There's been a lot of variation in the weather lately.
Snow, rain, ice. A couple of warm days. Then more snow.
Very strong winds and truly, bitterly, painfully cold.
Welcome to March in Massachusetts!
The snow is nearly all gone now, and I had hoped to get a Permit to burn a big brushpile on Thursday to celebrate the return of my Occasional Helper. But now a big storm is predicted for Tuesday, so the brush may all be buried under snow again. If it was all in one place I'd clamber up the pile and get a tarp over it right now, but it's not...there are several scattered piles that will be shifted to the burn area once the fire is going well. The idea is, one person goes to and fro moving material, while the other minds the fire.
I sure hope we don't miss burn season; some years, the weather doesn't allow burning at all. This means looking at a huge mess every day for another year, which can be discouraging.
I actively battle discouragement on all possible fronts. Right now, despite several days of single-degree weather, my thoughts are turning to the gardens. And I'm enjoying the fruits of last year's gardens, which always lifts the spirits.
On today's menu: organic popcorn! 2016 experiment.
Also, candy roaster squash!
Decided to save some candy roaster seed.
Della seemed very interested.
"Hmmmmm..."
"Who, me? Interested in seeds? Not at all.
I'm, ah, here to...examine this bowl.
Handpainted in Portugal, was it? Very nice."
Handpainted in Portugal, was it? Very nice."
"Also, this chair. It's definitely time to inspect this chair."
Well, I hope your weekend has been pleasant, and your week ahead will be wonderful. And now I must sign off and go persuade Della to move from her new spot.
On the seeds.
On the seeds.
~~~~~
Oh the popcorn is such a fun experiment! Of course, I've never had any luck with corn in general . . . and the squash looks delicious. I don't know that variety but most any squash is good with me. I guess Della must agree with me. :)
ReplyDeleteCandy roaster is a squash I learned about from Tipper, at the Blind Pig and the Acorn blog. It's a nice sweet squash and easier to handle than some of the larger winter squashes and pumpkins. Smells so good to cut into one in Winter!
Deletecat's love to be 'on top' of everything --they don't want to miss a thing!! miss having a cat--some days!!! wished I could have me some of that popcorn too--
ReplyDeleteenjoy the moments,diane
Enjoy the moments indeed :)
DeleteWe are having dusty weather. Ugh! My youngest college boy is on Spring Break in NY and not having spring like weather at all. He says it's too cold to even be outside. All the wind makes it feel colder and now predicted snow for the rest of the week. Jingles loves dried figs, dates, avocado and coconut oil. She perks right up if she smells any one of them. And, of course, is always right on top of things. :)
ReplyDeleteFigs and dates! Jingles has very distinctive taste preferences, doesn't she? :) Della discovered that one of the tiny cobs left after I took the popcorn kernels off makes an excellent "critter" to bat around the house. Provided much entertainment until it managed to escape under the dresser, where I think it may have joined Della's zebra-mouse, who has been missing for months! One day I must move that dresser...
DeleteI fear Winter will be back for a final encores of all encores. Red Flag warnings this time of year, try to Google and get a lot of old reports.
ReplyDeleteI wonder if you got more snow than we did this time? I wasn't watching the regional weather, just tracking power outages which were taking places all around me but didn't get to me I'm happy to say. I don't mind doing without electricity til I run out of water for the animals. Takes forever to melt snow, as you probably know!
DeleteThat popcorn looks delicious.
ReplyDeleteI, too, have been enjoying the moon the last few nights. :-) Stay safe tomorrow!
When I sleep on the porch, I often wake to find the moon glowing through the trees outside my west window. It makes waking up at 2 or 3 AM (which happens no matter where I sleep) seem like kind of a privilege! :)
DeleteWinter seems more capacious than usual but, perhaps, that's my poor memory. I'm prepping for the same storm, Quinn, and hoping it's a lot of not much of anything. Hoping. Be safe, stay warm. Maybe fill the bathtub with water.
ReplyDeleteI only have a shower, but I do fill lots of jugs and buckets. Hope you didn't get hit too hard, Sandra!
DeleteThere's been a popcorn kick in our house too except it's not organic. You have us beat there :)
ReplyDeleteNah, Della is definitely NOT interested in those seeds!
I hear that there's a big storm headed your way. I sure hope that you get a good burn time at some point.
Hang in there!
A couple of years ago I began having trouble finding organic popcorn, so last year I tried growing my own. It was a "learning experience" with highs and lows, and I think I'll do it again this year!
DeleteIt HAS been cold this past couple of weeks! I thought we were finished with winter too, but the snow came back. Thankfully, here it was just a couple of cm, but west of Toronto got the brunt of it. I hear you folks south of the great lakes got hit hard. Hang in there! Doesn't sound like the burning will happen any time soon. Your cat is about as subtle as my dog when it comes to "sharing" food ;)
ReplyDeleteWendy
Yes, those brushpiles have completely disappeared. For now. And apparently we're going to have bitter cold for the rest of the week, and snow on the weekend. It's good to know we're at the END of Winter and not just starting, although LeShodu seems unconvinced and rather unhappy about this deep snow. Like me, she's getting older!
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