TRY TO BANISH LOVE…

 I heard these words recently and wanted to share. I would love to know your thoughts.

For our international friends to translate:

“Try to banish love to the shadow, it will only reach harder for the sun.”

MUTE SWAN FAMILY

I am very thankful for old photos to share, especially in wintertime when we don't go very far, and as we get older. These were taken in 2014.

I enjoyed reading my notes and had a nice refresher on these elegant birds. 

The male and the female, called cob and pen, usually mate for life, though if something happens to one, the other will find another mate.  

The nest is a huge mound of material, normally dried grasses and assorted vegetation, sticks and rushes, constructed at the water's edge. 

The nest is built by the female, while the male supplies the materials. 

The female lays up to seven eggs between late April and early May. Both sexes incubate the eggs, which hatch after 35-41 days. 

The young birds, or cygnets, sometimes ride on their parents' backs and remain with the adult birds for four or five months. 

Cygnets are generally dingy brown above and whit-ish below. Occasionally, cygnets may be all white and are known as 'Polish swans'. 

The young of some pairs are driven off the breeding territory as soon as their plumage is predominantly white (during late autumn or winter). 

Other broods often accompany their parents to the wintering area and usually join a large flock. They will remain with this flock when the parents return to their breeding territory. 

Young birds will not generally breed for the first two years of adult life.

The oldest ringed wild mute swan was 15 years old.

We had stopped at a lake and there was a family feeding the swans. That's the reason we were able to get these photos.

Mom and Dad were doing a great job taking care of their little ones.

We saw our mute swan family on our way to the airport for the flight home. They were a nice parting gift.

I added my year review on that old post. In 2014 we were in the Everglades in January. In the middle of summer, we had a family reunion where we all attended the Normandy D-Day Anniversary, and then onto England and Norway, the latter being where we saw the family of swans.

We have lovely memories from those times.

Thanks for looking and I hope you have a wonderful day!

A POEM BY MY ALL-TIME FAVORITE - A REPEAT I THINK BUT WORTH REVISITING

What can I say that I have not said before?

So I’ll say it again.

The leaf has a song in it.

Stone is the face of patience.

Inside the river there is an unfinishable story

And you are somewhere in it

And it will never end until it ends.

Take your busy heart to the art museum and the

Chamber of commerce 

But take it also to the forest.

The song you heard singing in the leaf when

You were a child

Is singing still.

I am of years lived, so far, seventy-four,

And the leaf is singing still.

“What Can I say”

by

Mary Oliver

MONDAY RECIPE POST - DUTCH BABY MADE FOR BREAKFAST ON WEDNESDAY-1/28/25

Gregg sent me a text with this recipe. He found it on Instagram and there was a video of a young lady putting a Dutch Baby together. That link is here. He had never heard of a Dutch Baby before and I suggested we make it soon. I said let's have it for breakfast the next day, which we did (the 28th Jan). 

Very easy! You mix all the ingredients in a blender. 

We didn't have an iron skillet or an oven-proof frying pan but did have a round, small-ish Dutch Oven, which served well. Probably you can see how prettier this Dutch Baby is in the flatter skillet (seeing more of the puffed-up effect) but ours turned out great. 

Dutch Baby:

4 eggs, 

1/2 cup milk, 

2 tablespoons maple syrup or sugar

1/2 cup flower

Pinch of salt

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 stick of butter (4 tablespoons)

Equipment: cast iron skillet or as in our case, a Dutch Oven.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. 

In a blender, put the eggs, milk, maple syrup or sugar, flour, a pinch of salt and vanilla extract. Blend until combined. This doesn't take long, about 15 to 30 seconds, but you be the judge. 

Add half a stick of butter (4 tablespoons) to a cast iron skillet and place in oven to melt. (When you take it out it is going to be incredibly hot, so don't forget to wear your most durable oven mitts.) 

Once butter is melted, carefully pour your batter in the center of the skillet. It will spread out and you won’t have to worry about greasing any further. Put in the oven for 20 (our oven runs cooler so 22-23 minutes for us). 

When done, carefully take it out and leave for a couple of minutes. Cut into pie sections to serve and enjoy. The sides puff up beautifully but expect it to deflate as it cools.

