The Quiet of Mornings

One of the things that I enjoy most about morning chores,

aside from the spectacular sunrises,

is the sound of birdsong.

In the spring and summer, I work to a symphony of chirps and tweets.

However, in the winter, when everyone has flown to warmer climes,

it's a bit quiet around here.

Gone are the songs of the robins, the bluebirds, the swallows, red-winged blackbirds,

towhees,  larks,  wrens,

and so many others.

Aside from an occasional tweet, the caw of a crow, or the cry of a hawk in the skeletal tree tops,

the birdsongs these days are minimal.

Most of the bird activity is centered around our bird feeders.

We keep them stocked year-round.

Daily feeders include cardinals, bluejays, dark eyed juncos,

house finches, purple finches,

goldfinches in their drab, olive-green winter garb,

nuthatches, sparrows, and woodpeckers.

During other seasons, we are treated to a wide array of bird species,

either here for the warm weather, or passing through as they migrate

north to south, or south to north.

This week has us locked in the icy grip of winter...

next week might be different.

You never know around here.

Regardless, our ground remains frozen and white.

The horses spend their days in the pasture, hay supplied, since

grass is covered by snow, except for small patches cleared by last weeks rains.

I miss lounging in the grass with the pigs...

a regular afternoon activity in the summertime.

They still come running to the treat corner each time they hear the gator.

Of course, we stop and reward them with crackers... spoiled girls!

From time to time I have talked about the way we eat here on the farm.

For many months of the year we are able to pick what we eat from the garden.

We have two freezers in the basement that contain local, grass-fed meat...

bought bulk at a better price.

However, our diet is weighted more heavily towards the vegetable group.

For instance, this is a typical breakfast these days.

Sautéed Brussels sprouts and red peppers,

with kale,

topped with avocado slices,

two of our home raised eggs,

cheese and tomatoes.

There's nothing like starting one's day off with a healthy serving of veggies!

Here is a little nutritional tip-bit for you...

did you know....

you absorb more nutrition from raw vegetables than cooked....

with the exception of carrots.

Cooked carrots are more nutritious than raw... 

because cooking them facilitates their absorption.

As for vegetable cooking... I either sauté or roast my vegetables.

(unless they are in soup)

Water never touches them (except to wash them...and when I grow them in my own garden,

they don't get washed)

(ok....except the root veggies, of course)

I have read that there is a certain benefit in consuming the "terroir"

of a homegrown crop (organic, of course)...

terroir being the conditions that are specific to the exact place where that crop was grown...

often used when discussing grapes.

Regardless, it makes me feel closer to my land to know that a little

of that good dirt becomes a part of me.

Lastly,

I've started knitting another sweater.

Yes, 2019 might be the year of the sweater for me - 

I think I am hooked.

(more appropriate to say if I were crocheting, I guess)

This sweater is one that I found in an old issue of Making Magazine...

mossy-green vines with colorful buds forming -

a gentle reminder that spring is coming.

Eventually.