is Angel hair.  My least favorite is spaghetti.  There was this pasta called Campanelle.  A rolled noodle with a fluted edge  pasta (another favorite is scroodles).  I decided this would be the one I used tonight.

First I put the water up to boil and then diced a huge onion (I can't make any kind of pasta without onions in it.)  Put them on to saute' and went in search of what could make a sauce.  We love creamy sauces.  In the freezer I found a sandwich bag filled with chopped lambs quarters (we don't raise spinach anymore because we have all this free food growing on the compost piles and manure piles.)  I've never had spinach on pasta and never seen it done that way but thought I'd try.  The onions are sauteing in 3 tablespoons of butter and the water is at a boil, dumped in 8 ounces of pasta and some salt and proceeded to thaw the lambs quarters quickly in the microwave (not completely, just enough so I can break it up into small chunks. ) 

When the onions are nice and translucent I add 3 tablespoons of flour and make a roux of it.  I stir in one cup of water (you could add chicken broth if you have it handy).  I didn't have any prepared broth but I do have a product in the fridge called chicken base.  It works admirably as well.  When the roux starts to thicken I throw in the spinach (lambs quarters) and it thaws and adds more liquid to the pan.  If that isn't enough I add more water.  The pasta is done at this point and I drain it and stir on the sauce. 

Wow is all I can say, but I love creamed spinach.  It was like I had this huge serving of creamed spinach.   For serving I topped each plate with a fine grated boiled egg (that added protein).    The capanelle pasta was like having nice thick egg noodles.   It held all the sauce inside all the rolled edges.  I can see this also served with a chicken breast...or grilled shrimp.  We didn't put cheese on it but I know it would be grand. On this night it was great comfort food for two tired bodies that just wanted to veg out! (and it was ready in less than 20 minutes with minor effort).

 

Only 54 days to spring!

WARNING, THIN ICE!

As you can see from the blog title we have been introduced to the first ice situation.  there was only about 1/10 of an inch of ice but it has caused a major traffic problem.  Starting at 7 o'clock last night.  We don't live too far from the interstate 44.  There was a jackknifed tractor trailer going west on 44 and it backed up the traffic for over 7 miles.  The people sat still for over 3 hours polluting the environment (wishing they were already to their destination). 

Needless to say with our quarter of a mile drive Hunny is waiting till later to go in to work.  Right now he is walking carefully down the drive spreading ashes from the fireplace hoping to give some traction or to start the melting process.  Being it is still around 12 degrees in our valley I doubt that is going to happen.  The drive is at least a 45 degree slope at the top and at the bottom of the 45 is a left angled turn.  If you don't make the turn, you are plowing a furrow down a 60 degree slope.

The garden is covered in the light snow from 3 days ago  The ice is sealing the crust.  All the barn cats are snuggled in their tents inside the barn.  Yes we make little cubby holes for them.  They maybe wild, but they keep the snakes and mice away and they use the litter box in the barn so we take care of them.  We feed them and there are lots of critters on the ground for them to hunt.  We have been very fortunate They do not seem to relish our birds.  We only find evidence of less than a bird a month demise.

Wish I had some photos to share,

The bird feeder is quite busy today,

They fly in and out, don't seem to care,

Don't even stop, a thank you to say.

The cardinals threaten the jays,

The chickadees could care less,

The nuthatches just want to play,

While the snowbirds join the fest.

Popcorn and dog food are a woodpeckers treat,

The small birds love what our parrots don't eat,

Fresh water is handy in a bowl near by,

We've only seen little birds give it a try.

Please give feeding them a try,

Black oil sunflower seeds are the best to buy,

They attract the most variety of all the seeds,

Get ready to see fun antics and ridiculous deeds.

Other Blogs by me:
http://glosgarden.blogspot.com/

http://gloriouscreations.blogspot.com/

COEXISTING WITH BEASTIES

Some how coexisting is a strange choice of words.  Most of the beasties around here take their quarter measure and my measure too.  We have both beneficial and detrimental insects and amphibians and mammals.  I am going to take time to share with you some pictures of our "Friends" and "Acquaintances".

This mature Mantis is perched on one of my David Austin roses.  This year I have seen baby mantises every where.  They are only an inch long, exact replicas of their Moms and Pops.   I love to watch them when they are stalking their prey.  Swiftly they grab them and give them a crunch.  It's like they are dining on a lobster "Splash" style (remember the Tom hanks movie with Darryl  Hannah".

