Snow Moon Setting 3/26

This was Tuesday Feb. 26 at Sunrise. I live on a hill, so standing on my front lawn, looking left- East I could see this beautiful sunrise and turning right- West I could see the Great Snow Moon setting, it was really pretty cool.  It was very bright for a setting moon and although no snow on the ground in the AM by evening we had a few inches again.  Everything was tucked back in a blanket of white.

 Some descriptions of this months full moon are as follows:

            • Full Snow Moon – February Since the heaviest snow usually falls during this month, native tribes of the north and east most often called February’s full Moon the Full Snow Moon. Some tribes also referred to this Moon as the Full Hunger Moon, since harsh weather conditions in their areas made hunting very difficult.

                 February: The Snow Moon   http://www.moonconnection.com/full-moon-names.phtml
Snow piles even higher in February, giving this moon its most common name. Among tribes that used this name for the January moon, the February moon was called the Hunger Moon due to the challenging hunting conditions.

Next Month is the Full Sap moon or Full Worm Moon it will rise on Wednesday March 27th, 2013

Oscar Doughnuts 2013

Sometimes I am not sure How family traditions get started?, but one of ours is making Doughnuts for Oscar night.  Oscar night always falls on the last night of winter vacation.  It is a good midwinter thing to do.  I will include the recipe at the end of this.  It is the same one my mom used when we were kids and the Boy Scouts use it as well.   It is simple. We heat the oil on the wood cook stove. We have found that thinner cut doughnuts cook through more consistently than thick cut doughnuts. In past years  we have always used paper bags to shake the doughnuts in to get them sugar coated.  This year at the last minute we could not locate the bags - so we put the sugar in bowls and it worked out just fine. Kids are to old to enjoy the paper bag shaking anyway- but they still love the doughnuts. 

Chestnut Hill Doughnuts

2cups Bisquick

1/4 cup sugar

1/3 cup milk

1 tsp. vanilla

     1 egg

1/4 tsp of cinnamon

1/4 tsp. of nutmeg

Heat Fat to 375 degrees

Mix dough until well blended, knead 10-12 times roll out 3/8 inch cut with floured cutter.

Makes 12 doughnuts and holes.

When ready to fry put in fat and turn over-when floating on the surface and browned nicely. If your fat is to hot - your doughnuts will burn and your fat can catch fire . . .Be careful and do not wear nice clothes.  Lots of newspaper is helpful.

March ( almost) Maple Madness

             Plink, Plunk,Plunk, this is what you will hear standing next to a tapped tree on a sunny day like today.  The sap drips out of the spile that we have pout into the tree and it falls drop by drop into the bucket.  The sugar Maples are in their reigning glory this time of year . . . Needing temperatures above freezing during the day and below at night - they then pump out a sugar laden sap.  Daily we collect the sap by the buckets and store it up until we have enough to start boiling.  You need 40 gallons of sap for 1 gallon of Syrup but you can start boiling before you have the 40 gallons. Boiling Sap is meditative, you have to keep the fire hot and not let the pan boil dry,  in other words you have to babysit it, assuring oneself of extended time near the fire, with family, friends, handwork, Sap tea, it is all good!  Let the Maple Madness Commence!!! Bring it on.

Sun and Snow Mother Nature's Magic

Awaking today to brilliant blue sky and sun, the likes of which we have not seen for some time. Albeit it was -5, not a deterrent to Edna & I we are snow warriors.  Again it was very quiet and still in the early morning. Winter is the best time for truly hearing Nature. The stillness is broken by drips, a shrill call of a Blue Jay, the crack of a branch or the crunch of snow underfoot.  Even after a sunny day there is still a lot of snow on the tress and branches.  It is just so breathtaking. Truly Mother Natures Magic at her best.

Life 101. . . . .

Be Prepared.

It's better to have it and not need it, 

than to need it and not have it.

~ Elizabeth Ann Nolan

Well I am not sure why the bottom picture would not rotate but I did try. 

Living in a house of Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts and married to the Scoutmaster of local troop we live day and night with the Motto- "Be Prepared".  I am sure it means different things to different people.  Certainly on this hike one can see just on the outside of the backpack is water, hand sanitizer and Leave no Trace guide but I know inside is trail-mix, sunscreen and bug spray, raincoat and a myriad of other small items.   Certainly different situations require different levels of preparedness.

I grew up driving over an hour to grandparents.  We went almost every weekend or so it seemed.  During the winter months we never went without water, hats, gloves, boots, snacks, blanket, shovel in the car-" just in case".

It was and is just part of life. 

 When I go away for a creative weekend- the list might have these types of basics but also project specifics like needles, scissors, light, thread, adhesive, paint or ink, depends on what I am doing.  I can tell you the last time I went away - I totally forgot pins and it was a weekend of sewing . . . .I don't think that will happen again. 

So I hope no one was stranded in Blizzard 2013 and I hope that every one will think about being prepared for the every day ( work/ school and the not so everyday trips), it takes time but it is worth it.

Snow "Nemo"

Friday AM

Friday 5 pm

Saturday AM- 24 hours form Friday

Firepit

Edna loving it all, branches bent a lot

All the trees held the snow differently - Kousa Dogwood

Lilac about laying down

Backyard view - Fairy land

Chestnut Branches Curve upward- made for snow, I like how the snow formed differently on all the bark as well.

January Sunrise

So this is a fine example of why I have a lot of posts in "draft" as soon as I sit down to write one. . . .one of my 3 kids comes along and has something that can only be done on " this computer."  They need to take a college quiz, print something, use software etc.. it is amazing , ,  I also do my work notes from home and the same thing can happen then, I sign on and boom everyone has a need. 

OK enough of that. The sunrises in January are quite often gorgeous.  As was this morning. There is something to be said for taking the time to watch the sunrise or sunset.