February Thoughts

What were we doing last year on February 1st...waiting for a big snowstorm. Here is a little of what I wrote:

Here we are just waiting. Started to snow a couple of hours ago. Just a few flurries at first...now a little more significant. The out doors was a different color this morning. A little bit of a yellow in the sky. The wind hasn't started here...yet. Watching the Chicago news this morning, we saw that the wind was actually starting there. All of this bad weather is supposed to start a little later in the day. Weather people are all revved up. Bringing cots and food to work and a change of clothes. As I'm writing, I can look out the window, and it's looking like just a typical winter day in No. Illinois. Now, I'm thinking about the homeless...do they have shelter and food? I understand that our food banks are down in donations this winter. I saw that little black cat again yesterday, back by the woods. How does that cat survive during this cold, cold winter?I will be posting off and on during the storm..to let everyone know what is going on. I probably wouldn't have to do this...the weather shows will be doing the same, but it will give me something to do. So, everyone in this storm's path...take care and be safe. Balisha

Well, this year is different...very different.The last of our very little snow is out by the mailbox and will be gone today. What a crazy winter this has been.....although I'm not complaining. Tomorrow is Groundhog's Day and the groundhog may or may not see his shadow. It doesn't really matter, because we can deal with a few more weeks of this weather. I wonder why our winter has been so strange? Maybe because of all the complaining we gardeners did during the past year :) Well, whatever the reason we gardeners are always looking ahead. This is a fast month and then March...the new beginning starts. Here's a poem for the day...Balisha

"In winter's cold and sparkling snow,
The garden in my mind does grow.
I look outside to blinding white,
And see my tulips blooming bright.
And over there a sweet carnation,
Softly scents my imagination.

On this cold and freezing day,
The Russian sage does gently sway,
And miniature roses perfume the air,
I can see them blooming there.
Though days are short, my vision's clear.
And through the snow, the buds appear.

In my mind, clematis climbs,
And morning glories do entwine.
Woodland phlox and scarlet pinks,
Replace the frost, if I just blink.
My inner eye sees past the snow.
And in my mind, my garden grows."

- Cynthia Adams, Winter Garden.
First published in Birds and Blooms magazine, Dec/Jan 2003

My Valentine Tree

My little Christmas tree is now a Valentine tree. I made these doily and watercolor valentines a few years ago and saved them in a heart shaped candy box. My son, John, surprised me with the candy a few years ago. I couldn't throw the box away...so I stored my paper hearts in it. I found them last week while tidying up the Christmas bins. I thought I would use them on the little tree instead of the arrangement of bare branches that I usually have. I only wish that I had left the light strings on the tree. Next year I'll know. I think that it looks sweet in our living room and gives a touch of red to our decor. Red is my favorite color...it makes me happy. A red apple, red dress, red car, a child's rosy red cheeks, red barns etc. Anything to bring more color into our lives during this time of the year. Just think how pretty a red cardinal is against the snowy landscape. What do you do to decorate for Valentine's Day?

Balisha

My Turkish Delight

Every year at Christmas time a package would arrive for our family from an uncle who lived far away. We always knew what was in the package, but never the less...we were excited to open it. It always contained a beautiful tray filled with dried, candied fruits and nuts. There was a little plastic pick like fork on top...to pick out our favorite fruit. It was much more filled with fruit than the ones you can order today.An assortment with dates, prunes, pineapple (Mom's favorite) figs, and my favorite...apricots. Dad mostly enjoyed the nuts of all kinds. Some of the fruits were stuffed with nuts. We didn't have many gifts under our tree in the years before and during the war, but this gift was the highlight of our Christmas gifts. My Mom always had dried fruit in the house. She and my Aunt Ruthie would make Christmas pudding, mince pies, and date cookies. They had special molds that held the precious pudding when it was steamed on top of the stove. I have one of those pudding molds still.Mom would stuff dates with a walnut and then roll it in granulated sugar. Fig newtons were and still are a favorite cookie. It has to be a Nabisco...not the off brands. A rolled pinwheel cookie with date filling was a favorite too. Date nut pudding and date nut bread were often on our table. Mom didn't do much with apricots, but they were eaten right out of the bag for a snack. Grandma cooked apricots and prunes together and added sugar to make a compote for breakfast. I still do that. I was at a dinner party and the dessert was a flaming compote of dried fruits warmed in a chafing dish....delish. I always go for the apricot danish. Mom and I made a trip to the loop in Chicago a couple of times a year. My favorite place to eat was in the basement of Walgreens. It was a cafeteria and had an array of salads to pick from. I always chose the fruit plate...lettuce, pineapple slices a peach half with a scoop of cottage cheese, maraschino cherry on top and dried prunes all around. I picked it because of the prunes. I remember when I had a kidney removed and the doctor told me to eat food high in iron. My neighbor, Ruth, got wind of that and when I got home she brought two bags of things, high in iron to my back door. Apricots were in the bags...cans and cans of them. She introduced me to Aldi's canned apricots. They have the best flavor of any I have had. My daughter loves dried apricots too. I buy them at Farm and Fleet. Turkish apricots...the best. Yesterday, I went to Farm and Fleet and bought a 1 lb. bag of them. They are so nutritious...full of vitamins and minerals, and fiber that our bodies need. Now, I use them as snacks right out of the bag, cut up and put on top of oatmeal with a little honey, cut up and put in nut breads, and my old standby...fruit compote. Sometimes I cook them and keep them in a jar in the fridge. I'm sure there are many ways to have these treats. Have you ever tasted a Turkish Apricot? Do you ever use dried fruits in your cooking or eat them right out of the bag?

