Cat asks the Oracle

A bright sunny day on January 28 and the cat wants to know if Spring is on her way. The Amaryllis is testing for light and temperature and will get back to the feline. Meanwhile I know better or not.

Weekly Leeks

                                             Leeks October 2015               

                                                        second patch

In the growing season, start with leeks and in October end with leeks. Low maintenance for the gardener, and harvesting can be leisurely with no panic over  unexpected light frosts. I do three batches of 4 leeks in a week. The leeks are gently braised in oil and butter: one quarter kept for the day's recipe and the rest frozen for Leek and Potato soup in the cold winter.                                     

Tough as nails

Of course nails are tough as they have to be hammered in.  Now I am wondering, " What nails are we talking about?" Could it be toe nails as I do mine? When my mother was a younger senior she stated that the best time to trim her nails was after a shower.
Twenty years later she still observed that advice with a modification. By the time she has finished the nails on one foot, the ones on the other are no longer as pliable and will have to be done after the next shower. Tough codgers can be cute.

                                        Worker   Bee  on the    Cosmos                                  

  

The blueberry patch

There is a blueberry patch, more God or nature given than cultivated, near the house.The rain and the sunshine came in the right order and there were berries, ripened at the same time, on the heads. So for a few days, August 12 -15, I picked the berries. One day my young daughter joined me and she was filling her container very efficiently and without unwanted leaves. I saw that she was using her thumb to stroke the berries into her curved palm and then putting them into the bowl. Ambidextrous to boot.I must have done the same occasionally but not so deliberately. It is a bit of a delight to be conscious of those opposable thumbs. 

They are ruby throated humming birds

Maybe nest mates, these ruby throat humming birds. I had mistakenly addressed an adult member as Rufus. The species labelled as Rufous inhabits the west coast and are bright rust coloured. Be it as it may, these thumb-sized creatures keep the resident handyman hopping and his hands full. His right hand rinses the emptied feeder while his left stirs the warm sugar solution. When he goes to the fridge to fetch the previously prepared solution for mixing, he sees, through the window these monsters darting in search of the non-wilting soda fountain flower.
He would love to see them again next season and meanwhile he feeds them for the migration. The handyman's new addition; love or life. Ruby and Rufus; both hum.

What is it all about, Rufus?

June 3, raining mistily.
I surprised a humming bird at the feeder, and in turn was surprised by it.

It flew about three metres from the feeder and proceeded to fly vigorously in a deep U shape pattern half a dozen times. I can hear the buzz of its wings. So when I came in I googled on the flight habits of humming birds. Unlike songbirds, humming birds only twitter, and have to rely on visual displays to be noticed. This trait is labelled as skydancing; a marvellous  sight.

Birdcalls in a dense residential square.

The configuration of the square is formed by four high rises with row houses in the centre. In the photo above, I am looking at a building block of 6 stories in the east. In front of this block I can see the roofs of row houses from my window, which is 4 floors up , in a 22 story building in the west. On the left hand side of the photo, I can see a bit of a 14 story building. Unseen on the right there are similar buildings, a dense residential area indeed. Mercifully, full grown trees are well distributed and the buildings in the west back on hillsides.  So there is enough greenery to provide an environment for the birds.

A glimpse of one hill and some of the very many motor cars. The very many cars make a continuous base growl along the road and above, at least 4 stories up I can hear the very many bird calls. The chit chit of the rusty brown sparrows, the coos of the doves and the occasional caws of the crows. For me the mynah birds are more seen than heard. Looking at them from above, my eyes are drawn to the white wing patches and the white tipped tails. Similarly, I noticed the partings and balding patches on the heads of pedestrians.

The birds seem to be thriving. So these  communities, birds and people, form an orchestra providing two streams of sound. My bird watching in May in Penang.