Dust powdered sugar and top with a fruit compote, whipped cream, maple syrup or any favorite topping. We ate ours topped with pineapple, blueberries and maple syrup. 

I expect many of you have eaten these Dutch Babies before, but this was the first time that we had made one ever. We intend to make it again and am adding it to my collection.  A 10 out of 10 from both of us and above all, very easy to do.

Pro tips for blending:

Liquid first! Always add the milk and eggs to the blender first, then dry ingredients (flour, salt) on top. This prevents flour from getting stuck to the blades.

Avoid over-blending: if you are making thick pancakes, over-blending can develop too much gluten, making them rubbery or tough.

Let it rest: for the best texture, let the batter rest for 15-30 minutes after blending. This allows bubbles to settle and the flour to fully hydrate, resulting in more tender pancakes.

The following is the full address to the Instagram account, for you to copy and paste if you prefer that to the link above.

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DT3YL3LDpc_/?igsh=M2FheHA4ZmxkYjhr

Why is this oven-cooked pancake called Dutch Baby?

The term 'Dutch Baby' originated in the early 1900s at Manca's Cafe in Seattle, Washington. 

The name is believed to be a mispronunciation or 'Americanization' of the German word 'Deutsch' (meaning German) by the owner's daughter, rather than having any actual origin in the Netherlands. 

It is based on a German pancake dish known as Pfannkuchen. 

The name arose from a confusion between 'Deutsch' (German) and 'Dutch'. 

Manca's Cafe operated in Seattle from the 1900s to the 1950s, and popularized the term and reportedly trademarked it in 1942. 

The term 'baby' is believed to refer to the smaller, individual, or miniature version of the pancake that the restaurant served, according to some interpretations.

Thanks for looking and have a great day. 

Bon Appétit!

HAPPY SUNDAY EVERYONE - SATURDAY TO SATURDAY - STARTING 2/7/26

The weather above is for next week. As you will be able to see we are going to have higher temperatures. I am looking at Tuesday in particular.

I haven't done one of these for a while but felt like jotting things down, even though it was all pretty mundane. 

Saturday 2/7/26: I'm busy trying to take a photo of a white-throated sparrow in the flat-feeder. He's a quick one, I haven't been successful in getting him full body, the same with a wren and blue jay. The juncos are more cooperative. 

As for the others, either they are super-fast at picking up their seed or my reflexes are slowing down. Let's just say those birds are faster than I am! 

60 mile per hour winds were expected but it wasn't as windy as I have seen in the past. Son texted me and said that he had to hold onto the steering wheel and saw a downed tree. We got our front tree trimmed a few months ago, but we need more taken off and this is a solid reminder.  

The snow has melted a bit, but with these low temperatures, it is going to be a long time before all this snow and ice disappears.

Hubs went to the supermarket and picked up a doughnut for breakfast. He also stopped in at the coffee shop next door for me. Saturday is doughnut treat-day for both of us.

Sunday 2/8/26: son came over. He called later after he had picked up our daughter-in-law and as always, we are looking forward to getting together with both, hopefully soon. 

We introduced son to Spike and he immediately got his cell phone out. The apple doesn't fall far from the tree, says I smiling.  

We have the traditional selfie of the three of us before he leaves. Gregg made this one into a painting. It doesn’t get our exact likenesses but we liked it.

Monday 2-9-26: Gregg went to the dentist and he has to have a back molar removed after having had some discomfort this past week. They wanted to do a lot more work than he was prepared for. That's to be sorted out next week. 

I had a quick chat with my brother-in-law in Germany and will be followed by a FaceTime soon. He's like a brother rather than a brother-in-law. I have known him since I was 13. 

Oh joy, we have had mouse activity in our car as you will see from yesterday's Saturday at the Bird Feeder Post. The surrounding where the shift is, has been chewed considerably, and a big hole made. The photos don't show the full damage. You can actually lift up a big flap that shows more damage. This was done in one night! Two years ago we had huge cachet of sunflower seeds tucked into a pocket on top of the engine. The previous link takes you to that story, but you'll have to scroll down. Maybe they are seeking the warmth of the car. This one certainly likes the taste of it.

A few years before that, the snow was elevated up to the dryer vent outside and a mouse got into our basement that way, through the tiniest hole! 