Balisha

Orchids Require Patience

I bought these orchids several months ago. I have 7 of them. I have kept a strict watering schedule, because I tend to water houseplants to death. Literally. I have researched them in my gardening books and in every article that I find in magazines. I feed them like I've been told and spray them with warm water most everyday. They have a grow light. They are sitting on humidity trays. Here is what I want to know....

I haven't seen much change in them. They are dark green and a couple of them have new leaves. Only one of them lost a leaf. They have terrific roots.....nice and green and plump. I can see that a couple of them bloomed before, from the stem that was cut off. I have patience with things that I know will succeed, but these orchids are something else. I don't think that the leaves are especially pretty. I hesitate to buy any ceramic or terra cotta orchid pots to display them in, because they may fail and I would be left with the orchid pots. Should I expect them to start growing soon? How about blooms? I am a patient woman, but I want some sign that they are going to grow. I also have a Clivia plant in the dining room. I've had it two years. It's growing by leaps and bounds, but hasn't bloomed. I'm looking forward to spring to see some blooms on that. Oh, patience...don't desert me now.

Balisha

More from me.

I'm back to say that I moved the feeder from the low hanger right next to the window out to the tree in the middle of the yard. I'll keep watch to see if the possum meanders out there to get up to the feeder. If so, I'll just move it out to the very end of the branch. It will be a precarious situation for him to feed and balance at the same time. Just in the short time that the feeder has been in the trees...the purple finches have found it. I haven't seen them all winter. Right now...the finches are sharing the feeder with chickadees and a titmouse. I put the little red lantern feeder up next to the house. It's impossible for the possum to eat from it. Only the tiniest of birds come to it. It looks like snow today. I do wish that if it does snow...the roads will be cleared soon after. I have a couple of projects to work on today. I just can't get started and here it is almost 11:30. Do you ever have days like that?

Balisha

A Poem

The Possum Has To Go by Balisha

One day a week or so ago a possum came to call..

He sat upon the feeder and sampled seeds and all.

He was just outside my window.. on a feeder hanging there.

The feeder hung so low to ground.. in mornings I would stare..

At all the pretty birdies...we really had our share.

This little creature then appeared and entertained me so..

His little nose pink like a pig...and teeth so sharp I know.

He ate and ate and took his time...it seemed he had no fear..

I started then to look for him each time I came so near.

And then I thought about the birds just waiting for their turn..

They really didn't have a chance.. to feed is what I learned.

Then stories about how pesty these possums really are..

I made a tough decision... one that was so very hard.

I'll take the feeder down, so he will go away..

But just before I do it...I really want to say.

Thank you, little one, for a couple days of fun..

I wish you well and safety until this winter's done.

Maybe I will see you some night when spring is here..

I'll feed you in the woods then...to me you are so dear.

Today...

The Opossum is back again today. He was here the same time as yesterday and now he's here as it is getting dark outside. We know that they can be pests and do damage...I am just interested in watching animals that I haven't watched before. I may have to take my feeders down, so he doesn't make a habit of taking his meals here. I hate to do this, because of the birds that we love to watch. I think that living near wooded areas and our own woods in the back invite creatures like this to come up close to the house. We've seen groundhogs, deer, all kinds of small animals, snakes, fox, and before I moved here...Joe saw a Bobcat. We hear coyotes at night in the summer. I am a lover of nature and enjoy watching all these animals...but I like seeing them at a distance. They have their home and I have mine. It's now dark and I shone a flashlight out on him. He just looked up and kept on eating. Certainly a brave little fellow.

Joe feels better today. I guess he had food poisoning. Being Sicilian he loves olives. He buys cured olives packed in olive oil. He loves them and ate some the day before he got sick. They didn't taste just right. He got so sick during the night and had to stay in bed yesterday. Today he's still feeling kind of weak, but has been able to be up and about. I threw them out...needless to say.

Well, my friend is still here and I have to go to watch the news. Wonderful news this morning about the Navy Seals rescuing those two people.

Balisha