Washed in the Bird Songs

Yesterday we had a break in the weather... If you could call it that. We were snowed in all weekend and another storm hit today. But yesterday it was rainy and a balmy 55 degrees or so. I don't know if I would call it a nice day, but it was different at least. Personally I like snow, as does my 5 year old, but the toddler hates it! So we have not been out in it much this year.

When the winter weather took a break I had high hopes for the day. Cabin fever had set in and I wanted to be out and about. But at 9am the baby threw up and I discovered both children had mild fevers.

At almost 5pm, I felt like I was going to snap. The children, while still contagious, we not acting sick at all but running around the house and obsessing about watching yet more television.

In a burst of frustration I packed them into the car and drove to a nearby nature trail. 

Almost immediately upon stepping into the woods and walking down the trail, I felt relief! The children, similarly, began to speak in a softer tone and walked with more purpose and focus. 

I stopped along the trail and whispered. "Let's listen for birds."

Both children mimicked me and we listened. Immediately we heard a distant call.

 "That is the red-headed road runner woodpecker owl." My 5 year old science nerd informed me. 

"Are you sure?" I asked. "Because I thought it was a cardinal."

We listened again. This time we heard a woodpecker and though I don't know for sure, my son said it was the "red-headed woodpecker" and it could have been.

For the rest of the hike we remained (more or less) quite. We found a blue wing feather from a blue jay and a stick covered in turquoise fungus as well as some fuzzy brown galls.

Soon, however, darkness approached. We turned around and headed home as the wind shifted and the temperature dropped rapidly. The storm was moving in. At this moment, a barred owl called. We all froze and listened to the distinct whoo, whoo...

By the time we got back home, only about 40 minutes had passed, but we were all different people. As if the songs of wild birds had washed us of our distractions and we were born anew! 

Leaf Chips

I have heard from a lot of people that they tried to make kale chips once and it didn't work. So here are some tips along with my recipe:

Ingredients:
Kale leaves (or other thick leafy greens)
Olive oil
Salt

1. Cut the leaf from the stem. You did not want any large veins in your leaf chips because they won't cook up right.
2. Toss your leaves with olive oil and salt. Do not skip the oil! You really need the leaves to be covered on both sides. The oil is not to keep the chip from sticking, it actually is needed for the cooking process.
3. Add spices. You can spice this up any way you like. Curry powder or chili powder is fun. Or you can always just replace the salt with season salt.
4. Lay the leaves out on a cookie sheet. The leaves can not overlap. It if fine if they don't lay flat, better in fact!
5. Bake at just 200 degrees or lower. You want to dehydrate them more than bake them really.
6. After 10 minutes flip them and then bake them another 10 minutes. Times and temperature may vary slightly depending on your oven. Don't be afraid to peak and poke at them often.

Kale chips are not the only leafy green that can be made into a delicious chip. Beet leaves, turnip leaves, radish leaves, mustard greens, and chard all make yummy chips when dried. The time other leaves take to bake will be a little different. Some leaves might be spicy or even prickly but I think they are all good in their own right.

Seeded Paper Roses

 

These paper roses are cheap, easy to make, and fun too. They make a great mother's day present or a fun afterschool craft. I made had students make them at our educational booth during a Harvest Festival event at an Elementary School. We taught the students that plants need five things and that they needed to provide these five things for their seeds to grow. But no matter the occasion, this is a great craft!

Here is what you will need:

Coffee filters
Pipe cleaners
Glue (or flour and water paste)
Paint brushes
Two small dishes
Flower Seeds (marigold seeds work well)

1. Cut the coffee filters in a spiral shape.

 

2. Attach you pipe cleaner to the outer end of the spiral pointing towards the inside of the spiral with a piece of tape.

 

 

3. Paint the spiral with glue or just dab the glue on in spots all along the spiral. For a more organic product you can use a thick flour and water paste. Just mix a small amount of water with some white flour. Flour paste works well enough but the roses will need to dry overnight.

 

 

 

4. Sprinkle seeds onto the glue. We used marigold seeds and they stuck nicely.

 

5. Finally start rolling your rose. Start with the stem. Roll tightly at first and then loosen as the rose develops.

 

6. Wrap the end (which was once the center of the spiral) around the stem and give it one last drop of glue if there is not enough glue there already.

 

 

And your seeded rose is done! The little paper rose will keep for a season or two. In spring, take the rose, rip it up, and plant the seeds! If you used flour paste then the entire rose can be planted after you rip off the wire stem and tape.

Turn your fake flower into real flowers!

 

Simple Zucchini Brownies

Simple Zucchini Brownies

I love Zucchini brownies, but most of the recipes I have found make it more complicated than it needs to be. Basically, you are substituting the stick of butter for two cups of zucchini squash. You can tweak this recipe in other ways too. But here are the basics:

Ingredients:

2 cups of zucchini or summer squash, grated
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 Tablespoons of oil or butter
2 bars (4 oz) of Unsweeted Chocolate broken into pieces (if you prefer to use baking powder, mix it with the dry ingredients and add two extra tablespoons of oil or butter to the wet ingredients)
1 large egg
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/3 cups flour (I use half white and half whole wheat)
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup nuts or chocolate chips (optional)

Preheat the oven to 350 and grease a 13 X 9 baking pan.
Heat up the butter (if using it) and unsweetened chocolate until it is mostly melted. (Chocolate will take about one minute to melt in the microwave.) Mix in the sugar, (oil if using it), and vanilla. Beat the egg and add it. Mix in the zucchini. In a separate bowl mix together the flour, baking soda, and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. Mix. Fold in nuts or chocolate chips if you desire.
Pour into the baking pan. Bake for 30-50 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. (Baking times will vary depending on the moisture content of your zucchini. Check your brownies often.)

