Rain, Morning Thoughts and Lemon Bars

"Hidden, oh hidden
in the high fog
the house we live in,
beneath the magnetic rock,
rain-, rainbow-ridden,
where blood-black
bromelias, lichens,
owls, and the lint
of the waterfalls cling,
familiar, unbidden."

by Elizabeth Bishop

This morning was a wild one. Strong wind and steady rain lashed the garden and hills beyond. The wind railed against the house making Cutter nervous...

and sending Carl under the bed.

Watching through the window, I enjoyed the view of the storm from the safety of our living room.

 Within an hour or so, the rain let up and the sun came through the clouds for a short time.

 I stepped outside for a few minutes. The air was cold. The wind wild.

The daffodils bent and swayed on their delicate, yielding stems...

 I could hear the creek, through the wind, as it swelled again and overflowed its rocky edges. And then the wind picked up, drowning out the creekwater sounds and my sweater wasn't enough warmth anymore. I went back inside.

I cleaned up the kitchen, thought about finishing the new scarf I have been working on, and wrote a few emails. I went back into the kitchen and as I grabbed a banana, I saw this lemon.

This lemon was with a few others in the bottom of the fruit bowl. There it was, staring at me, covered with mildew and mold... and looking rather annoyed. I took it out and set it on the sink.

The other lemons were fine. It was then that I remembered  purchasing a bag of them at Wall Mart last week, thinking that I would make some lemon bars for my family at Easter. The lemon bars didn't happen... apple crisp happened instead. So I had all these lemons and now this one was going south really fast. There were four more in a bag, in the refrigerator. Lots of lemons... what should I do? 

Well, it was still raining outside. (YES, that's a Halloween pumpkin on the porch. I just can't throw it away. It's still pretty and it hasn't rotted out yet.)

The laundry was caught up. The house was fairly clean. The knitting could wait. I was still suffering from withdrawals over my Nuno felting disaster and  the lemons were waiting for redemption.

So, clearly, there was only one thing to do. Make some Lemon Bars.

First I "zested" the lemons, them I squeezed them.

This is the very old Betty Crocker's Cookbook that I love and use all the time. I've had this cookbook since I was first married and that, my friends, was a long, long time ago.

 This is the recipe, on page 270.

I follow this recipe exactly... except for putting maybe a teaspoon of lemon zest into the flour/butter mixture that bakes first. Other than this addition, which I think is a good idea, I make them just like it reads. Oh, I don't cut them up either, unless we have company.

I love Lemon Bars. What I really mean is... I LOVE LEMON BARS. 

This, for me, is what Weight Watcher's calls a "red light" food. So this is a very dangerous dessert to have sitting around the house. Do I sound like I care? It was raining and I had lemons. Some times "fate steps in and sees you through".

 We don't cut them up into bars. We just cut them as we eat them. It's easier this way.

 We already taste tested them for lunch.

The Prospector said that they were really good. I had to have another piece before I could make a definitive decision. Yea, I know. It's all about quality control. Actually, it's all about control... sort of. It's about eating only quality products, with enjoyment, and savoring every bite. It's about the logic of eating well and having control over one's environment. Yes, That's it. That sounds about right. 

I'm the mistress of my kitchen and I like to make sure that my Lemon Bars are the same good quality every time. 

Sounds like a rationalization doesn't it? Yea... it is. I simply LOVE Lemon Bars. That's the truth.

But it all has to do with habit and control. It's kind of like marking my store bought eggs with H.B. when I hard boil them. 

Even though I only hard boil ''store bought" eggs and they're the only WHITE eggs in the fridge.

What can I say. It's a control issue. I don't need to do it...all the other eggs are from the coop and they are colored. Our chicken eggs don't hard boil well and the shells stick to the egg ( even with ice cubes), so when I want to hard boil eggs or a deviled egg holiday comes 'round , I buy the "store" eggs. And when I hard boil them, I mark them H.B. Don't make this into an issue. It's just the way I roll. It's who I am.

The empty lemon rinds go into a bag and into the freezer.

 I use them with some salt and vinegar to clean the sink, the grout between the tile and to cut up and throw down the disposal, which I never use but has to be cleaned out once in a while... just because.

It makes the kitchen smell great.

I would invite you all over for dessert but... there won't be that much left by dinnertime.

Sorry... but, the recipe is easy and I won't say a word to anyone if you aren't having company. 

Lemon Bars are a guilty pleasure.... better savored alone... or with a special someone.

Enjoy!

***************************

Owl update:

He flew to the Mock Orange, from his perch in the eaves, last night just before dark. I went out and took this photo of him. He stayed there and let me get close enough to take a great picture. 

 This morning he didn't return. Where does he go and what places does he stay in when the weather is like this? I wish I could follow him and find out.

Winter? I don't think so.

I've taken the snow effect off of my blog. It just doesn't look right when I post photos that look like this.

