The first day of Spring! Long awaited, and not disappointing. Right now the sun is shining, and the temperature is above freezing. We still have a lot of snow, but there are also large patches of brown grass showing in the yard, and the driveway is clear.
When I went out to fetch the newspaper, always thrown onto the end of the driveway, I noticed some Robins “frolicking” on the front lawn. I walked a little ways down the road in front of the house, to see them more clearly. Just at this point one of the neighours walked by, and stopped to chat. We watched the Robins, and determined that we were observing a mating ritual.
During my chat with the neighbour, he asked me if Attila liked his job. I was confused. Attila has been working at this job for years now, it isn’t a new thing. Attila does like his job, and looks forward to retirement, like most people. Sometimes the things people ask are puzzling. It seemed an odd question to ask, out of the blue, no context, on a sunny morning out watching the birds.
While outside, I decided to sweep the front porch. It sits under a branch of the Crab Apple tree, now so popular with the birds. The birds eat the seeds, letting the flesh fall to the ground, and onto the front porch. It makes quite a mess. While sweeping the porch, I noticed four wasps crawling about on the deck. I dispatched them. Perhaps it is through the very drafty front door that the wasps have been entering the house.
I’ve found a source for Wheat Berries, the bulk food store in the city will order large 25 kg bags for their customers, and offer a 10% discount on each bag ordered. This may be our best option, but I’d like to do a little more research before making such a large investment, over $100.00 with tax. That quantity will make about 100 of the small loaves that I bake. That price is the equivalent of 40 to 50 store bought loaves, about double the size of the loaves I make. The cost for homemade versus store bought bread is roughly equivalent, but when quality is considered the homemade bread is superior in every way. And a great big bonus for me is that a homemade loaf is made with 1/16 teaspoon of salt, which is 145 mg of sodium in the whole loaf, which is the same amount of sodium that one consumes in one single slice of store-bought bread. I could eat the whole loaf and not compromise my daily sodium intake (500 to 1200 mg per day).
When I finished my crocheted blanket recently, I needed another pick-me-up-put-me-down project. Using some leftover cotton yarn, a 3.5 mm crochet hook, and a single crochet stitch, I started on a facecloth. This was completed yesterday, and it got a thumbs up from Attila. Today I am starting another one. The weave is much denser with the 3.5 mm hook, resulting in a very sturdy and serviceable facecloth.
So that is me, the first day of spring, enjoying the day no end. I hope you are too
Worldly
Weather
2°C
Date: 11:00 AM EDT Wednesday 20 March 2019
Condition: Partly Cloudy
Pressure: 102.6 kPa
Tendency: Rising
Temperature: 1.6°C
Dew point: -0.3°C
Humidity: 87%
Wind: S 13 km/h
Visibility: 18 km
Quote
“To invent, you need a good imagination and a pile of junk.”
Thomas A. Edison
1847 – 1931
I didn’t realize the birds don’t eat the fruit! We have two (or maybe three; it’s so overgrown back there behind the lilacs) crabapple trees. I guess the rodents eat the fruit on the ground; we’ve had a coyote eat the apples.
Let’s have a close-up of that facecloth, baby.
Kate
Kate, the Crab Apple tree in our front yard is of the ornamental variety, the apples look more like cherries than apples. The normal size crab apples in the back yard aren’t touched until they fall from the tree in late autumn, or we pick them. The Crab Apple Jelly and Apple Cider Vinegar are great hits with us! Adding a pic of the facecloth for ya.
It was a beautiful, sunny day here – at least until sunset when the rain came in. The high was our warmest temp yet, at 8C. Tomorrow we’re hoping for the same.
Very surprised that you’re seeing some wasps!
The facecloth is cute! Nice little project…maybe I will make a few.
In Yuma, I’ve found woodpeckers like to peck at the oranges on our tree. After they’ve satisfied themselves, the remainder falls and rots if we don’t pick them up. Happy Spring! ….Joan
Lol. We are enjoying early Autumn days. The scorching summer days have gone now we have cooler nights (about 15c) and sunny dry cool to start warming up during the days (high 20sthis week)
So I’ll let you know in 6 months time how I’m enjoying Spring
I’m curious to know how you’d store the flour to keep it fresh. Would you eat 2 or more loaves a week – meaning you’d have about 50 weeks worth of flour. That’s nearly one whole year.
Also was your pedestrian neighbour from the new homes at the end of the street? Or a long time resident known to you both?
Take care
Cathy
Teri, wasn’t yesterday grand! The wasps, I figure, crawl into the cracks and spaces around the front door, which is old, warped, and doesn’t allow for complete weather proofing. There are lots of nooks and crannies for them to shelter in for the winter. Then, in the spring, they crawl out. Some of them crawl towards the outdoors when the sun hits the door, those I found on the front porch. Some of them crawl into the house where it is nice and warm, those I am finding on the living room drapes and windows. Their presence is a sure sign of spring, one I could live without, lol.
Eileen, I like making faceclothes, because they work up quickly, they are small and easy to take anywhere and don’t warm you up like a blanket does, and they are cotton so that when my hands perspire they absorb the moisture so I can keep going when it is hot in the summer. That we like the facecloths is a real bonus, and I guess the real point after all, lol.
Joan, oranges in your yard! That sounds so amazing, as oranges were exotic fruit when I was a child, and I love citrus fruit of any kind. Are oranges a spring time fruit there in Yuma? After the woodpeckers are finished with the oranges, are they any good to humans as food, or do you have to write them off?
Cathy, here we are at opposite ends of the world! Your current weather sounds lovely indeed, enjoy! Whole wheat does god rancid, so ideally I would store it in the freezer, where it will keep for a very long time, a few years really. The wheat berries, when I find the source to buy in bulk, will be stored in the freezer, and I’ll probably spend a day milling flour once a month or so, or so I think now, reality usually plays out a little differently than plans. 🙂
The neighbour has lived on this street for decades, and we have known him and his wife for almost a decade. I mentioned that he asked to Attila, who laughed and said that he usually asks him how the job is going, just a conversation thing the neighbour does, so I guess that explains it. The neighbour is a good one, he watches out for all the seniors on the street, particularly with snow removal in the winter.