Merry Mary

A week or so ago we went to a church in the Italian village neighborhood of Columbus. The men at the door greeted us with "Buon Giorno!" and part of the mass was said in Italian. It's still all Greek to me, but the church is beautiful, and this statue of Mary and Gabriel was stunning.

We are off for a week, to a place where mass will be all in Spanish, and the air will be warm.

Merry Christmas to all, and a very Happy New Year!

Holiday Chicken Cheer

Chickens are easily entertained. They also eat everything, including, yes, chicken. The more we get know them, we are finding out that they do have their favorites. One of the foods they seem to enjoy the most is sunflower seeds.



These are roasted, and salted sunflower seeds. That might make a difference, and might be good for their diet in general (they need some salt like we do). They will run up to us now, if they think we have any of these little seeds to sow, directly onto the ground, especially for them.



Claire had a brilliant idea recently. She carefully stuck the seeds all over an apple, and hung it up for the chickens in their coop. It was a fun way to feed them, and an entertainment to boot. The apple would move away from their pecking, but somehow they managed to get them all out, in a rather short amount of time.  Who said chickens weren't smart?

All good things must come to an end, of course. And this treat did just that for them.



It's a good thing that there is warm earth for them to dig, and 'bathe' in. Two dirty little chooks, all filled up with sunflower seeds. Happiness could not be simpler than that.

December 10

We are deep into December now. Yet it was just a day or two ago did we feel like winter has actually arrived here in central Ohio. There were flurries falling, and frozen chicken water. The roofs are now painted white in the morning with frost. The buzzing of the central heating system has become more of a constant background music, along with holiday tunes from the children's hums.



Winter is here.



Together with an additional egg that we found in the coop today, on the opposite side of where the other layer (Squash) had been using as a nesting area.



Perhaps these chickens are territorial? No matter, we were elated to have found the newly laid (bigger) egg. Butternut, the new layer, got a few extra deserved hugs and smooches throughout the day.



What we also found in the branches by our house was a wary red-tailed hawk. A predator who loves small pseudo-flightless birds. Beautiful they are, yes. But a little too close to the coop for our liking. He (or she) must have a nest nearby for this was not our first sighting of this creature.



Ah yes. Life is full of excitements. Eggs, hawks, and even this frozen stick of ice. December 10th has been a good day.

Grand Rapids Thanksgiving

The main difference between where we live and where to go to visit family in Michigan is water. To be fair, the more important thing is that we have family members to see and friends to visit. But water...there is more water in the state up north, and for that, we are thankful.



We were also thankful about so much more, on this Thanksgiving occasion.



Besides family, friends, and water, good health and a good life, we reminisced and celebrated our children's birthday – their 8th this year.



Each year, I marvel at how much life has happened in the last 8 years.  There is no doubt that the entrance of these two wonderous beings have enriched our lives (and so many others) in the short time frame. Life would not be the same without them, nor would we ever want to imagine it otherwise.



They make life complete.

The Natural Scientist

There are, according to the little scientist, precisely 26 science experiments happening at the moment, inside this little house of ours. If you were interested, he would give you a tour of each one, with elaborate descriptions. You might even get the Latin name of certain species. Or maybe not.



So what if we have less glasses and plates to use...



Or a lot of salt crystals to step on...



There is definitely more dirt (well, soil) in the house...



And many pleas for vegetable parts (seeds, roots, tops, you name it)...



I am just thankful that he loves the wonders and miracles of nature. He is teaching himself about life, and how it works (at least for now it's the Plant Kingdom. Phew).



Those of us who know him well have no doubt in our minds that he is a budding scientist. Only time will tell, yes, but so do these 26 experiments and many more to come!

The Colors of Now

November 10, 2011. I made a fresh green salad from the garden.

Despite the several frosty mornings we have had, our greens are still thriving out in the open air. I was told that these greens are cold-loving, but I didn't realize that they would this sturdy. Not a single frost bite on these delicate leaves!



