For a smile as wide as a country sunrise
Good morning and Happy Saturday! It is another cold morning here with a temperature of -22F (-30C). It is cold out there again, but not much wind at least. That helps a lot. On the plus side, this looks like it will be our last really cold day of the winter. Beginning tomorrow the temperatures moderate and will start to feel more like early spring should feel. Even with temperatures getting into the 30’sF, or 2 to 3C, which will make it feel very warm compared to today.
The beginning of spring. Sounds so nice. However, that does not mean that cold weather is gone completely, but this very cold weather is gone. I am very much looking forward to spring so I can get out walking more. Hopefully anyway. Of course bears will wake up too once the snow is gone, or maybe even a little before it is all gone. It will take a while to melt all this snow, unless it gets very warm, something that is not in the forecast.
The small birds are sure busy this morning, there must be at least 80 redpolls out there, plus chickadees and nuthatches. The blue jays showed up this morning too, I did not see any yesterday. There are a few evening grosbeaks as well, but nothing like the last few days. Not sure what happened to them today. Maybe they are just real late and will show up later this morning. Or not. The woodpeckers have been here too, both hairy and downy woodpeckers.
The males are beginning to chase each other, trying to impress the females. It is time to pick mates and secure territories for nesting. Some birds begin early. Like our Canada jays. They are already nesting and would have eggs in the nest now, perhaps even young ones. In this cold weather. They are tough birds. There certainly is not much food around this time of the year. But they do hide a lot of food in the fall for winter use. Plus, they eat most anything. I have seen them eat moss off of trees.
Moss does have a lot of vitamins, though not much flavor. Same with lichen. Yes, I have tried it. I have eaten a lot of different wild foods. Spring. When the snow is gone. The birds are beginning to return from the south. Green is beginning to show on the ground. Still a long way off, but getting closer. Walking along the path to the river. Sitting along the shore watching the sun glisten on the water. That is solitude. Thank you for stopping by today. Have a wonderful Saturday and God bless!
Steve and Muffin. (Praying for the people of Ukraine)
Β©2022 Steve McLeod.
I’m impressed that you’ve tried some wild foods!
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Thanks Jim, I have tried a lot of different wild foods over the years, some taste good, some not so good, others with no real flavor at all, but all are healthy eating. I really enjoy trying them.
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I’d be too worried that I would eat something poisonous…
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I have a couple of good books, no longer in print, that are very good for identifying and cooking, drying, etc. I haven’t eaten anything poisonous yet anyway. Though I am hesitant to try mushrooms, though I have eaten one variety shown me by an experienced mushroom picker.
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I wouldn’t have to worry about mushrooms, since they are just about my least favorite food…
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I like mushrooms, I will sometimes just fry up some in margarine for a snack, very good.π
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I know that is something I will never do π
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You’re missing out on a taste delight!π
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so I’ve been told π
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The pics are lovely ! ππ»βοΈβοΈβοΈπ¨
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Thank you very much!ππ»π·βοΈβοΈ
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Beautiful photos, Steve, it seems spring is coming your way. Our temps are forecasted to be warmer tomorrow, which I am looking forward to. It appears the budding trees survived the winter blast we had for the last 3 days. π»π¦πΊ πΈβοΈβοΈ
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Thank you so much Eugenia! I hope it is spring coming, though it is supposed to cool off again after a week of nice weather. Have to wait and see. Glad the buds survived, if they freeze it takes so long for things to get going again.ππ»π·βββοΈβοΈβοΈ
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Most welcome, Steve! π
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