Wild Diet Food

During the winter, my pants seem to have shrunk. To lose some of the long nights hibernation fat, I am eating less. It's a wild idea I thought I'd try.

My elderly farmer neighbor years ago extolled the taste of spring nettle greens. It sounded a little scary to me, to actually put something in my mouth that caused blisters on the skin. Well, this spring I got brave and tried some.

Cutting the greens with scissors, while wearing gloves (I'm not all that brave) I then checked online to see if this really was a sensible thing to do. Imagining it would require sixteen changes of water, I was relieved to see that the painful parts of stinging nettles disappear after a mere thirty seconds in boiling water.

They turned out to be not only tasty, but a fabulous way to lose weight. Right away, I could feel my pants getting looser. That was last week.

Just knowing that I had access to that miracle diet food cheered me immensely. I thought about its slimming effects as I cut firewood with the chain saw. It was in the back of my mind as I pulled the little wagon loads through the woods, then loaded the wood into Rosie's cart, down on the river bottom, and as I unloaded it after finding I had a flat tire. Ditto for when I hauled the chain saw back up the steep hill in the little wagon. Then, too, I was grateful for it when I planted the strawberries, which won't bear for a year. As I ran Tillie in the garden and planted the early veggies, which would take weeks to be ready for eating, I was content, knowing the nettles were available without delay.  I admired the nettles for their perfect properties as I dug up plants to exchange with Izzy. I ruminated on their life-giving goodness as I planted my gift grasses and shrubs. Hacking out several years' growth of irises, carrying them in buckets to the big compost heap, I revered the slimming nettles, not available in stores.

This afternoon, while down on the river bottoms, looking for early morel mushrooms, I spied more of the nettles. Hiking back up to the house, I armed myself with the gloves and scissors and a big bowl.
It was the third time today that I climbed the steep hill from the river. It was worth it, for such great diet fare, and free, too.

Unfortunately, today's greens were a little more furry and the stems were not as tender. So that may be it for this season's diet delight. 

Next on the woodland menu are the morels, which taste best fried and served with beer. 

When the Clouds Roll In

All winter, I've been baking bread in the Sun Oven. What I never thought would happen is it's better than the stove oven. The even heat makes a moister loaf. Now, I'm only baking bread outside.

However, I recently underestimated the clearing of the clouds, and lost a loaf when the sun failed to continue shining.

I guess that the cost of a loaf of this honey wheat bread is probably about fifty cents, so even losing some ingredients was still less money than the three dollar stale stuff at the store.

                               The chickens loved this big doughy bread pancake.

Undaunted, I made this better loaf the next day, when the skies were sunny. It's beautiful!



It makes great sandwiches like this PB and H  "sammy." Next year, I hope to have my own honey. My bees will be here around the first of May.  The weather has been so cool, twenty degrees the other morning, that a delay is good. One should never live without honey.

Still in Missouri

Damaging tornadoes nearby lately sent me down to the fruit cellar, to hang out with the two bats.

After a sunrise rain shower, this beautiful double rainbow seemed to promise less destructive weather.



I'm still waiting for warmer and drier days so I can plant the garden.


Lots of interesting wildlife sightings lately. The local dogs had something up the tree across the way. I went over to see if Miss Naughty Kitty needed rescuing. It turned out to be a fat groundhog, which chattered at me and Beau.

Last evening, I saw a flock of geese flying low over the river. I believe they were daredevils, flying under the bridge.

Then there was a formation of six herons that flew over me another day. It was quite a surprise, since I have rarely seen more than one of those huge birds at a time.

One small Painted Turtle is now sunning on the limb sticking out in the pond.

Less welcome animals were the SEVEN large calves in my front yard. When I called the cattle guy, he told me they fixed the fences, but these black critters proved otherwise. Beau loves to chase them off the property.

These daffodils are so bright and cheery.

I'm making myself cut more firewood for next winter. After such a bitterly cold long winter, I feel like Scarlett O'Hara. "As God is my witness, I'll never be chilly again. If I have to run the chain saw, split wood and carry it, I'll never be chilly again."

Osage Orange, known locally as hedgeapple, is full of BTU's and looks so pretty when cut. Thank goodness I have an electric log splitter; this stuff is extremely dense. As must I be to cut and haul it.