“Is the spring coming?” he said. “What is it like?”… “It is the sun shining on the rain and the rain falling on the sunshine…”
I could see my lawn yesterday morning. It was a touch of green in a grey world then it snowed, and my lawn disappeared. I wanted to scream. I think maybe I should have.
Last night was cold, really cold. On the news at 11, the weatherman said this is the coldest start to March in history. The paper this morning described tomorrow’s weather as becoming mild with temperatures from 37˚to 40˚. Mild? In what world is 37˚ to 40˚ mild?This morning we have sun, but we also have snow showers. I went and filled the bird feeders off the deck. It took fewer than ten minutes. My hands were freezing when I was done.
It struck me as funny, the wording, though the incident isn’t funny at all. A man sawed off his thumb yesterday, but the weather precluded the use of MedFlight. The man and his thumb were taken by ambulance to Boston.
Yesterday I was busy in the kitchen. My friends and I always watch The Amazing Race together but last Sunday I stayed home and watched the Academy Awards instead. We DVR’ed the race so last night was race night. We have a weekly tradition. We take turns making appetizers and desserts and play games before the race. We play Phase 10, a card game, and Sorry, the best game we know. I’ve been playing it since I was a kid, and I introduced it to friends who now love the game or hate it depending upon what happens. It is often cause for cursing, something I never did as a kid but probably wanted to but didn’t dare.
To get the food ready for the games, I spent a good part of the day chopping, slicing and mixing. It was my turn for appetizers. I made pineapple salsa, fried ravioli and quesadillas. They were all delicious, but the salsa with the quesadillas was spectacular, says I the chef. I used a red, yellow and green pepper, onion and some cumin fried together, mixed three different cheeses then used it all to fill the quesadillas which were then baked. I was a chopping maniac for the pineapple salsa. It had fresh pineapple, a tomato, red onion, a jalapeño pepper and chopped parsley. It was worth the effort and the backache.
The salsa and quesadillas are now on the list of foods for summer if it ever comes.
Explore posts in the same categories: MusingsTags: appetizers and dessert, cold, fried ravioli, grass, mild day, Phase 10, pineapple salsa, quesadillas, really cold, sawed thumb, Snow, Sorry
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March 6, 2014 at 11:11 am
It sounds like you have such a rich community of friends. I enjoyed reading about your gatherings.
So sorry about your weather. I send my northwest guilt up as a whole burnt offering to the sun God on your behalf!
March 6, 2014 at 11:16 am
Rita,
My friends are great and are always up for some fun. Our next event, aside from our Sundays, will be to celebrate the first day of spring by going to the beach to see the sunrise then going out for breakfast. I am thinking we might freeze this year.
Thanks you for the help in changing the weather! I hope it works.
March 6, 2014 at 11:57 am
Hi Kat,
Your salsa and quesadillas sound great.
I was happy to find a copy of old Mexican cook book that I had used way back when I was in high school. Found it on Amazon for cheap and bought the hardcover for even cheaper. It brought back many fine memories as well as some excellent cocktail recipes. 🙂
The snow is so deep in my yard that I can’t get to most of my bird feeders. There’s one by the driveway that I can get to so I fill that one and throw a bunch of seed all over the snowy area next to the driveway.
I went to take Rocky to day care this morning. He went out the door with his leash on but I wasn’t hanging on to it because he’s good. As I looked towards the jeep I saw that it was surrounded by turkeys. They were snacking on the ground feed. I grabbed Rocky’s leash quickly because he hates turkeys.
They ran off a little ways. I put Rocky in the jeep and hauled out a sack of wildlife food to throw down for the turkeys. The big tom kept his distance until a bunch of his females came running towards me like domestic chickens. At that point he decided I was alright and came back too. It was cool.
And of course the only camera on my person was the crappy cell phone camera. I will never learn. 🙂
Of course 40 is mild. It’s all relative. You will be fanning yourself on the beach by Saturday. 🙂
Enjoy the day.
March 6, 2014 at 12:40 pm
Hi Caryn,
Now you’ll have to cook up a storm, a Mexican fiesta of foods. I love finds like that.
Gracie would have yanked my arm out of the socket, the one holding her leash, if she saw wild turkeys. The last ones on the street were when she was inside as I was just coming home. I was glad for that.
