At the whim of the weather

June ~ thunder, lightning and the greening of the meadow. When the skies darken and the storm clouds gather, David and I prepare to shut the power down. The satellite gets disconnected. Our fridge and any electronics are unplugged from the walls. David can continue his work, for the most part. With a battery pack, he can plug in a light and carry on in his workshop ~ the ring room as we call it. My work is much more weather dependent; the computer is on time out till the storm passes. Even with our power down ~ we can still have a fire in the kitchen wood stove. We can make a cup of tea ~ albeit quickly and carefully so as to not spend to many seconds hovering around the sink or the stove when lightning is active. There is so much power in these early summer storms. Friday's storm was wicked. Sustained thunder that shook our wee house right down to the cold room. Lightning that gives one pause. With some trepidation, we watch where it strikes. This is predictable June weather. And the rain is always welcome! Soon it will be time to hay.

More Feathered Friends

Another lovely Sunday morning in May ~ and more feathered friends to capture on camera. A pair of Evening Grosbeaks dropping in to enjoy the sunflower seeds. And a few shots of our Saturday night Hummingbirds. We've identified these hummers as Calliope wearing the purple necklace, and Rufous with the scarlet headdress. There are wonderful resources available online when our field guides fail us. I especially like the work of the folks at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Their All About Birds website and companion blog 'Round Robin' are well worth visiting. Informative, easy to navigate and chock full of good stuff ... all about birds of course.

One wee hummer on a windy Friday afternoon.

It's been a sunny day today but now the clouds are moving in and the wind is just a whistlin' ... Here's a series of quick snapshots of one hummingbird on the old branch we've located outside our kitchen window. We put this gnarly branch there about 5 years ago and the hummingbirds use it every year. We can see bared patches on the branches now where the hummingbirds routinely clean their beaks. This little hummer hangs on as the wind picks up ...

A mid-May Snow Storm

Spring showers. The shower on May 12th was heavy and white, and a bit of a shock to us but more of a shock to the poor wee hummingbirds and the swallows. The ground and the forest will benefit ~ it was a good soak. And we were pleased this morning to see that almost nothing remained of the snow. We are still getting freezing temperatures almost every night so it is still too early to plant, even in the greenhouse... but soon, surely!

May storms and Meadow birds

The 8th of May. We're enjoying the birds and the rainy days that deliver some pretty spectacular skies!

Feathered friends of spring

Simply ... a Sunday morning in May spent with camera's in hand enjoying some of the beautiful birds on the meadow. American Goldfinch, Evening Grosbeak, Canada Geese, Rufous Hummingbird, Cassin's Finch, Yellow Headed Blackbird.

Spring tonic

This time of year our little dog Kali searches everywhere for the appearance of her Quack grass (aka couch grass, dog grass, twitch grass . . .) By any name it's a favourite herbal medicine of dogs and cats. Kali grazes on the fresh green shoots in spring and summer and fall. She loves carrots and yams too! Smart wee pup. I watch and wait for the little crop of dandelions under our kitchen window. They are always our first spring flowers.

The often vilified Dandelion is as nutritious as broccoli or spinach. It's attractive to birds and deer, and makes excellent food for sheep, horses and poultry.

Dandelions are well known to have medicinal value as a diuretic; fats and cholesterol cutter, gas pain reliever, treatment for kidney stones, cancer and diabetes fighter, blood cleanser, weight reducer, vision sharpener, skin and acne treatment,blood pressure controller and the list goes on ...

All parts of the dandelion are useful. The leaves can be cooked as table vegetables; the blossoms transformed into wines and jelly; and the roots can be dried, roasted, ground and made into coffee. Kali likes her Quack grass fresh. We fight the stuff like everyone else in our garden while appreciating that, should the need or desire arise, the roots of this invasive weed can be dried and ground to flour for making bread or boiled to make a syrup. The roasted root of Quack grass (like dandelion) makes a coffee substitute. The young leaves and shoots can be eaten raw in spring salads and juice from the shoots apparently makes a fine spring tonic. Bright flowers and good eats! Just their appearance on the meadow is tonic enough for one winter weary dog and her humans.