We have Tat soi, Tatsuma, spinach, arugula, and some baby lettuces in the garden. I had a grandiose idea of creating a low tunnel so that we could grow them deep into the winter this year... but there they are, still exposed to the real world of unpredictable temperatures of central Ohio.



We are really heading into the cold season now (I think), and soon these hardy plants will give up the fight, too.



It's been lovely to have the vibrant greens with the warm autumn hues, to rely on our own garden for the salads and toppings on soups and chilis.



But perhaps more importantly, they have been good for the soul, inside and out.

The Best Chocolate Chip Cookies

Last I checked, nobody can really say that they 'don't like chocolate chip cookies'. Maybe some people can say...well, they are not my favorite cookies, but really now, who can resist these buttery, all American, heaven-on-earth morsels?



But not every recipe results in the best chocolate chip cookies. I think you would agree. Some recipes result in cake-like cookies, and some are too crispy, or plain unpalatable. We have made some of those ourselves, and have eaten far too many to know why we even bothered.



Besides the fact that these are the best chocolate chip cookies that I have ever made, I really like it that the recipe asks for melted butter, and not room temperature butter. I lack patience, and sometimes planning... So to have the butter to ready for the room-temp baking process can be tough. To be able to melt the butter and add to the recipe, and have the best cookies in less than 30 minutes? Brilliant.


Chocolate Chip Cookies
Recipe from Gooey Chewy Crispy Crunchy

Ingredients:

2 1/4 cups unbleached all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 lb unsalted butter, melted and still warm
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup packed brown sugar, lump free
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
2 cups chocolate chips


Equipment: 

2 cookie sheets, ungreased or lined with foil, dull side up

Combine the flour, baking soda and salt in a bowl and mix together thoroughly.

In a large bowl, combine the melted butter with the sugars, vanilla, and the eggs. Stir in the flour mixture just until all the dry ingredients are moistened. Stir in the chocolate chips. If possible, let the dough stand for 1-2 hours.

Preheat oven to 375ºF. Position racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven.

Scoop rounded tablespoons of dough and place them 3 inches apart on the ungreased or lined cookie sheets. Bake for 9-11 minutes or until the cookies are just lightly brown on the edges. Remove from the oven and let the cookies firm up on the pan for 1-2 minutes. Cool completely before storing or stacking. Can be kept in airtight containers for several days, but best eaten right away!

The hunt for tadpoles

Because we don't have enough pets around here, we felt a need to add a couple more living things to the mix. Tadpoles. Bullfrog tadpoles, to be precise.



The hunt was not really a hunt - that would be a dis-service to the description of what a real hunt should be. This was more like a quick find, and a quick scoop, and there we are, two tadpoles to bring home.



They are only spending a couple of nights with us, don't worry. We have tried to 'raise' tadpoles before (according to the in-house naturalist), back in Boston when we lived in an apartment, no less. We (umm...I) even boiled some lettuce as per the instructions of the said naturalist. Supposed to be good food for the little critters. Hmmm...wonder if it was the wrong kind of lettuce...



But it was a beautiful day, at the beautiful Franklin Park Conservatory. The kids were joyous and fulfilled. What else could you ask for?

The neglected Pears

Our CSA gave us a lot of pears last week... And here they still are, looking pretty, albeit neglected.

What shall become of them?

Today's Sky

There is a lot of raking now... one of those activities that makes one feel so good for a mere second...until the next hundreds of leaves start to fall down again, atop the nicely cleared away portion of land.

I don't mind it somehow. It's rather meditative, and momentarily satisfying like I said. And when you have this kind of sky to look up to, well, raking or not, it's quite a gift from the sky.

Alley Walk

Once or twice a week, I have alone time with my little girl. Sometimes we read together quietly, sometimes we cook. Sometimes we do crafts, and sometimes we talk. Recently, we have been going on these 'alley walks'... just my little girl, and I. You can come along, too, if you wish. It's a pretty time of year to join us, after all.