Enjoy!

Chiggers-Some practical advice from the South

Chiggers are tiny, almost microscopic, parasites. Some people are not bothered by them, they drive other people, like me, crazy!

I would like to start by debunking some chigger myths:

1. Chiggers do not burrow into your skin nor do they simply bite and then leave. They spit acid on your skin, dissolving it, and then eat the digested skin. They stay on the surface and the bite usually only really itches when the chigger is still on your body.
2.  Chiggers do not carry diseases such as Lyme disease. They do not suck blood like ticks and mosquitoes so they can not transfer diseases.
3. Chiggers are not microscopic. If you look hard you can see them with the naked eye. (More about this in the next section.)

Now, what to do if you get into some chiggers:

Chiggers hid out in grass, moist hay, leaves, and even rocks. They like moisture, lots of ground shelter, but seem to appericate sunny lined areas (not deep dark forests but more like the edges of fields.) Personally I assume that I get chiggers every time I go outside.

So this is what I do:

1. Wipe off every inch of your skin. Chiggers do not burrow, right? So they are on top of your skin. Also, they have a soft body (they are mite nymphs) and have no exoskeleton. They run very fast, but will explore your body a long time (an hour or two) before settling down to feast. They have a soft body that is squished easily. Rub every inch of your body with a wet wash cloth or something similar.
2. As you start to feel an itch, BEFORE you scratch at all, check for a chigger and this is how:
• Get into a place with natural sunlight. For some reason you can not see them with artificial light nearly as well as with sunlight.
• Stretch the skin where you feel the itch until any pinkness disappears.
• Look for a tiny hunter orange dot. (Hopefully you have not itched because the itching will make little red dots from blood coming to the skin.)
• With your fingernail, the tip of a pocket knife, or something sharp like that, flick the tiny dot off your skin. Then squish it. If you can't see it, then rub your hands and the area.
3. Chigger bites happen. They suck, but you will be ok! Use a little antihistamin or mentholated insect bite medicine if you need. Try not to let it ruin your day!

Get outside and enjoy yourself. Good luck with the chiggers!

Gardening Tip

Alright folks. Here is my number one super secret gardening tip...
Garden daily.
Seriously! Being a constant gardener is key. Go into your garden every day. Examine every plant. Turn over every leaf. Don't skip a day because your tired or don't feel like it. Don't go back inside because it is too hot. If it is raining, walk through with an umbrella.
As you look, you will learn. You will have questions. Make sure to find their answers. But know you will never have all the answers.
Stay in control. Pull a few weeds, squash a few pests, and pick off a few eggs every day. How will you know the weeds from the plants, the pests from the beneficials, and what the heck do insect eggs even look like? The answers will be in your mistakes. You will let the plants grow until it is obvious that they are not producing fruit and you will know what to look for next time. Once the caterpillars are eating the leaves you will know they are not your friends. And if you are in the garden every day, no weeds will have a chance to take over and no bugs will be able to completely wipe out your plants. That is why going out and taking a long, close look is so important.
At first your mistakes will take a toll. But every year your garden will get better and better. You will become more and more proficient; which means it will also become more rewarding over time. Like the garden you will grow...
So get to it! Go garden! Don't stop!

Feeding the Birds

When snow covers the ground and ice coats the trees, birds have a hard time finding food. In the winter, birds do not have insects as a food source so they are dependent on seeds. They forage for seeds in the bushes and trees as well as on the ground, but ice can coat every seed and blanket the forest floor. Furthermore, more and more humans have replaces native bushes and trees with sidewalks and lawns. It has become harder and harder for birds to find food, especially during ice or snow storms.

When I hear that winter weather is on its way, I buy a bag of bird food. My son helps me fill the bird feeders. He enjoys filling them slowly, cup by cup. The scoop and pour of tiny seeds is very satisfying. Then we watch the birds from our bed first thing in the morning. My son's favorite bird is the cardinal and the summer tanager, both red birds. I get excited when we see the red bellied woodpecker.

It is important to hang bird feeders away from windows because some birds will get confused by the reflection and can fly into the glass. Sometimes it is necessary to buy reflectors and put them on nearby windows. It is important to keep predators in mind when setting up a feeder so that it is not a trap. However, some birds will prefer fallen seeds because they are ground foragers.

In the winter birds look fat. They puff up their feathers for insulation and look as if they could not eat another bite. But they are not overweight, they are just fluffing their feathers to stay warm. In the summer I stop feeding the birds. During seasons when food is plentiful, birds need to do their natural duties of spreading native seeds and keeping insects in check. However, in the winter and early spring when times are tough, I think it is important for people to feed birds. Besides it is fun and entertaining. Happy Birding!

All the pictures were taken by Lisa Parker. Thanks Lisa!