Snow Bird

 

 

I came across this nest during a hike at Gorman Nature Center in Mansfield, Ohio. It got my imagination juices flowing. For instance:

 

 

This structure of twigs and leaves did not suffer from "Empty Nest Syndrome" for long...it appears to me that a snowy counterpart has taken residence....

 

 

Or

 

 

Playful birdlings built a snow bird

 

 

 

Or

 

Angry birds built a "decoy" to fool predators

 

Or

 

 

Well, what does your imagination "see"?

 

 

Marcheta *seeing is believing

 



By George! She's Got It!

Once again Gladys Clark shares one of her delicious  "Tried and True" recipes.

 

 Although Gladys has retired from fixing special "fancy" food for guests at the Clark's bed and breakfast, she continues to cook special food for her family and friends.

 

I am lucky to be one of those friends! She shared this dish with Jim and me. :)

 

Gladys suggests this dessert for Valentine's Day, but it would also be nice for President's Day, It's Friday Day, or any other day that you want to make extra special!

 

 

 

Quick and Easy Pretty Dessert for Valentine's Day

 

 

submitted by Gladys Clark

 

 

 

 

1 lg. can crushed pineapple (drain)

1 can cherry pie filling

1 can Eagle Brand milk

1 lg. frozen 12oz. Cool Whip, thawed

1 cup miniature marshmallow

1 cup chopped nuts

To make a deeper pink add a drop of red food coloring

Mix all together & chill.

Makes a very large amount.

Good for a crowd.

 

 

Marcheta *umm, umm, umm, umm, *TASTY*

Easier than Pie

Car troubles caused yesterday's plans to take a different direction, so I am a 'day late and dollar short', as they say, in posting the recipe that I like for apple crisp.

I love making crisps because they are not fussy. In fact, you don't really need a recipe because, like soups, stews, stir-fries, etc., making a crisp is a process:

Core and slice apples and put in a greased or buttered pan
Sprinkle brown sugar, maple sugar, or drizzle maple syrup or honey over apples (but not all of them..LOL)
Add a small amount of liquid, such as apple juice, cider or orange juice
Dot with a small amount of butter
Sprinkle your favorite spice mix on top, such a apple pie spice or simply cinnamon and nutmeg

Make a topping by cutting oatmeal into a stick of butter or margarine
Add spices and/or sweetener to the mix

Put mix on top of apples and bake in a moderate oven until apples are tender, in my oven it takes about 45 minutes.

Here is a detailed recipe from All Recipes, a website that I refer to often.

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Easy-Apple-Crisp-with-Honey/Detail.aspx

This same process works for peaches, pears, any fruit, really. I also use this recipe when our pears are ripe http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Apple-Cranberry-and-Pear-Crisp/Detail.aspx

Marcheta *bon appetit

Cryogenic Apples

 

Apples do well in deep freezes. For instance:

 



 

From This:

 

 

 

 

To  This:

 

 

To This:

 

 

 

Here's part of the path:

1. buds are hibernating in winter's frigid temperatures
2. harvested apples are sliced and stored in a freezer
3. TA DA!  while new buds hibernate, we enjoy a hot apple crisp!

The months between sleeping buds and hot desserts include a lot of work, of course. Pruning, spraying, mowing, harvesting, freezing.

Is it worth it?

Yeah, Baby, Yeah!


Marcheta *smacking lips

P.S. need to leave now, will post an update later today with apple crisp recipe. Promise.

It's About Thyme

Sprouted thyme, February 2, 2002

The Race to Sprout winner is......

THYME!

Just 4 days after planting, this is what the terra-cotta pot looked like.

I opened the plastic bag  to let air circulate and prevent "damping off" and put it back on top of the refrigerator with it's herbal sisters (Parsley, Sage, and Rosemary) so that it could bask in warmth for a bit longer.

Yesterday, Jim advised that if sprouts are kept too warm they grow too fast and become weak and leggy. The plants had already more than doubled in height, so I moved their home from its cozy environment to a cooler, yet sunnier, spot on the kitchen table. It has the huge picture window with a view of the Gibson Outback to look at as a goal to move to come warmer weather.

For now, it simply warms my spirit to have helped bring the seeds to life, and to imagine the yummy food that this humble pot of thyme will enhance.

