Answering Some Questions

 

 

 I started this post much earlier but life has a way of happening and now it's past 11 o'clock. 
It's a beautiful sunny morning, unfortunately the last of a short stretch of mostly sunny days. I have been able to putter happily in the garden. Crocus are blooming as are my few snowdrops. The latter don't do so well in my garden. Maybe it's the soil, I don't really know.
I was careful not to overdo the bending and have so far escaped any back issues :)

 

I thought I'd answer some questions that I received after my post about The Comfort of Crows.

Karen wondered if I enjoyed the book.... I did. It really would be better to read the pertinent chapter as the year unfolded.  ( The book is written as 52 chapters that follow the seasons).

Dianna wondered if the book expounded on different birds. .. To some extent the author did write about the birds she observed in her garden as well as all the changes that each week brought.  It definitely was not boring but neither was it exciting. I know that's not very helpful, is it!!

Gretchen Joanna asked if I would change anything in my garden after reading the book. Actually I feel much better about the messy areas especially in the very back because  they give protection to some  birds and even mice. The problem is Kitty who patrols the area.

Lastly Faith wanted to know if I made my suet or bought it. I don't like the idea of  rendering the animal fat. And, the truth is that  I'm too lazy to bother. So I buy it.

If you're still here I thank you for coming by.  I hope your Friday is ( or was, if that's the case) a very pleasant day.   GM

 

 

My Day

 

 It was a pleasant day with mostly sunny skies. I puttered outside in the garden, pulling out chickweed that was already in bloom. I must keep the blooms from developing into seeds. I always have so much chickweed. 

Later, sitting in the sunroom we watched the Bushtits at the suet. It hangs close to the window and we have a birds eye view. 

 I read my library book which is due tomorrow. I've enjoyed this book and I'm sorry to have to rush a bit to finish it.  I suppose I could renew it but there are at least 4 more books that I requested waiting for me.

 

 

I baked a cake . I forgot the half cup of oil that the recipe called for,  and the cake is rather dry but still very edible.  When I took the glass pan out of the oven and set it on the cooling rack it suddenly and very noisily exploded into many pieces. Fortunately they flew far and wide and NOT onto the cake!!  I've had that pan for a very long time and never expected this but I suppose eventually they break. 

 

That was my day. Thanks for coming by!

 

Full Moon, Candlemas, and some small changes

 

 

 

 I believe the February full moon ( Snow moon) was at its best the night  before last but we had clouds. Last night I was able to see it during a rather brief time when the clouds cleared. Now it is raining again but according to the forecast we will have better weather as the week progresses.

Today is Candlemas , the halfway point between the Winter Solstice and the Spring Equinox. It is also the feast day commemorating the presentation of Jesus in the temple. Known as the "Feast of Light" it features the blessing of candles symbolizing Christ as the light of the world.

Since the winter solstice on December 21 we here in  British Columbia have gained approximately

30 to 40 minutes of total  daylight each day.  Daylight increases by roughly 1–2 minutes daily, with the rate accelerating to over 2 minutes per day by early February, making mornings noticeably lighter. 
( Both the image and information are from the internet) 

 

I put away the winter decor from the sideboard and put out a few Spring things. The tulip painting is one Eldest Daughter did a couple of years ago. Now I must get some tulips to fill the empty spot in the front :)   (That's a good excuse, right?)
 

 

Today is my laundry day and when I saw this on Pinterest I took my chances and copied it. I know there is supposedly a way to neatly fold  fitted sheets but so far I have not mastered it. 

I hope your week is off to a good start. Thanks for coming by!!

Chit Chat

 Did you know that today is International Zebra Day?  That's okay, I didn't know that either. Apparently it's always some designated special day.  

 

We've had very hard rain this past week. That may have had something to do with the added traffic at our bird feeders. Besides the usual visitors we've had a pair of Towhees...pictures from the internet

...and this little Nuthatch

When we last walked at Willband we saw this immature Eagle sitting maybe 20' from us. He seemed to ignore us completely and only flew away when some people with dogs came by.

 

 As I mentioned in my last post I'm confused about what right I have to different images on line especially from Pinterest where I find the best ones. I feel confident that bird ID websites would be okay with my using their pictures, also the weather network and such. I'm just not sure about other sites.  I  read the following statements  and they seem to be saying 2 different things. 

 Pinterest allows you to post content, including photos, videos, comments, links, and other materials. For the purpose of these Terms, anything that you post or otherwise make available on Pinterest is referred to as "User Content."

 Pinterest is great for inspiration, but in order to use those photos for your marketing you need to have written permission from the original owner of the photo.

What do you think? 

Thanks for visiting

 

 

 

Baking and Flowers

 

 

Happy penultimate day of January.  I had a really cute graphic for the day but I have found out that I may be using other people's graphics  without their permission. I wasn't aware of this so until I've sorted out what is and what isn't permissible my posts will be much plainer. *big sigh*.

It's raining today. So far I haven't done much except I did make an apple pie,  I'm so glad I used a cookie sheet and parchment under the pie because it bubbled over.

 Yesterday I baked Banana/ Chocolate chip muffins.  Four of my grown children came by at some point and each took some muffins when they left. DH and I each had one and they were gone.  I'm not very fond of banana muffins but I had some bananas that were very ripe and rather than throw them out I made muffins.   There's always someone who will want them 😋😋😋😋.

 When Eldest daughter came she brought me pretty flowers. I'm truly spoiled.

Did you know that it snowed in the Sahara Desert for the first time in 37 years?  That's amazing!!
( I believe the pictures on the weather network are okay to repost. If you know otherwise please let me know).

 That's it for today.  Thanks for visiting💖.

 

 

Tuesday Trivia

 After another night with temperatures dipping into the minuses I think we've moved into our more normal winter weather. We had 11 dry days in a row which is a rare winter streak for our area. However, the next week is forecast to bring 30 to 50 mm of rain along with milder temperatures.
Because the porch got so cold even though it's closed in I was bringing my store-bought Primroses in for the nights.  Now they'll be okay staying out and in a few weeks I'll transplant them into the dirt.

 

 I made a simple banner for the front door. Because it get used a lot and tape wasn't enough to hold it I used my powerful little magnets ( those black blobs)
.On the outside I hung a wreath that I've used for many years.

This is the latest puzzle that we finished.

 I hope you're having a lovely day. Thanks for taking the time to visit.

 

 

A Cat, Flowers, Food, and a Book

 Hello my friends on this wintery Sunday. We went over to GD Kate's to meet her new cat, Peaches, who is quite adorable. Although she looks like a kitten she's actually a full grown cat.

Another lovely bouquet of flowers.

 My Saturday baking....lemon scones and Carrot muffins

 I requested this book from the library but it isn't quite what I had hoped it would be. The recipes are far too fancy for my kitchen even though the author's story of how she left New York to live with her husband in rural Ireland are interesting.

 That's it for today. I hope you're safe and warm wherever you are. Thanks for visiting.