Gregg lifted the hood this time and said he couldn't see any damage, but we're going to be having an oil change and will get the guys to do a double check. I will also be checking the basement. 

Tuesday 2/10/26: Gregg read up on how to keep pests away naturally. He bought a small container of peppermint aromatherapy, yesterday and sprayed it on cottonwool balls as the article suggested. These he placed near the gear shift and others under the seat and in other areas. He did this last night and no more signs of chewing today. Fingers crossed! 

No breakfast today and for lunch we went to McDonalds for a burger and fries. The car smelled lovely though a little overpowering with that peppermint smell.

Dinner was quite late and we had a medley of roasted veggies; potatoes, carrots, quartered onions, and broccoli, cooked with avocado spray and all done on one sheet, popped in the oven. We had bought a Costco rotisserie chicken the day before, and had more for tonight's meal. We have leftovers for tomorrow. Pretty plain cooking but we both enjoyed. 

Wednesday 2/11/26: we ate the leftover vegetables for breakfast/lunch, tossing them around in the frypan for a few minutes. We added sliced tomatoes and an egg, plus a slice of toast. Very good! We had a relatively light supper. Roast chicken again, Lacy Swiss Cheese and lettuce on a focaccia roll. Also, very good and a no fuss cooking day. 

Gregg went out to try and find this boot replacement that the mouse chewed on. Didn’t have any success at the two auto shops. We will probably end up taking it to our dealership. 

I forgive you mouse, you were just following your instincts. Please find another warm place to stay, preferably not at our place. Sorry about the peppermint (not really, our pockets will be a little emptier thanks to you)! 

A quiet day today. Pottered around, did some housework, did a little computer work (I had fun putting a few things together as you can see), I read a bit. 

The temperature rose above freezing and there was a bit of snowmelt. I can see more of the deck. I will be glad to get out there and clean up. It was all quiet at the feeders today.

Thursday 2/12/26: Gregg had his back molar taken out, thankfully a little sooner than expected as there was some infection and they gave him an early appointment. He is doing very well he says. No brushing his teeth for a couple of days his dentist told him. Scrambled eggs, mashed potatoes and soup are on the menu. I was surprised how chipper he seemed to be and very happy that tooth is now gone. I have an idea it was bothering him more than he said.

Spike was back today with his sister, Sister of Spike. Would you believe they both have barely any fur on their tails? I looked it up. Squirrels do have health issues but these two seemed okay otherwise, not scratching and bright-eyed. Other reasons were interesting, as they do molt and also take the fur off their tails to put in their nests for insulation. That's the first time I've heard about that. Neither of them seem to have any health issues and are quite lively and happily stuffing their faces.

This one has a nice healthy tail.

Hubs checked, no more mouse activity, fingers crossed! 

Friday 2-13-26: 39 degrees F. today. Even more snow off the deck. Across the street it is disappearing from people’s front lawns. Not ours yet as they get a lot more sun on their side of the street. At least our driveway and pathway to the front door are clear.

Breakfast was scrambled eggs with cheese, toast for me, and a small glass of orange juice, also berries bought yesterday. I have just finished a cup of black coffee and am blogging for a bit.  

After spending a quiet morning, we made another batch of Thai-style soup. You can see my post here if you missed it. We made several changes by adding extra broth, and we had no green onions for the garnish (also none to put in the soup). A yellow onion did nicely. No carrots - replaced them with peas. Also, added a combination of pasta and dumplings (no potstickers in our freezer, or regular noodles in the pantry). He liked the idea of adding Girelle pasta (recommended by our son) - a little Thai-Italian fusion going on here - and I like my miniature chicken and cilantro dumplings, so we put them in together. He added the left-over Costco rotisserie chicken and I suggested adding fresh cilantro, but he wanted it just for garnish as he wasn't sure about putting it in the soup while cooking. Next, a little lemon juice also at the table, a few splashes of Sriracha, and a teaspoon of Chili Crisp. Sounds an awful lot of ingredients I know, but this turned out really well and is now one of our favorite soups.

We had a tot of Harvey's Bristol Cream Sherry before we went to bed. I told Gregg in dramatic fashion, and with pauses, that "It greets - the nostrils - like - an old friend." I got the wanted reaction when he laughed. Doesn't take much to keep our funny-bones going. We, after all, laugh at all jokes that are groaners and often laugh at ourselves.

