GREEN
The bright red of my cardinal pops against the muted landscape.
c
A hint of green. Can you see it? The pasture is awakening.
I put out birdfood (actually it is the same mix as the pig food, actually it IS the pg food) for the wild birds at this time of year and especially when I have guests in the airbnb. All the birds end up in the front of the house, the wild birds, the wild chooks and roosters, the guineas and the peafowl. Makes for quite a show for the visitors.
No complaining Wai Wai – you are on a diet for your own good.
He is trying to tell you that this is all he gets for his dinner – that tiny stalk of hay stuck to his lip and that he is locked up, omitting the fact that there is an entire field on the other side of that gate and he had an apple and a boiled egg with his hay for his tea.
The barn is a haven in the wet and blustery weather. Especially for me.
Poppy is looking wide in the belly, but still pretty slim in the hips. I shudder every time I see a cold night forecast, but she is not truly dropping yet so I am thinking we still have at least 10 days – I hope. I see an overnight of 17F/-8C in the forecast in a week. So I am wishfully thinking her past that date.
I trialed her heat lamps and the heated mat on the floor of the piglet’s creep house at the same time and everything stayed on all night without blowing any fuses. I was able to train the camera on the lights so I could check them from inside the house. The baby monitor has controls so I can turn its eye about, like some kind of sci-fi movie. Very useful.
The first batch of oat sprouts are drained and in their trays. They are not sprouting quite yet, the house is a bit cold I think and we were only on Day 2 yesterday anyway. The new batch has been soaking since yesterday morning and will be strained this morning when I wash everything again and start today’s batch. I used a hot nail to make holes across one end of the trays, so the water runs down and out. The trays are sitting on the floor of the shower – slightly raised at one end so the sprouting seeds do not sit in water.
My shelving comes by the first week in April – I hope. By then the floor of the shower will be covered in boxes of draining growing sprouts!! It will be crazy!
I hope you have a lovely day.
Love celi
WEATHER: Rainy and windy but warmer than yesterday.
Tuesday 03/27 80% / 0.08 in
Cloudy. Periods of rain this morning. High 53F. Winds W at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 80%.
Tuesday Night 03/27 20% / 0 in
Considerable cloudiness. Slight chance of a shower throughout the evening. Low 38F. Winds NNW at 5 to 10 mph.
Sun
6:44 am 7:12 pm
Moon
Waxing Gibbous, 80% visible 3:04 pm 4:35 am
50 Comments on “GREEN”
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thekitchensgarden 
That bird is astonishingly vivid and gorgeous in the muted landscape. I’m a bit tired and nervous right now, and I could really use a couple of days in your air bnb, gazing quietly out of the window, instead of hobbling around the house waiting for surgery on my clunking, grinding knee. One week to go… I’m with Poppy: let’s put off the evil moment a bit longer…
Sending you positive vibrations and energies! Just know that all will go well. xo
I have great confidence in the surgeon, he’s not only clever but really nice and friendly and explained everything in great detail. All will be well…
Oh good luck with your surgery Kate. I hope that you will be pain free quickly.
Just one more week to go 🙂
I hope your surgery goes well, and you are back and about very quickly!
The annoying thing is that post surgery I’ll be worse off for at least a week before it starts to get better. Oh well, these things are sent to try us.
Sigh!
Once you start to fall apart, the downhill slide just gets faster and faster
Oh no – poor you. My MIL had knees like that and she was in such pain. Hope the week goes by fast! c
Thank you!
Relax and take it easy before the surgery, unlike the someone we both know who felt he had to get everything done…
I’m have a certain amount of rest enforced, as I’ve had to stop the anti-inflammatories a week before surgery, and it’s back to balloon size and hard to bend… Hope the GO’s fully recovered now.
I had a knee replacement 10years ago at the ripe age of 65….it is a miracle what can be done to keep us mobile.
May your surgery go well and your recovery and PT be easy and quick. Have lots of good books to read !!
