Spring Bouquet

Each week brings a new flower into my spring bouquet. The most gorgeous bright pink rhododendrons are brightening up my kitchen, while lilacs are in bloom just outside my windows--their fragrance is heavenly!

For Mother's Day weekend my cottage held eight bouquets of wildflowers! Belmont County has amazing wildflowers that will bloom all spring and summer. Blankets of tiny blooms cover the landscape in early spring--warmed by sunlight passing through bare trees. Spring green leaves will eventually filter the sunshine as they grow and deepen in color, leaving the tiny wildflowers to disappear until next year.

The cottage is my haven and I count the days until each visit...usually every other weekend (if I can wait that long). Days at the cottage are filled with friends, food, rest and relaxation. Everyone should have such a tranquil place to retreat.

Signs of Spring

They say that "spring bursts forth", but in reality it gently unfolds. Short, green leaves have emerged from tulip, lilac, and daffodil bulbs. They will grow steadily in the increasing warmth of the sunshine. Buds have appeared on trees, becoming bigger and more abundant by the day. Soon, blossoms will appear with just a hint of color...gradually opening up to reveal the beauty of their pastel colors. Slowly, steadily, without fail, all new life will emerge in a symphony of color and fragrance!

Birds are flitting about...singing and building nests. Squirrels are running up and down trees. Neighbors are working in their yards...picking up twigs and cleaning out flower beds. Next week the water will be turned on at the cottages in Epworth Park!

Alas, everything awakens after a long winter's nap. April is a glorious month!

Latitude 40

Columbus, Ohio shares it's location along latitude 40 with cities such as Philadelphia, Denver, Beijing, and Madrid. Though spring doesn't officially begin until March 20, in Columbus we celebrate the end of winter when we turn our calendars from February to March. With the worst two months behind us, we're ready to start looking for any sign at all of a spring equinox. So when a blizzard pummeled us with 20" of snow today, I'm thinking, "Hey, this isn't fair!"

March is the battle ground between winter and spring. Winter delivers the first snowy blow and spring melts it away. Winter may try again, weaker this time, but spring will fight back. In the end, spring emerges the victor!

Meanwhile, I will continue my winter activities...reading, writing, card-making. Yes, the snow is beautiful, but all I want to do with winter is 'fuhgedaboudit'!

Pass the Paczki

On February 2nd a group of us from the Polish-American Club of Columbus (PAC) spent the day making 800 paczki in preparation for the Paczki Dance that night—the official kick-off for lent! In true Polish tradition, the dough contained a generous amount of vodka. The volatiles stung our eyes as they fried, but they sure tasted great!

Here is a short clip about the celebration of these "fried, super-sized mounds of doughy goodness". A member of the PAC grew up in this city outside of Detroit.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0P5t9M6vIRs

Footprints of a Bird

Today I awoke to find a light dusting of snow outside--light enough to be easily swept away with a broom, and deep enough to reveal the footprints of early morning visitors. The familiar outline of shoes belonging to the paperboy made their way up, then back down, the driveway. Everything else was pristine.

I worked my way down the driveway, up the sidewalk, and around the corner with my broom. At the corner of my house stands a crab apple tree. Its a beautiful tree in the spring with it's white blossoms and over-abundance of red berries. It provides shade in the summer against the intense heat of the sun. It keeps me busy in autumn as the leaves turn bright colors and eventually fall to the ground to be raked. But in winter, the leftover berries provide food for the birds.

This morning I discovered the delicate footprints of a bird in the snow beneath the crab apple tree. Tiny little foot steps with even tinier toes. Four toes to be exact...the first pointing backwards, the second, third and fourth pointing ahead. In front of the bird tracks were two bright red crab apple berries, slightly embedded in the snow. Between the berries was a round, berry-shaped indentation--evidence of a missing berry!

Birds have a difficult time finding food in the winter. I'm happy that my crab apple tree provided breakfast for one little creature. Now the bird is resting comfortably with its feathers fluffed up to trap the warmth of it's body...the same way that I sleep beneath my down comforter at night.

The Gift

Apparently, the longer you keep your Christmas tree up, the more presents you get! I received an aerolatte--a battery operated, chrome frother with a stand. It's a sweet kitchen gadget and a "must have" for any hot chocolate/chi tea/latte connoisseur!

Actually, the gift wasn't from Santa. It was from friends who enticed me out of the house in 7-degree weather to watch the football playoff games--with the promise of Janice's marvelous cooking and Tom's collection of fine wine. Me...the one who didn't want to open the door to bring in the Sunday newspaper!

The fans who endured the sub-zero temperatures in Green Bay put me to shame. I will never again complain about cold weather. The game was phenomenal! Can Eli Manning lead the New York Giants in a win against unstoppable Tom Brady and the New England Patriots? We'll find out in two weeks!

My Christmas Tree

Greetings to my family and friends!

Just trying to stay warm here in Ohio in mid-January! I got one of those thermometers for Christmas that receives a signal from an outside transmitter…so I am constantly reminded of exactly how cold it is out there!

I still have my Christmas tree up—which brightens at least one room of the house. When sunlight floods that room, bringing in a little heat along with it, the tree gives off a wonderful aroma! In the cooler evenings, aromatic candles keep the room fragrant.

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