Yesterday, one sprig of Rosemary made an appearance. I followed the same procedure as I did with the thyme...opened the plastic bag that covered the pot to let air circulate, yet put it back in hibernation on top of the fridge to let it incubate for a bit longer until it gets a good foothold in the soil.

Have you started any seeds yet, 'just for fun'? Are they growing?

Marcheta * Y:)M

The Ploughman

 

Yesterday's snowfall reminded me of the day that my daughter Meghan was born. The flakes were large and fluffy and thoroughly enjoyed their air time. The happy flakes whirled and danced around a bit before landing. By mid-afternoon, after holding our new bundle of joy, I rested while Jim went to work. It was first day of Christmas tree sales and he had snow-plowing to do. Plus we had two other children waiting at home for him. 

 

 

Now, we know that most men are not so good at multi-tasking, so I imagine that Meg's birthday was a bit overwhelming for Jim. Not for me; all that was required for me to do was to hold and feed my lovely new daughter and watch the relaxing snowfall from my hospital room window.

 

The "real" snow that we have this week provides fun for some, relaxation for a few, and work for most. For me, my work was fun....but Jim's work? Not so much. Let me explain:

 



Jim re-fueling his plow truck after a long day of snow removal



Yesterday after lunch I hitched a ride into town with Jim and his plow truck. My mission was to go to the library to pick up The Red Green Show videos that were on hold for me (and, really, just to be out and about for awhile).

 

Two blocks before the library I found activities to photograph for the Inquirer, so Jim and I parted ways.

 

The falling snow energized me and I felt happy as I took pictures of people who, despite having to shovel or salt sidewalks, also seemed happy. The flakes definitely put a festive feel in the air.

 

A half hour later, I had my pics for the paper and my videos checked out. Jim was done with his banking, and so the real work began. I kept him company as he plowed out parking lots for a day care center and a restaurant. Back and forth, back and forth, avoiding parked cars and people walking...snow plowing is not for the faint of heart, that is for sure.



 

 

 

After those two jobs, Jim brought me home where I joined the ranks of snow-shovelers. After I had the walks and porches cleared of snow, I came inside and happily prepared 5 of my pics to send to Rachel at the Inquirer.

 



Snowflakes are one of nature's most fragile things, but just look at what they
can do when they stick together. Unknown author



 

Jim left again to do more plowing. While he continued to work, I made an apple crisp, which warmed the kitchen, filled the house with a nice aroma, and was much appreciated by my tired husband when he returned home.

 

Snow. Work or fun? Love or Hate? It is all in the eye of the beholder, eh?

 

Marcheta *lovin' fun snow

 

 

 

 



Winter White

 Another "Snow Day". How I love them. Yesterday I was inspired to make a short slide show with some of my winter photography. I have long been a fan of Danny Wright's music, and the first time that I heard "Fire and Snow" I imagined a video or slide show to go with it. That was maybe 20 years ago, long before we could make such creations with special software on our home computers.

 

Making slide shows behave the way that I want them to has been a challenge, to say the least, but I dusted off my "I-wanna-make-a-slide-show-for-the-OCJ blog-but-it-will-be-too-hard-to-do" inner critic and gave it a try. It really did not take too long, but getting it uploaded to the blog has been very challenging. I am just hoping after trying several methods that the link works for you. I finally got it working in several tests, so...here goes nothin' (or I should say, "something"!)

 

 

 

To play the slide show, click on the link below the picture.

 

 



 

http://smileboxhttp://smilebox.com/play/4d7a557a4d7a51774d7a553d0d0a&blogview=true&
campaign=blog_playback_link .com/play/4d7a557a4d7a51774d7a553d0d0a&blogview=true&
campaign=blog_playback_link

I like SmileBox for making animated slide shows with music because it is relatively easy. What I don't like about SmileBox is that there is no control over how long a slide displays or for a way to fit the number of slides to the length of the music, like Windows video maker, PowerPoint, or Adobe Premiere. But the animation adds a wonderful element that I like, so until I get better at creataing videos, I'll stay with SmileBox.

I am asking a favor: I need feedback on if this link works, if the slide show opened, if it gave you any problems, and if you like it or don't like it, and why.

 

Marcheta *stretching her skill-level muscles

 

 

The Snowflakes Keep Falling on my Tongue

A gentle snow has been falling for two days. Yesterday, after Ava's birthday party at Blacklick Woods Metro Park's Maple Lodge in Reynoldsburg, Ohio, Ava and Evan had different reactions to the snow.