One day while mowing in the lower pasture I spied a wondrous sight. It was  a "wonder" I saw it at all.  I was edging beside the area where I dump the grass clippings.  Growing along the edge were some Daisies. On one of the petals was a Crab Spider.  I did not own a camera at the time (that has since been rectified). 

I called my husband and told him I wished he was home to take the picture.  I told him to check when he came home to see if the spider was still there.  Wonders of wonders, four hours later the wind had not blown him away and he had not ran off chasing his next meal.  

The next beastie is what got me to thinking about writing this blog and sharing some of our friends.  Yesterday while bent over pulling weeds, I was stung on the posterior.  Our friendly neighborhood wasp decided I was threatening his territory.

This wasp was in the goldenrod last year.   We have found a fix-it for when we do get stung or bit by insects.  It works every time we have tried it.  (We used to raise bees and an old time bee keeper told us about his solution to the painful prospects of getting stung.)

When you get stung, head under your kitchen sink.  Grab your jar of cleaning Ammonia.  It is preferable to have non-sudsing, but the sudsing works too.  Even a product like floor polish with Ammonia "D" worked in an emergency.  (I don't recommend using off products though, LOL.)

Saturate a cotton ball with ammonia.  Hold the cotton ball on the sting or bite for 5 minutes.  Pain relief is usually immediate.  If you get stung on the face wet cotton balls with water and cover your eyes and nose.  The fumes will not be good for them.  Other wise I have never noticed any detrimental effects to the cotton ball saturated with ammonia. This should be done within the first 20 minutes of getting stung. 

This leopard frog travels all over my garden.  He jumps out and startles me at the most inconvenient times. 

He is in one of the many "mini" pools I have around the garden.  We used to have farm animals, their feeders remain.  The round ones are made from recycled tires.  They are about 5 inches deep.  I fill them with rocks and water.  The butterflies, dragon flies and frogs love them (the barn cats do too).  Around eleven in the morning he is usually soaking in the water basking in a sun beam.  He seems to know I wash the pools each day. See the purple reflection in the water.  This pool is under my Beauty Berry Bush.

My Echinacia is on it's last leg.  The horrible Japanese beetles have dined on its petals.  These Hornets don't seem to mind.  They are collecting pollen and nectar for themselves.

One of the most look forward to beasties every year is the orange garden spider.  Usually before I see her I see her web with the zipper like weaving.

She is the spider the story Charlotte's web was written about.

She is wrapping her lunch up for later.

Her sister lives in the green house and she has laid her eggs in a secure nest in a protected environment. 

Coexisting does not even describe our relationship with the ground hog.  We wish there was not a relationship at all.  We have had lots of ground hogs but there has been one who has been around for at least 3 years.  He weighs, we guess from his size, at least 40 lbs (we seldom see him now).  We use a raccoon trap to try to catch him. He is so big, he realizes he can steal the bait and his rump will hold the door open.  He just backs out of the trap (after eating the apples we baited it with).  He seems to know when we are at the barn.  The following is a minute portion of the damage he does every year.

 

While taking a picture of a bean blossom, this pest added insult to injury.  He flew in to taunt the photographer.  We have a large population of these spotted cucumber beetles, although this year it seems there are fewer than in previous years.

This blog would not be complete with out a discussion of mosquitoes and chiggers.  Summer in Missouri is not summer without them.  I grew up in the boot heel and the mosquitoes were rampant, and the chiggers, well this unseen pest made life miserable.  

I have a preventative of the chigger blues.  Do not ever wear clothes that you wore the night before, even if they look perfectly clean.  chiggers hide in the seams and when you put them on the next day the little buggers are starved and come out to dine on your flesh.  When I spend all day in the yard I always change clothes (down to the underwear) halfway though the day.  since I began this I haven't had a single chigger bite. 

To fight off mosquitoes I don't invite them.  I don't wear any lotions or deodorants with fragrance.  For the afternoon change of clothes they are always white or light colored, over sized, very loose.  Dark colors invite them to bite and tight fitting let them get close enough.  If it is humid or your clothes are damp you will for sure get bitten (Have you noticed how around a source of water they are congregated?).  I have to admit there are those people (like my hunny) Who, no matter what they do, are bitten).

Hopefully next gardening season a couple of my hints

will help you coexist with your beaties.