Wordless Wednesday

Chipmunks Galore

There seems to have been a mini baby boom in the chipmunk population living in the 4 rock walls on my property. Or perhaps they have all moved to the mountain; slogging over hill and dale to seek new life and opportunity…. Either way I have loads of them. This is a new development.

Before…

I had snakes. Big 6-foot black snakes. Snakes that would sun themselves on the steps, so you had to be careful coming and going out the front door. Snakes that left old skin under the shrubbery to scare the unsuspecting weeder. Snakes that gorged themselves, then being too stuffed to move, lay draped over the top of the rock walls. Snakes that I was constantly cutting out of the deer netting. Each part of the property had its own black snake.

Then…Poof!

No snakes. Not a single one!

And now I have a bloom in the chipmunk population. I do find chipmunks adorable. I do not mind them living in the rock walls. I even bought a wildlife waterer for them. But enough is enough already.

I think I am sorely in need of snakes. I wonder if they will come back?

Inquiring Bluebird Spouse

"Honey, I'm going out for a snack, can I get you anything?"

Rice Hoarding

What! There is a shortage of rice??? OMG. Rice is my carb of choice. I dashed downstairs to the pantry to heft the bags of rice and peer into canisters. I had lots of arborio rice, plenty of medium-grained and too much long-grained. There was enough basmati to get through at least 2 dinner parties, half a bag of tired looking brown rice, 2 small bags of forbidden rice and some wild rice, which is not really a rice at all. But horrors! I was almost out of Jasmine rice, my favorite type. Given the current situation and all the talk on the news of rice hoarding…where could I get another bag? My favorite Asian store in Hartsdale? Or maybe I should go to the grocery? It was not a desperate situation, should I wait…or not…should I get in line to buy my 4 bags? Where would I store it? In the freezer? (I had a bag of basmati get all weevily on me once.) I took a deep breath. I decided not.

I don’t understand the hoarding thing. Back in the day, people hoarded toilet paper when the state started to tax it. Heck, people were hoarding all kinds of paper products. I have seen people buying up water and bread and flour but never oatmeal or wine or pickled okra in the jar. And ultimately what is the point? Yes food is becoming expensive but most of us could lose some weight, so let’s take this opportunity to consider our portions, eat smaller meals and get healthier in the process. Meanwhile if you see a large bag of Jasmine rice, could you pick me up a bag or two or….

Wordless Wednesday

Earth Day Thoughts

Go Outside and Play.

How many times did you hear this from your parents? If they were like mine, it must have been thousands, right? My sister and I with our friends rode our bikes everywhere, we explored the creek and back roads, we dug caves in sand cliffs (stupid, yes and I almost got killed, but that is a story for another time), we learned about trees and flowers, practiced doing cartwheels on the lawn and captured grasshoppers and lightening bugs in jars. We played kickball in the street and freeze tag on all the neighborhood lawns. We played in everybody’s yard not just our own. No one yelled. No one sued. No one cared.

But times have changed. Now there is talk about Nature Deficit Disorder. But I postulate that this is not just for kids but adults too. While adults may not be afraid; when may I ask, do we have time to go out and play? I seem to spend endless warm sunny days, cleaning the house, doing laundry, and working in the yard. Last year I instituted only cleaning one floor per week. But on the upstairs week, I ended up cleaning the downstairs anyway. So, that never really worked out.

I want to have a personal relationship with the woods and fields. I want to go birding and hiking and riding my bike. I encourage you to join me. Find the time to get out there. If by some miracle you come upon me, stop and say hi. I might have just seen something cool and am dying for someone to share it with.

Daffodil Days

Daffodils are one of my favorite flowers. I planted thousands of them when I first moved to the mountain and now that are multiplying into fantastic stands. Bonus: the deer won't eat them!