Ava delighting in snowflakes

Ava, more experienced than her brother in matters of frozen water falling from the sky, set out to see how many snowflakes she could catch with her tongue.












Evan learning about snowflakes

Being his first winter (other than when he was an infant last year), Evan cautiously observed what was going on around him. Eventually, he decided that he likes snow, too.







Below is a quote that I found when I did a quick web search for a poem to go with these pictures. It is by Shannon A. Thompson from her book, November Snow.

I found the quote on Goodreads website.


“I leaned out one last time and caught a snowflake on my tongue. They tasted so good, so pure and so divine, like nothing I had ever tasted from the sky. It was as if happiness spread through your body with the cold, but then disappeared and brought depression, all in less then two seconds. It was unbelievable, and yet, addicting.”
― Shannon A. Thompson, November Snow

Have you ever chased snowflakes and savored their fleeting moments of life before melting away?

Marcheta *savoring moments before they melt

Truckin'

Mark Erlsten, on left, demonstrates to Jim the modern way to tap trees. Jim is
faithful assistant, holding camera #2 for me :)

 

 

Today, despite the weather, we are truckin' to Reynoldsburg (near Columbus) to attend Ava's 6th birthday party. The truck seems like a safer choice of rides.

Because the roads had black ice patches, and because Jim reported many cars in ditches and hugging telephone poles earlier, I did not go to a class on Adobe Lighroom that I enrolled in at Mansfield Art Center. Since today's class was the intro and I do know a little bit about Lightroom, I am hoping to catch up next Saturday.

Because I don't have pictures from the party yet, today's post is an update on yesterday's visit to Erlsten's sugar camp. Unlike the more primitive conditions that Jim's aunt and uncle worked in, the Erlsten's camp is modern. For instance, instead of putting galvanize buckets (with lids) on spiles that were driven into the trees, Mark Elrsten uses plastic piping. It is gravity fed to a holding tank, saving the time it took Lester and Freeda to go around to each tree everyday and collect the sap. They used a horse hooked up to a sled for that part of the job. Seems charming to us, but I can only imagine the hard work involved.

In the picture above, Jim reminisces with Mark about his days of helping his uncle tap trees, and what a difference a few decades make :)

As maple season progresses I'll be putting up more pics, both from the Erlstens, the Nelsons, and even pics of us when we were young parents giving our small children a living history lesson on maple syrup.

And, again, Ladies and Gentlemen,  it's Song Lyric Time,!

Truckin' by the Grateful Dead

..."Truckin', I'm a goin' home
whoa, whao baby back to where I belong"

These words seem appropriate because no matter the weather, I feel like I belong at the celebration of Ava coming into my life six years ago


Marcheta *a most loving Nana

*********UPDATE**************************

As it turned out, we drove our car to Reynoldsburg, thanks to the wonderful job that Ohio road crews, from country to city, did to melt the ice and keep the snowdrifts at bay. There work is much appreciated!!

Sweet Season

 

 

Another calendar page turned today. February is best known for Valentine's Day, a day for roses and fancy heart-shaped boxes filled with chocolates. Another sweet tradition is also underway this month; it is time to tap maple trees for maple syrup and sugar.

Jim's uncle and aunt, Lester and Freeda Eichler, ran a sugar camp during their farming days. Both are now deceased, but their work will not easily be forgotten in our family history because of the oil painting pictured above. Hazel Iiams, also deceased, painted Lester and Freeda at their sugar camp in the middle 1960's. Dina, their little black dog, is also in the pictures. I'll be writing more about the family sugar operation at a later date. I am mentioning it today because this afternoon Jim and I are visiting another local sugar camp for a story that I am working on for the Galion Inquirer.

Steve Erlsten and his brothers run a large maple business, and sell their products at the local farmers markets. Today is tapping day and I want to be there to take pictures. This means bundling up in my warmest clothes and probably popping back into my car to warm up fingers.

The great thing that I like about my life is that most days are spontaneous. I *had* planned a nice, cozy warm day inside sewing. A simple phone call, "we are tapping the trees near the sugar house", changed all that.

So, off I go, out into the frozen blue yonder, camera loaded and ready for action!

Here's a question for you...have you ever tasted real, pure maple syrup? If not, I highly recommend it. It is healthier than maple-flavored corn syrup and because it's flavor is so rich, less is needed. It's the real deal.


Marcheta *gettin' real