210715 Sky Birds Mosaic Kitchen
July 15
Nature imitating art: it's like a Turner painting.
This morning clouds were sleeping in the Missisquoi Valley. They spend every night in the valley these days. Lazy, they usually get up long after the sun, still sleepy. This morning they were being sentient, and purposeful, crawling up the mountain, as if searching for some graveyard to shroud.
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Overnight, tunnel spiders arrived, yesterday not a one, today dozens have woven their blanket webs all over the lawn, big and little. Each web has a small hole down into the ground where they wait for hapless prey to be caught. Perhaps they all hatched overnight, or marched in for a grand siege. These two webs are about 10 inches across, among the largest. The web in the first picture was not the only one with a teepee-like cone strung up to a tall plant.
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The bluebirds flew away a couple of weeks ago; they took their nestlings on a Hansel-and-Gretel adventure to lose them in the wide world. Yesterday they returned to the birdhouse at the corner to have a second brood. I am happy to see them back. The northern (yellow-shafted) flicker is visiting the lawn just now with her young fledgling, feeding it and showing it how to find bugs in the grass. I am learning to recognize its call. Yellow goldfinches are everywhere, darting bright lemon, not really gold at all. The hummingbirds visit the feeder on the porch every hour, for a quick sip, before humming off again on important business. I had forgotten that they make a little peep sound, until I heard one at the feeder. I hear other birds in the distance whose songs I don't recognize and of course the jays and ravens, whom I do recognize, are regulars on the west ridge. We don't see the nuthatches often but I hear them all the time - they make a tiny duck-quack sound. The phoebes and the ubiquitous robins are here daily as well, to take advantage of our short-cut lawn where moths and bugs are easy pickings. The robin is actually a thrush, not at all like the United Kingdom robin except for its red breast. It is a handsome bird, really, and I am sure we'd all be very excited to see them if they were not so common! They are a plain brown, but their head is black and their beak is yellow. Their whole breast is brick red, always noticeable. They have little white tips on either side of their tail. Yet they are so common and well-recognized that they are a "rule of thumb" of the birders' world. Included in most species' descriptions is "bigger than a robin", or "smaller than". They are a significant harbinger of spring and a favorite on Christmas cards, maybe not so neglected after all, I guess.
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Yesterday we had rain and thunder though I didn't see any lightning. The storm ended with the requisite rainbow - ever the same miracle mirage, one cannot get tired of seeing them - and some show-off cloud drama!
Today is hot, with only a slight breeze: big poofy clouds traverse the sky but there is no hint of rain. I have surrendered to the valley's bewitching spell at last. I was trying to resist falling in love with this place, knowing that we might not remain here for very long, but I have given away my heart and trust that I can carry my memories of this place with me when I go. I am grateful for each day that I am here.
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My first Quebec mosaic is finished. The bowl is all local: brokens and the bread bowl base as well. I am almost finished a second piece, completely local, as well, which has surpassed my expectations! I am on a roll, feeling once again the inspiration and competence to do good work. It took a while for my fingers to remember how to grout efficiently, but it is going well now. The local Tour des Arts wraps up this weekend. Perhaps next year I might be part of it. That would be exciting!
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In the kitchen today there is a pot of chickpeas just cooked. Some will be frozen as is, for later meals. About half I will make into hummus, a double batch, half of which I will freeze. The other half I will serve tomorrow - hummus always tastes WAY better the day after it's made. I often cook two pounds of beans at a time, it saves money as well as time and they freeze very well as they are or prepared into a recipe. Also this morning I made a quinoa salad, my "not-couscous" salad which will make up some of tonight's dinner. Sweet potatoes and fruit will round out the meal. We have been enjoying the local strawberries - definitely magical. I love eating food that has been grown nearby, ripe and fresh from the field.
There is a company in Quebec that is building a greenhouse that will "more than double the company's existing greenhouse capacity." * Their aim is to reduce our dependence on imported produce, which is a great thing for the environment, for our health (fresher) our mental well-being (local foods) and for the cost. Imagine that you had needed to book a flight from Mexico for the mangoes on your counter. Is it not absurd to fly in fruit from so far away?
While I was minding the stove I managed to get a load of laundry out to dry, as well. I am taking the rest of the day off with a clear conscience. I will sit on the porch and watch the valley, the clouds, the patches of sunlight and the misty distant hills. I'll take my guitar out, I think. I haven't played music for a couple of weeks! I hope the noise won't deter the hummingbird! I will move down the porch away from the feeder.
Hooray for vaccinations! I am almost recovered from my reaction. I think I will probably go on wearing a mask; it's almost a fashion accessory now and I haven't had a cold or flu since March, 2020. That has been a good thing!
Thank you for visiting. Keep well.
Mumma Yaga
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