I have a small digital camera I keep in the car. The other thing is you could buy a one time digital camera and keep it in your glove compartment. It won’t have the range of a regular camera but is better than the phone, I think.
Lots of birds at the feeder so I’m happy I filled it this morning.
I can just me on the beach fanning myself wearing layers to ward off the cold, oops the mild!
Enjoy the day!
March 6, 2014 at 12:46 pm
I have two very nice cameras, one of which is supremely portable. Fits in my back pocket. But I tend to go out the door thinking that no I won’t need my camera this time. Catches me every time.
I could have gone back inside and gotten a decent camera. The turkeys would have hung around. Crappy cell phone camera was in my hand so I took the lazy girl’s way out. 🙂
They’ll be back. I can see them down by the brook, roosting in the shrubbery.
March 6, 2014 at 12:49 pm
Caryn,
I learned the hard way to keep a camera handy.
In the winter my car camera stays in my bag but goes back to the glove compartment when it is warmer. It is also small and portable. Many times I have jumped out of my car to take a shot of something which has stopped me in my tracks.
March 6, 2014 at 11:58 am
Be patient, there is hope, I can confirm that spring exists. Spring is just about 3500 miles eastwards and looks great 🙂
March 6, 2014 at 12:41 pm
Birgit,
I’m trying to believe you and have hope, but every snowflake makes it more and more difficult and the 3500 miles doesn’t help either!
March 6, 2014 at 1:20 pm
In my world, it’s mild in my world 🙂 But we’re having a heat wave here now, they say spring will explode this weekend and we had 47F today. I think this is the warmest start of March ever and I do love it. Normally we have way below 32F this time of year so this is a nice change.
Soprry is so fun 🙂 I couldn’t see the award since it’s in the middle of the night here. Why can’t they have it on a Friday instead? Would make life so much easier on this side of the globe 🙂
The birds don’t come as much to the feeders now, they are busy building nests I guess so that can be a reason to why we stop feeding them during summer, they won’t come anyway 🙂
Have a great day!
Christer.
March 6, 2014 at 1:59 pm
Christer,
The weatherman said last night that it is usually in the 40’s every day in March, but has been in the 30’s and the teens at night. I just turned up the heat-I took a shower and was chilly.
Beats me why they do what they do. I did enjoy it this year far more than I had the last few.
My birds come to the feeders all year. I had read that you can continue feeding the birds all summer if you want them to come. I like sitting on the deck while they fly overhead.
Have a great evening!
March 6, 2014 at 3:13 pm
Hey Kat!
I am chuckling at Caryn’s post…I am afraid the only turkeys I come across in NJ have 2 legs, glssses, hair and work for the Division of Motor Vehicles…
Here’s hoping you catch your Sox on TV in spring training and dream thoughts of summer days at Fenway…
The snowbank here is melting…can’t see to the Cape like usual…
Coleen
March 6, 2014 at 3:17 pm
Hi Coleen,
Lots of wild turkeys are here too. They wander around as if they own the world. The last flock I saw had about 14 turkeys.
I watch the spring training report every night at 6 and wish it were warmer. Their first game is at the end of the month.
Our yesterday’s snow has melted. I can see my lawn again which means it will snow soon enough to cover it. I know you have had more in Jersey than we have here. You have my sympathy.
Waving standing on the grass!!
March 6, 2014 at 4:47 pm
At 1pm tomorrow we are supposed to surf (oblique im6 reference) through the magical 32 on our way to 40, before it all changes its mind and get unpleasant. In honour of this momentus occasion I shall be resplendent in Detroit Tigers T shirt and shorts.
The deer are hanging, the robins are on the porch, big Rick is starting to surface and I haven’t seen the turkeys but that doesn’t mean that they aren’t there
March 6, 2014 at 4:59 pm
My Dear Hedley,
Are you talking temperature? The T shirt and shorts seem to lead me in that direction.
We have winter robins so to see one is not a harbinger of spring. When I see the gold finches resplendent in their bright color, I will greet the new season.
Good to know big Rick is stirring.
March 7, 2014 at 6:28 am
Now they are saying only 38f….
March 7, 2014 at 10:19 am
We may reach 40˚ tomorrow!