Off to bed, it's been another fast day.

Saturday 2/14/26: Gregg is doing well after his tooth extraction. He's a trooper I tell him, and having those good genes from his parents may have helped. He also had a long chat with his sister and brother-in-law first thing, and that is always a great start to the day. He went out to our local supermarket and bought our Saturday doughnuts. His choice because I may have mentioned in passing, that we should leave it this week but no, he looks forward to them. He also popped in next door to get my coffee. 

We are not doing anything special for Valentine's Day. It's hopeless trying to get a seat at a restaurant locally and a lot of places don't take reservations. I don't have the patience or ability to wait an hour for a table, not that I ever did even when I was younger. We're not ones for doing anything too much. At the same time, I love seeing what you do. 

I enjoyed watching the birds turn up at the feeders this morning. Above we have a Male house finch and a female Cardinal. Mr. Cardinal was nearby and I'll share him another time. 

I am looking forward to many things about the warmer weather, one of them is washing down the deck, and giving it a good scrub after all this snow we've had. We will be going to the garden center to buy flowers for the planters. I am determined to grow herbs this year. It's 54 degrees F. today.

 How nice it will be to sit out there with a hot drink, relax and enjoy the fresh air. Simple things sometimes are the best. When dear other half went to the supermarket this morning, I threw clothes in the washing machine. I found a simple joy in that. 

We just had a photo sent from our son. He and our daughter-in-law are standing in a very, very long line at Chateau de Chantilly Bakery. They introduced us to the place last year and we love it, but it gets very busy at the best of times and can be hard to find a table. One thing I noticed, they're all young-uns standing in this line, which reaches to the back of the store. Gregg replied that we are going to that other fancy French restaurant, Chick-fil-a. He said "Nothing but the best for my gal." Did I laugh out loud! And yes, that's where we decided to go. We enjoy Chick-fil-a. Their young staff are always polite and friendly, and even with the longest line, we can get through fast. And the food is consistently good. Son said their place was hopping, and I am very glad we're not standing in that long line. (Back home now and we enjoyed as always.) We go through the drive-thru and our friend here always greets us before we pick up our food.

On our way I took one photo as we left the neighborhood. People are starting to get out and about, and the snow is beginning to melt. A beautifully sunny day at 55 degrees F. Tomorrow it's going to be colder, 45 degrees and promising rain all day. 

I'm going to finish here and get this scheduled for midnight. I don't see us doing anything else today of note.

If you stuck through all of this mundane to the end, I thank you. If you skipped entirely, I'm grateful that you popped in and to all who leave a comment, I very much appreciate that. 

A big thank you to those of you who follow me. I have tried to follow other blogging friends but I keep getting a message to say I am at my 100 percent capacity and can follow no more. I have tried deleting a few who no longer visit, but am having a dickens of a time trying the steps I have been given on a help line. Anyone have step-by-step instructions on how to delete some followers? These are the ones who no longer visit by the way, and I do want to support my more recent blogging friends.  

SATURDAY MORNING AT THE BIRD FEEDER AND HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!

I received Ann's happy mail a few days ago, but with Valentine's Day coming up soon, I decided to keep it for today, on the 14th. Always a happy day to get one of your cards in the mail Ann. Thank you so much! 

I wish you and everyone out there A Very Happy Valentine's Day! 

I'm sure you'll all agree, this is a beautiful card. I have quite a collection of them now, and it will be going into my special box of Ann's treasured keepsake cards after having it on display for a week or so.

Now onto what's been going on around here at the Bird Feeder. Those birds have been all of a dither with the latest news. Please enlarge to read all the photos for a closer look if needed.

(WD-40 explained below)

Now they smell to high heaven of peppermint every time they get out of the car! There are some very strange looks in their direction. The car will be getting some cosmetic maintenance very soon.

Tomorrow I am sharing a Saturday to Saturday journal, and more of this mouse story will be in there.

And that's how it's going on a Saturday Morning at the Bird Feeder!

Thanks for visiting and 

I hope you all have a great weekend.

                

For our international friends to translate using the widget on my side bar.

Photo 1:

"Did you hear about the ruckus? A mouse got in the house.