Luckily I don’t have to go that far; at 57 I’d feel it was very premature. I have to have a torn cartilage repaired and ‘floaters’ removed. And all through two small cuts on either side!
I didn’t realize you were going in for surgery! I’ll keep good thoughts for you.
It has happened rather fast, luckily, because it’s very uncomfortable. Al good thoughts most welcome 🙂
Oh Wai, I feel your hunger pains looking at your nose….. Want me to call the Head Pig for you? Would that be Sheila? If it is, you are out of luck buddy! Beautiful Cardinal and it is so nice to see a colorful bird after bleak gray days. I saw a blue jay yesterday! Sprout on….. 😉
Head Pig would steal Wai’s rations in a second! c
I see green!
With this rain today it is greening up fast! c
I’m still looking at mounds of snow out my window. Grrr! So even though your fields are drab and brown and grey, they hold the the promise of green. Soon! Good luck with the sprouting! Sending good thoughts to mama Poppy!
OH NO! So much snow this year for you. I think we will have a short summer – maybe even a wet one I am thinking.
I Love your Cardinals, gorgeous. Have they started building their nest yet? Poppy doesn’t seem to be bagging up too seriously just yet either. I will buy my sprouts at Farmers market tomorrow. I can see Spring softly creeping around the harsh edges of winter. Laura
I have two pairs and they nest way way up high – I agree about Poppy – we have cold weather coming again so I am happy to wait.
Poor Wai-Wai! Dieting is so dismal! But, he’ll be better off with the diet plan…in the long run! 🙂
I did not want to put him on a serious diet until he was all healed but he is such a LARD-ARSE! In the end I had to call it. I feel bad but he has Tima as his diet buddy..
Thank you for the beautiful morning thoughts. The cardinal is striking.
Good morning Michelle! c
Some years ago you kindly took a photo for me of Sheila her mouth open receiving a whole egg. You knew I’d get such a kick out of it. But I’m wondering if they too were hard boiled. And with the shell on?
Shell on yes. But I think that was before I started to boil the eggs – I boil them because they waste so much of the egg eating it raw. It dribbling down their chins and they don’t lick their lips or wash themselves.
I had no idea you took an extra effort to cook them!
Yes – no effort really – if the eggs are too dirty they are rinsed and popped into the boiling pot every morning. c
Oh that little snout…😀
I know. Too SAD. c
Sometimes I think like Wai Wai—yes I do.
As long as you don’t put your nose under the door and grunt at passers-by then that is OK.
Hummmm I wonder if I do….I must think about it!
What a beautiful cardinal! Wish we had those out here! Blue jays an hummingbirds come the closest to brilliant colors. YAY for the GREEN! Hang in there, little Wai Wai….it’ll get better
I have seen a hummingbird once here – they are delightful creatures.
!!! I have struggled with fodder for YEARS trying to make something work… That is honestly the most ingenious idea I have heard yet! Simply punch holes in just one end and give them a slight tilt! Omigosh.
Great right? And then set it up so one drains into the other using the water twice of three times- I can’t wait to get a whole lot set up.
So, Poppy will be a Mommy soon, giggle! Oh, and that was “blue jays AND hummingbirds” ooops!
OK!! Have a good one..
waiting to see all those bountiful trays! Cheers!
same here – they are taking their time though – maybe it is still too cold.
Fingers crossed for extra waiting time on Poppy’s babies.
when will this cold END!!!
I’m so late today but got here none the less. Can’t stand to miss anything. So the birds eat the pig food! I guess they will eat anything. And if I were a guest, I’d love that show too. You make me laugh. First I see the photo of Wai sticking his snout out and then there is “LARD-ARSE! ” I’ll giggle for hours. I just can’t imagine 17 degrees. We never see that kind of cold here. Sure never want to see it again. I’m going to bed now and giggle to myself. I’ll try to send some warm.
I bet it’s a joy to see those handsome colourful birds 😊