58 degrees!

It's 58 degrees here. It's overcast and it's supposed to rain soon. And it's a fluke - it will be in the 30's the rest of the week. But, I"m so thankful for this moment of respite.

Cool Wildlife Bulletin

I saw a fisher cat yesterday. It was broad daylight - around 9:30 am - and it ran across the road in front of my car, no more than 8 or 10 feet from me. It looked just like this picture. Waaay cool.

Fishers are large martens - up to 4 feet - and they have been recorded preying on lynxes and bobcats, as well as house cats and other small mammals. So that's why The Cat of COG spends his nights indoors. According to online sources, they are elusive and nocturnal and, therefore, very seldom seen. So I was pretty lucky to see this one.

Laissez les bons temps roule.

Tuesday was Mardi Gras, AKA Fat Tuesday, or Shrove Tuesday. More importantly, in the COG's Natal Country, it's Pancake Day. So we had pancakes.

To be specific, we had Fluffy Ricotta Pancakes with Fresh Strawberries. Yum.

Here's the recipe (which is from The Kitchn at Apartment Therapy).

Fluffy Ricotta Pancakes
makes 8
1 cup ricotta cheese
3/4 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/2 tablespoons sugar
pinch salt
3/4 cup milk
3 eggs, divided
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
Set ricotta in a fine mesh strainer about 30 minutes before you start cooking, to drain off excess liquid. We used fresh ricotta from Whole Foods that was pretty dry. If you are using a commercial brand that's runny, you may want to drain it longer (or make your own).
Whisk together flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt in a bowl. Combine ricotta, milk, egg yolks, and vanilla in a separate bowl.

Beat the egg whites in an electric mixer until stiff. Add the dry ingredients to the ricotta and milk mixture, stirring gently until just combined. Whisk in a small amount of the egg whites to lighten the batter, then fold in the remaining whites.
Heat a griddle over medium-high heat, and brush the surface with butter. Use a ladle or measuring scoop (we used a 1/3 cup measure) to pour batter onto the griddle. Cook pancakes for about 3 or 4 minutes, then flip, cooking until both sides are golden brown.
Spread lemon curd between pancakes and dust with powdered sugar. Or serve with syrup or fruit.

Ta Vie

I went on YouTube and searched for videos of the GrandDaughter of COG, whose name is Tavie. I got a whole bunch of French videos with the the words 'ta vie' in them. It means 'your (familiar form) life'. Must be some meaning there.

The thing with feathers

I've been looking through my photos. Pictures of places near and far and lots of great memories. Among them, I found this one which I didn't recognize. I think Son of, must have taken it. When I saw it the words of the Emily Dickenson poem popped into my mind.

Hope is the thing with feathers
that perches in the soul
and sings the song
without the words
and never stops at all.

Signs of Spring

Although the pond is still frozen, there are hints that Spring is on the way. The snow has disappeared this week and the skunks have emerged from wherever they spend the winter and are out looking for mates. If you look closely at the video, there are green shoots poking their way through the soil along the house. Best of all, the birds have begun to sing - you can hear them in the video, too.