"I heard it was the car."

"It chewed a big hole in the boot that holds the gear shift."

"Uh-oh!"

"It was me. It gets very cold out there. I need a warm place to nest."

Photo 2:

"Mouse, what are you doing down there. You're not chewing a hole in our feeder are you?"

"Errr...no, Of course I'm not."

"He's telling a lie. I know about these things."

Photo 3:

"I read that WD-40 works great for keeping mice out of a car. It didn't work, he's still here."

"At least he's not squeaking any more."

Photo 4:

"Camera Lady's husband put peppermint spray on cotton wool balls."

(WD-40 is a versatile, petroleum-based spray famous for its ability to displace water, prevent rust, lubricate moving parts, penetrate stuck components and clean surfaces. It also takes those sticky labels off your cups and saucers and anything similar. It is essentially a “toolkit in a can” designed for a wide array of maintenance tasks. For our overseas friends you probably have your equivalent. I got this little bit of info from Google.)

Added note: I found this information from the company’s website.

In 1953, a fledgling company called Rocket Chemical Company and its staff of three, set out to create a line of rust-prevention solvents and degreasers for use in the aerospace industry. Working in a small lab in San Diego, California, it took them 40 attempts to get the water displacing formula worked out. But they must have been really good, because the original secret formula for WD-40 Multi-Use Product - which stands for Water Displacement perfected on the 40th try - is still in use today.

WHEN THE ENGLISH...

 Here is an interesting poem I found on Pinterest recently. 

When the English tongue we speak

Why is break not rhymed with weak?

Won't you tell me why it's true

We say sew, but also few?

And the maker of a verse

Cannot rhyme his horse with worse?

Beard is not the same as heard,

Cord is different from word,

Cow is cow, low is low,

Shoe is never rhymed with foe.

Think of hose and dose and lose,

And think of goose and yet of choose,

Think of comb and tomb and bomb,

Doll and roll and home and some.

And since pay is rhymed with say,

Why not paid with said I pray?

Think of blood and food and good;

Mould is not pronounced like could.

Why is done, but gone and lone -

Is there any reason known?

To sum it up, it seems to me

That sounds and letters don't agree.

"When the English Tongue we Speak"

by

~Evelyn Baring~

The author is Evelyn Baring, 1st Earl of Cromer. You can read more about him if you click on his name underneath the poem. I haven't read all the way through his biography yet, as I wanted to get this published for my blog post. He seems to be a very interesting person.

His poem, often titled "Our Strange Lingo" or "Our Queer Language", was written by him and first published in the London magazine, The Spectator, on August 9th, 1902. 

The verses are frequently used by English teachers and language enthusiasts to illustrate the frustrating inconsistencies between English spelling and pronunciation. 

While Lord Cromer wrote this specific version, it is often confused with a much longer and more complex poem titled "The Chaos," written by Dutch traveler, writer and teacher, Gerard Nolst Trenité in 1920, which follows a similar theme.

RANDOM PHOTO - THE 'HUSH BABY' CHERUBS

A few years ago, I found this at Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden, a place I would dearly love to go back to. It is a two-hour plus drive away and we thought it would be nice to stay overnight somewhere. Maybe in the Springtime.

I checked Google and found more information about this urn. It is called a Lead Cherub Urn or Putti Lead Finial, typically used as a decorative garden focal point. It features a central neoclassical-style urn garnished with floral garlands and two seated cherubs (or putti) on either side.

These specific figures are sometimes referred to as "hush baby" cherubs due to their finger-to-mouth pose.

Thanks for visiting and wherever you are, I hope you are having a great week.

A FEW FLOWERS FOR YOU TODAY -

With many of us still having a lot of snow on the ground, I thought it would be nice to share these today. They were all taken a few summers ago.

Double Coneflower

Echinaceae purpurea

'Pink Double Delight'

Asteraceae

Sunflower

Helianthus annuus

Water Lilies

Nymphaea odorata

Milk Thistle

Carduus Marianus

Gaura

Gaura lindheimeri

'Sikou Pink'

Onagraceae

Lily

Lilium regale

'Album'

Liliaceae

I hope you have enjoyed this little bit of warmth and sunshine.

Thanks for dropping in. 

I hope your day is a great one.