Never a day without lines, friends. Never a day without lines.
A snoozing puppy
Knox Farm: a bittersweet return
I returned to Knox Farm today, for the first time since last year. I’ve been wanting to return to my weekly nature walks; they were always calming and inspiring and gave me moments of quiet to recenter my life.
The problem, of course, is that I’d have to go alone. Cane is gone and can’t go with me.
The places we go with certain loved ones really hit differently when we go there without them, don’t they? It felt weird just not having a leash in my hand. Being able to walk or stop at will, without having to take into account the desires of a greyhound who feels it necessary to sniff everything, was…weird. That dog was my companion at such places for eight years. (I could take Carla, but she’s scared of car rides and I don’t want to do that to her. Maybe I’ll try again sometime soon, but I want to get my feet wet again, first.)
It’s been warm of late. The weather is about to turn sharply colder for a few days, but this entire week saw temps in the 70s, and today we’re in the 80s. This was enough to jump-start our spring a bit. The forests are still mostly bare, but…distant hills are starting to look slightly frost-tipped with new green. It’s coming. Hopefully sooner than later.
It was a beautiful walk, and there will be more. I’m going to be getting back to all the old familiar places…but they’ll all feel lonely for a while. I used to take a photo of the two of us and caption it “Adventurers!” on social media. Now, for a while at least, there’s only one adventurer.
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[insert clever title for post that’s mostly photos here]
I’m friggin’ tired, y’all. Here’s some pictures.
First, cats.
Here’s Remy, who is a big weirdo. Look at those mutant feet of his.
Here’s Remy and Rosa, in the windows. This week is the first time we’ve been able to keep windows open consistently since last autumn.
This is Daisy, my mother’s cat. She lives a life of quiet feline dignity.
It’s not all cats! Here’s Carla, being dignified:
Here’s Carla not being dignified:
How about food?
This chocolate bar was awesome. If you love those Ferrero Rocher candies, this is for you–especially if you can’t have the Rochers anymore because they contain gluten. This includes The Wife! Ferrero Rochers were one of her favorite candies ever. This is that exact flavor, minus the crispy interior that’s likely from the gluten.
Last week, I broadened my horizons: for the first time, I made tempura:
This was my recipe. It turned out really good! Everything was wonderfully crispy and flavorful. If you haven’t had tempura, it’s a Japanese batter that is used for dipping and deep-frying vegetables and seafood. I did cubes of cod, shrimp, onions, asparagus (between this and grilling, I may well be a new asparagus fan!), and small peppers. The batter is made of rice flour and uses carbonated water for moisture, and the result is a very light and crispy batter that in some places is almost translucent…and yet, it’s there. This was a terrific meal. As they say on The Repair Shop, “Brilliant! I’m quite happy with that!”
And finally, drink. Specifically, rum punch!
As for tonight? The weather has been gorgeous–even a cold-lover like myself feels the wonder in the return of warm days when they finally arrive–and tonight I’m firing up the grill for the first time. Steak and shrimp, here we come!
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Can it be?
A possible spring-like Spring?
We’re in a stretch of sunny days! After rain for what seemed like seventy-nine consecutive days, we’re finally drying out. Not only does it not look like rain any time soon, but we’re slowly warming up. We may be into the 70s by this time next week. Wow! Today it’s still chilly, but who knows…I may be retiring the sweaters-and-turtleneck look sooner than later, I hope.
Also, a long stretch of sun and dry weather will lead to a less muddy yard, which is always a good thing. Here’s the mighty Carla, sniffing the air for a moment whilst playing with her favorite toy.
And here is one of the cats, staring intently at what she is hoping is a mouse but is really a leaf that had been skittering across the deck in the morning breeze.
It’s also time to switch from knit hats to my wide-brimmed hat. The warm times are coming…I’m sure we’ll have some dips back into coldness in store, but for now, this is welcome!
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On Fridays we post space photos
We don’t necessarily post space photos on Friday, but maybe we should! Here is an oblique view of Mt. Etna on Sicily (note the plume being blown away!), taken from the International Space Station, which at this point is apparently above the Black Sea. Amazing!
Via.
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The Big Island
Two sunrises
Via NASA, sunrise over the Pacific Ocean:
Via me, sunrise just beginning, beyond the trees at work:
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The deer out back
A night amongst the blossoms
The other night we attended a night-time orchid show at the Buffalo and Erie County Botanical Gardens. Somehow we managed to live here for quite a few years before we finally visited the Gardens, and even so we’ve not gone there terribly often. But The Daughter bought The Wife a year’s membership for her birthday, so now we can go more often.
The gardens were gorgeously illuminated in colored lights, and it was a lovely cold winter’s night as we arrived. As we walked up, Venus and Jupiter (I think) were visible in the twilight sky, hanging just above the Garden building. Then, inside…wonder.