I haven't cut the lavender back because it blooming like crazy and the bees are all over it.

I just can't cut the bush back with all these bees having such a great time.
Does this look like Winter to you?

 I also decided to wash the windows.

I pulled the chairs and table away, took the screens off and washed them separately and used the sprayer on the hose to get all the cobwebs off before I cleaned the windows with ammonia and water.  The sprayer is like a "fair warning" to bugs and spiders  before the soap and ammonia hits.
Look nice and clean don't they?
Come on rain. I'm being really in your face about this.
Then I sensed someone was watching me. I turned... and right behind me up in the eaves of the porch, guess whooo was giving me the eye.

"Can't you do this at night, when I'm gone? I was sleeping and you woke me up."
"Hi little guy." I replied, "I forgot you were up there. You haven't been here for a few days."
"Well..." he said, "I've been hunting and it's a lot of hard work. So please stop all the spraying and cleaning and let me sleep."
I could tell that he wasn't a very happy little owl and then, to demonstrate his annoyance,  he gave me his fiercest look.
He tries to look mean. I almost have to laugh because he's so little. I guess the little mice and ground animals don't laugh when he swoops down on them but, well... he's so cute when he tries to act tough.

I told him I was sorry but I needed to finish the windows. I told him it would only be a few more minutes.
He waited... and then, when I left the porch, he went back to sleep.
Do you see that his left pupil is bigger than his right one? Does anyone know if that's normal or not? I noticed it before. The left pupil is dilated more that the right.
So it's quite apparent that Winter decided to take a vacation this year. I might as well tempt fate and wash some windows. What the heck! You know what they say about this. If you clean your windows or wash your car it will rain... so I'm doing a rendition of a "rain dance". We'll see.
Everything seems to be enjoying the sunny weather.
Carl found himself a warm spot and  looks like he's telling me,
"Don't come any closer to me with that camera, Farmlady. Just leave me be."

And the Paperwhites are blooming.

I find it all kind of strange. What do you think? If this is Winter...
THE CLIMATE

IS DEFINITELY

CHANGING....
And I don't think it's just about us and our carelessness... or emissions.
It's just changing... Something is different.
It's happening quite fast.
I can feel it in the air.
Somethings up...

Guess whoo's back?

Yes... I'm back from my three day Christmas visit to my family and I did have a wonderful time. But, I'm so glad to be home and look "whoo" arrived again, on Tuesday morning.

Looking a sleepy...

 And a little annoyed at me for bothering him.

And, "If you come any closer I'm going to fly down onto that camera and attack the darn thing."
So, I left him (her?) alone. The eave will belong to the owl now. It feels safe there.
The Prospector says that it's because of this...

 Maybe this small owl has chosen the corner of the eave because of the another owl (the silent one in the frame) that waits on the post.
Do you think that he (or she) notices the other owl? I wonder!
I hope the owl stays for a long time. The dogs don't seem to bother it... but then they haven't seen it yet.
It is such a delight to see this beautiful little creature out there every morning. 
I'm so glad it's back.

"Now Carl...."

"You be a good dog and don't bark at the owl. He's resting.... and if you annoy him he might decide to fly down and use his talons on your cute little nose. That would be scary, my sweet dog. So, be good."

Sunday Visitor

It was a typical Sunday morning around here.

We were relaxing... on our second cup of coffee.
The dogs were getting a little bit more shut eye.

The Prospector called me from the kitchen.
"Hey, the owl is back."
He told me, a few days ago, that a small owl landed on the wicker rocking chair on the porch. I was shopping and missed the encounter. It didn't last long and the owl flew away.
The Prospector was so excited to see one up close. We have a barn owl in the shed at our entrance which we have seen for years but recently it has been gone. We hear owls at night. I love listening to them. But, to have one land on our porch in the middle of the day was extraordinary.
This morning it happen again.
"Bring the camera!", called my husband from the living room.
When I got to the window I saw the owl. It had perched itself up under the eave of the porch overhang.
There it was...

It looked like it was tired... and a little cranky.

and it started to settle in...

But something caught its eye. An arrant hummingbird was wondering why this BIG bird was on the hummingbird's porch. These bossy little hummer's don't like other birds near there feeder. It flew quite close to the owl and darted in and out, hoping (I guess.) that the owl would fly away. Well, this little owl stood its ground and appeared more annoyed than anything else.

The hummer flew at the owl a few times and then backed off. He came back a few times, then left the owl alone. They must have come to some agreement. I know that the owl gave the hummer the "stink eye", so maybe that was all that was needed.

The little owl has tucked itself into its feathers and gone to sleep. I hope it's OK. I hope it stays for a while.
It is such a treat to have a wild thing visit us. Like all the other close encounters that we have here, I feel that we have been given a special moment... a gift.
This little guy is like an early Christmas present... already unwrapped.