rutabaga

It was round, purplish, and hard. I put it in the microwave for about 15 minutes, halved. I turned out soft and yellow. I added applesauce and a little butter. Smashed it all up. And served it to the lord of the manor. He ate it with no questions asked. I even ate some myself, just to set a good example. I'm hoping it was filled with all sorts of excellent vitamins and minerals and no calories.

"zairo"

My high school English teacher flunked French--several times, if her stories were to be believed. She said a lot about her expertise, and early 20th century teaching methods, when she quoted the French prof as saying, "Wetney, Wetney, Wetney....every day I giff you zairos and steel you know nuttink!" When our graduating class chose a quote from FDR as its motto, it appeared in the annual as "This generation has a rondayvoo with destiny." I guessed it was our homeroom teacher's proofreading that resulted in the strange look to the word "rendezvous".

Ethics?

What do you do when the organization you're a part of does not do things as you believe they should be done? When a self-appointed committee creates a new constitution without the request of the whole group?
When it is brought to a vote in the time-honored way, do you just "suck it up" and vote for it? It is, by the way, basically a fine constitution.
But it was not birthed in the accepted way.

In the United States, there was something called the "Articles of Confederation".
The new country was governed by this document for its first few shaky years, but everyone could see that it wasn't working.
Did a committee just up and decide to create something new?
Well, yes, some individuals did.
But, until the whole body requested that every state send representatives to a Constitutional Convention, these ideas were not put up for a vote.
And the early ideas were changed and refined by the debates of the whole committee.

I know my organization isn't as earth-changing as the United States of America.
But I still believe there are procedures that should be followed.

I voted "no".

Time of Year

Here we go....another Spring blog.

As I drove in the country this afternoon, I was startled by the numbers of large birds flying together. They were not in a pattern; they just flew up and then some landed.

As I neared the field where they had landed, I noticed it had been a corn field last fall. All the stalks were gone, cut to the ground, but there must have been some seeds. The birds appeared to be feasting on them.

The most impressive part of the scene was.....all the birds were WHITE!
I had thought it might be Canadian geese on their annual run to the northern climes. But this was exotic.

All of these birds were snow geese!

Benefits

Is this "bluejay blue"?
We had 6-8 blue jays in our tree this morning.
They probably would have stayed longer if I hadn't taken some oatmeal out to try and feed them.
I guesss they don't care for oatmeal.
But the only other seeds I could think of were popcorn, and I think that would be too hard to crack.
Of course, I could be mistaken.
I'm not a veteran bird feeder.

Then, shortly after noon, I saw 7 deer cross the road down by the corn field.
It's almost up to freezing, and the sun is shining.
It appears to be a good day for wildlife.

Wonder when the wild turkeys will come.
They've been in the area all winter.

Sure is fun living in the country!

Requirements

Required: nights below 32 degrees; days above 32 degrees.

When you're tapping maple trees to get sap, that's what you need.
It's getting closer!

If you try and boil down some sap in your kitchen, just be aware that it takes 40 gallons of sap to make one (1) gallon of maple syrup.
So, if you have wallpaper, probably not a good idea.
You will end up with wallpaper being steamed from the walls and/or ceiling.
And it won't add to the taste of the final product.

Woke up this morning to new snow on the ground and in the air.
That's how winterspring goes in this neck of the woods.

Fooled Again...

Every year about this time I get antsy for spring.
Yes, I know, the calendar says it arrives on March 21.
But, when we get some days of above freezing temperatures and rain, it seems to be pointing to another season than the one we're presently in.
Not that there's anything wrong with snow.
But...

So, I start looking at the bare bushes as I drive by them, looking for signs of new life.
In this case, "new life" would mean "pussywillows".
That was always my Mom's gauge of "spring".
That's why, as soon as I found some, I would pick them and deliver them to her.
So she would know the cycle was continuing.

This morning I drove past, looking longingly at the bushes that, in the past, have offered the desired harbingers.
"OH...look....stop....check it out!!"
It looked like tiny white fuzzies on the branches.
Stopped. Got out. Walked through the slush to inspect more closely.

Bummer. Just rain drops.

Oh, well. It's above freezing. And it's raining.
And, I bet the farmers are tapping maple trees, if they haven't already.
Will soon check out the next spring harbinger....maple syrup!