We closed the week with some sunny skies, as most of Iowa held its breath while Catlin Clark worked her magic. I actually watched the end of the game Friday with Connecticut. I also did laundry.
But I got a good 4 hours in the garden yesterday, which was pleasant. I was tired at the end of the day, but a good tired. We had over two inches of rain earlier in the week, putting us ahead of noral, for the year.
It is not too cold or too hot.
Frost has disappeared from the forecast for the moment. Some indoor plants got to go outside and enjoy some shade. (A lot of sun is to be avoided or they will sunburn.) Some of the little jade plants saw their first sky in 5 months.
Here is some of the backyard yesterday.
It was a far cry from Maine, where the children keep getting an opportunity to make snowmen.
We have some new neighbors.
There is a hole in one of the branches of the white crabs. I noticed a bird going into that hole while I was outside yesterday. Later I saw the couple. I am not sure who they are. The are not wrens. If they were wrens they would have been scolding me for even being close to their nest.
The best pictures of the week
The little tiny trillium we got from Joe Pye Weed Gardens have started to bloom. You can get an idea of the size as the little scilla is in the picture.
A walk in the woods
We went to Ryerson Woods yesterday. More flowers were out than they had been 3 weeks ago. We should go back in another two weeks.
Julia's recipe
Chicken and green things
I liked the idea of this NYT recipe - baked chicken with kale and scallions and herbs, among other things. Although I used the ingredients suggested by the NYT, I used a different method. I find that some let's-make-dinner-in-a-hurry recipes don't cook the chicken long enough. I like chicken thoroughly cooked, and some recipes seem to intend to produce what I would call "al dente chicken." So I changed the method to permit the chicken to cook thoroughly.
Something is nibbling on some of my lupines. Deer? They had left the lupine alone so I am not sure. Rabbits? I have not seen them but maybe.
With their snow, Maine does not even have daffodils. When we went for Christopher's baptism 7 years ago, there were daffodils...in June.
What they do have in Maine is the path of the total solar eclipse on Monday. It is two hours from Portland but they all are going. The are suppose to have sunny skies. I have told them to take pictures.
The garden plot opens in 9 days.
I have a large order of caladium coming this week. They will not go in the garden plot. Caladium will not germinate until the soil temperature gets to 70. That would be June some years. They will need to find someplace inside for at least a month. There will be a lot of potting work.
It is a good year for tree peony seedlings . I must have 15-20 new ones this spring. Some are coming up all in a row. When you plant 100 seeds I confess to having planted some just in a row.
I will see how they pot up.
In the sale for the food banks we passed the $1000 mark for the spring. A good part of that was from selling the donated bloodroot from Jan and Marty at Joe Pye Weed Garden. Take a peek at their webcite. Some of their iris are amazing.
The world is still out there. I can be diverted by time in the garden. The women's basketball team provides additional distraction.
At some point I do look at the news. It is not pretty. I got a robo poll call the other day from Rasmussen. I know they are rather bad, in more ways than one. I decided to take a few minutes to perhaps make their numbers better. After a few expected questions, they got to the bad questions. Those included "How did I feel about illegal immigrants committing crimes." I hung up.
Then there are the Republicans in Congress. How can they not support the Ukraine?
Pray for Peace and reconciliation. Pray for a better world for our grandchildren. Pray for the people of Gaza.
Find something to do to make it a little better.
Philip
2 comments:
The stars of the week for me are the violets
Well, and Clark. Time for the second half!
You have chickadees in your tree hole. If the hole faces the house, you can watch the babies get their flying lessons.
The chicken recipe looks scrumptious, and the garden is popping with interest.
Basketball: That was a thrilling end to the LSU game, wasn't it? But we were SO disappointed that Iowa lost to SC. Clearly, that was a fluke. And why "the Gamecocks"? Surely they should be "the Gamehens," no?
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