Guest guest Posted April 20, 2011 Report Share Posted April 20, 2011 Happy way to welcome spring! Thanks for putting a spring-cleaning face on our last-snow-blahs. We found a mink nesting along Minnehaha Creek on our walks in SW Minneapolis. What have others seen? Please, share! Linafelter > > Butter lovers don't pout. There WILL be more butter. Here we are though, at this latitude, at a time when it's best to create a " rest " , a " cleansing " and perhaps even a fast and detox. Sure, it's not for everyone, but you'll never get a better time. It will cure those ol' Butter Blues. Ditch the bread for a while too, all those desserts, and the french fries! > > All the summer butter is gone. You (and Sally Fallon-Morrell) have eaten it ALL! That is as it should be. Within a month, the grass will be green and lush, baby calves will come, the milk will be flowing, and, along with the bountiful spring milk, the rich yellow butterfat you crave. Same with farm eggs, go easy for a while on the now-bland, blah and pale winter (dr)eggs, just wait a month! > > Meanwhile, check out Clancey's Meats if you need a fat fix! Pick up some juicy fat goat ribs, grab a couple of farm chickens and maybe a few pork chops! Get a huge slab of wild Alaskan salmon! There's your FAT! Keep up your CLO, meanwhile and put the coconut oil into your smoothies! There's your FAT! > > Meanwhile, stock up on imported greens, salads, fruit including lots of the good citrus that are available. These will cleanse, renew and revitalize your body from the stale darkness and heaviness of winter! > > Meanwhile, you can also cleanse your body by doubling up on your daily intake of kombucha, water kefir and juices, especially cranberry. Stop at a juice bar and have a double shot of wheat grass every day for a week! > > Meanwhile, after trying on your bathing suit (for motivation purposes).... exercise, exercise, exercise! See if you can walk 3-5 miles a day, dust off the bicycle, bundle up with many layers and burn those thigh muscles. Run! Watch nature! The mating dance of the birds is happening right now! The buds and spring flowers are bursting! Take a short trip for a day or two... go watch the rivers in their swollen state. Grab a huge bag and pick up the trash of the winter (it's great exercise, plus it's almost EARTH DAY!). Take huge bundles of excess clothing, old books, stacks of magazines, and a winter's worth of crap to the Goodwill! > > You won't even miss a month or so without butter! > > Will Winter > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 21, 2011 Report Share Posted April 21, 2011 , I have just enjoyed the simple pleasure of watching the robins hunt! Also noticed some beautiful daffodils yesterday... And amazingly, after a long, hard winter, some black currant bushes and chives I had potted last fall, show signs of life. They are available for sale. If anyone is interested, please contact me privately. It will soon be time to get them in the ground. Kathy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 21, 2011 Report Share Posted April 21, 2011 Better yet, make your own butter. I buy from a dairy that raises grass-fed cows and it's better than anything I buy (and cheaper). It has taken me a while to perfect getting all the excess liquid out but it only takes about 30-45 minutes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 21, 2011 Report Share Posted April 21, 2011 Great time of year for nature, that is for sure! All kinds of territorial displays among birds. Eagles doing aerial performances of incredible agility. Lots of nestbuilding birds flying around, trailed by streamers of foliage and debris. The male pheasants are busy squawking out in the fields. The morning dawn chorus is at it's best this time of year, so if you can manage (you can!) getting up just a little before dawn, then you will be treated to the best of nature's music for at least an hour. Take a cup of coffee and bundle up, find a place where birds frequent and you've got a very satisfying sunrise ahead of you! A few brave and hardy wild flowers blooming, like the tulip-looking bloodroot and the pasqueflower. Our little brown bats have been back for at least 2-3 weeks now, that's encouraging! Big pelicans here along the mississippi, always fun to watch. That is so cool you saw a mink, they're one of my favorites! Our cows are enjoying the grass which is suprisingly lush and green already, not enough to sustain them but a welcome supplement to their hay. I can recommend Kalona's butter as a reasonable substitute for summer butter, it has excellent flavor, just maybe not quite as good as pastureland. Still a far cry from non pastured butter! Goes good on fried ripe plantain with scrambled eggs, a little salt and blackberries, mmmMMm! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 21, 2011 Report Share Posted April 21, 2011 I have a mallard nesting in my front yard! I'm not very close to a lake or pond, so it's quite a treat. She's in my shrubs and every day I peek out and see more eggs. She's got a nest of at least 11 and is sitting on it. It's such a neat joy to see her head peek up from the nest. The robins and other birds are nesting in my yard too. This would come as a surprise to anyone who saw my yard! I really only have a few trees. I've been keeping all my friends updated daily on her progress. I just can't wait to see the baby ducks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 21, 2011 Report Share Posted April 21, 2011 Great tips Will. I had to laugh when I read your suggestion to grab a bag and pick up the trash of winter. (the season, not the man, lol). a couple of weeks ago it was pretty balmy, & my husband, kids & I spent several hours picking up the trash along side our country road. Kids hopped on & off the back of the truck like garbage men. They loved it! Therese in Viroqua Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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