I Think It Might Finally Be Spring

Spring. It's come on suddenly: the snow is melting away. Our creeks have been running enough to have filled our bird sanctuary/reservoir. A friend said their dam filled up. We'll see how long those stay filled. We're always hopeful the life-giving rains will return. But we're realistic enough to not hold our breath! The snow that had blown into the shelter belt all winter was about twelve feet deep last week. It's condensed down to about eight feet now.

We've had a few fairly nice days since I wrote my semi-depressed column last week. It was so nice I started gathering the downed tree limbs from the lawn. They were mostly small but extremely plentiful. But there were also enough with substantial girth that I will be using my wood chipper again. The flowerbeds are much too wet and muddy to even consider clearing off the dead vegetation (and blown in tree leaves) from last summer. The multiple piles of deer droppings will also wait until they're dried up. (Yuck.)

There was an obviously ill antelope that wandered into our yard this last week. We'd never had one come this close to the house before. They usually stay well south of the yard, or north of the shelter belt. He wanted to lie next to the house, out of the wind. He was shaky and wobbly. He was removed after a judicious phone call to Fish and Game (Fish, Wildlife, and Parks?). Neither Glasgow nor Malta currently has a biologist, but maybe they'll be able to get tests done on the carcass to find out why this one was so ill. He obviously wasn't starved. I hope there isn't a chronic wasting disease cross-over occurring.

The little birds that nest in the Virginia creeper vine outside my kitchen (their cheerful chirping comes clearly into that room via the stove vent) are very happy with the return of warmer weather. Sparrows have been checking out the bird feeders and the musty seed left from last summer. I've even seen one checking out the nesting box nailed to the tree nearest my garden plot. (I cleaned out those nesting boxes late last fall, so they're ready for new occupants.) I brought in five bird feeders to get them cleaned up for this summer. Once they're scrubbed out, reassembled, and thoroughly dry, I'll get them filled with fresh seed. They'll then be rehung where we can enjoy watching the feathered freeloaders enjoy their free lunches.

The amaryllis I talked about last week is now in full bloom. The flowers are white with lots of red striping. Another bulb is sending up a flower stalk. That one has gone from about six inches to a full foot within a few days. I hadn't noticed it before as it was hiding behind my huge agave cactus. The cyclamen I was so impressed with for its two flowers now has three, and there are two more buds coming up. I'm so glad it survived my December vacation/neglect.

I don't have any recipes per se to share this week. But I did come up with a great main dish: I cut a couple strips of bacon in half and fried them. Then I pan-fried a couple boneless pork chops in the bacon grease (what could be better?). The chops were first sprinkled generously with my rib seasoning mix (recipe shared in the past). Towards the end of the chops' cooking, I threw in the last of a package of pepperoni slices (about 20), until they were kind of translucent. Each chop was topped with both bacon and pepperoni. I thought about adding cheese, but decided not this time. Maybe next time. I served my frozen corn (recipe also previously shared) with the chops. Dessert was fresh mango, kiwi, and blueberries, along with a few of my mock-Crumbl cookies that were dug out of the freezer.