Napping dove, drinking nuthatch, bathing chickadee

A few days ago this dove perched in the tree outside my window for what seemed like several hours.  It finally flew when I walked into the back yard.  The last picture I took of it was time stamped at 1 hour and 21 minutes after the first picture.  I guess it was taking a nap.

 

I saw the nuthatch again drinking from the thermometer.  In one shot, you can see the white spot on its otherwise brown head, which is an identifying field mark.  I like the way you can see the water drop on the bird's beak before it tilts its head back to swallow.

 

 

Once the weather warmed, the birds began bathing.  I saw some in a puddle one day, and I caught the chickadee splashing about in the overturned thermometer.

 

Ah, that's the life!



 

Milk fertilizer for houseplants

Occasionally when I rinse out a milk jug for recycling, I will pour the rinse water (well diluted) on a houseplant.  That adds nitrogen to the houseplant.  I've had a little pot of ivy for a good while.  It looked like it needed a boost.  I was going to brag about the new growth my milk rinse water induced, but when I inspected the ivy a little more closely and noticed all the aphids on it, I nearly changed my mind.  I guess the tender new growth was irresistible to the aphids.  I took it outside, tried to smash the aphids between my fingers and rinse off the rest.  I'm going to leave it outside on the porch now that the severely cold weather is past.  I'll keep my eye on it and see how it does.

First daffodil

Today brought the bloom of my earliest daffodil.  It finally feels like spring.

 

I also had another crocus bloom, and, of course, the red maples are in bloom.



Are you seeing signs of spring?

Sweetgum balls

Yesterday, I spent a little time raking up the sweetgum balls in the backyard.  There was a little too much pine straw mixed in for me to want to put it on my compost pile.  I consolidated the piles this morning and burned them.

 

The gumballs are getting to be a nuisance.  In the past, I don't think I've raked them, just mowed over the ones that were in the yard.  Probably because the trees are taller now, many more gumballs are falling into the yard.  A few years ago, the caretakers of the local nature preserve went through and girdled all the sweetgum trees so they would not be dropping balls on the paths.  Maybe that's a good idea.

The snow is going away!

It is supposed to be very warm today, and the last of the snow is melting away.
Here are a few more pictures from last week.

It was lovely, but I'm ready for warmer weather.

Pruning chores

The sluggard will not plow by reason of the cold; therefore shall he beg in harvest, and have nothing. 

Proverbs 20:4

 

I'm afraid I'm in the boat with the sluggard when it comes to the pruning chores.  The one chore I did get done was pruning my muscadine.  And I worry that it might not have been good for the vine to be pruned before we had the coldest weather of the winter.  Who knew it would get down to 7° F on February 20th?  Here is the vine coated in ice and the post capped with snow last Thursday.

Last year the vine had showed so much promise with green grapes, but they fell off while they were still green.  I haven't been successful at all with my muscadines.

 

I figured it was time for a replacement blade on my bow saw, but I found a bargain that I bought instead.  I could have spent a little less than $5 on a replacement blade, but for $10 I could get the blade (with the saw attached!) and a pruning saw.  Since I've been needing a pruning saw, this seemed like a good deal.  I'm not sure why they had been marked down to $9.99 from $20.99.  When I was last in that particular Ace in December, I saw two saws with that price.  I couldn't believe they were still there Saturday when dh took me by.  So now one is in my possession.

 

While I was at Ace, I also picked up a packet of garden peas.

 



It will probably be a while before the ground dries out enough to plant them.  There are still places on the north side of evergreens or buildings where the snow from last Wednesday night is still hanging around.

 



The snow will most likely be out of here tomorrow when the high is forecast to be in the mid-70's.  However, we will have rain on Thursday (and a low that night of 22°!  The local weather lady called it something like weather whiplash), and the ground will be saturated again.

Hopefully, I will get a little pruning on the blueberry bushes this afternoon.

 



 

       

I open my own jars

I once saw a cute comedy routine in which a guy sang about why he was glad to be a man.  One of the things he mentioned was that he could open his own jars. 
The thing we admire about lower primates is not their strength but when they are smart enough to use a tool (like the chimp that uses a stick to catch termites).  I usually don't have a problem opening jars:  I purse my lips and twist them to one side, give a good effort with my hands (using a wet cloth, i.e. the shirt front that got wet at the sink or that I dried my hands on, for grip if necessary), and the lid comes right off.  Usually.  Yesterday, I encountered a particularly hard lid.  There was no stronger primate around (and even had there been I wouldn't have asked for help because then I would never truly have known if I COULD have done it myself). 
So I tried the wet shirttail for grip.  I tried the rubber band that comes around a bunch of celery for grip.

 

I tried running hot water over the lid.  I tried standing the jar upside down in very hot water.

 



I tried a clamp that ds had left by the front door (which succeeded in only denting in the sides of the lid).

 

I tried combinations and permutations of all of the above.  Then in desperation, I almost felt like puncturing the center of the lid with the pointy end of the can opener.  Fortunately, I tried the squarish end first.  I just put a gentle pressure from it in a few places around the lid to kind of unroll the lip a little.  That broke the vacuum seal, and then I was able to easily unscrew the lid.  Smart chimp!



Then I was able to make my homemade pimiento cheese with
a little small curd cottage cheese
a little mayo
a lot of fancy shred sharp cheddar cheese
some pimientos

Bon appetit, smart chimp!