Posted on by Writer of Words, etc

Early morning ponderings…

As we grudgingly endure ongoing sheltering-in-place here in Toronto, life among nature is continuing as it always has.

The birch tree in front of my house is home to a little red birdhouse hanging on one of the branches. And let me tell you something, that little house is swinging with all sorts of commotion! I can hear the baby birds in there calling mom to bring them some juicy worms already!

Baby birds in the firehouse.

I love this early morning time of day in spring. It’s warm, the sun is out, winter has finally moved on (good riddance!) and no one else is up yet in my house. Just me and some hungry birds.

Another note about nature: my rhubarb plant is exploding.

Brand new garden bed next to exploding rhubarb.

Years ago when we fixed the garage (it needed a major renovation) I dug out some of the rhubarb nearby that had been planted there at least three decades ago. It was tough, getting it out, I had to dig really deep, and at the time, the retaining wall back there was crumbling so I didn’t know if the plant would survive.

I replanted it in another location and…yep, there is no issue. In fact, it is continuously growing these huge, phallic-shaped flowers (which I hack off as soon as I see them because I certainly don’t want it to get bigger).

😳 😂

Rhubarb flower.

I’ve been taking some of the stalks and chopped them up to cook into a compote. I add a bit of brown sugar, and some frozen strawberries (fresh ones not yet ready here in Ontario, Canada) and then the kids scoop it over ice cream. Delish.

I was puttering around social media little bit on Sunday and was thoroughly unimpressed with all the covid-related news. Seems with the sunny and warm weather, people are losing their heads all over my city and there is a huge spike in new cases now. Ugh. I was hoping phase 1 of re-opening the city would go successfully as we are all fed up with the various restrictions, but it doesn’t look like that’s going to happen now.

The good news here though is that the Premier of Ontario stated that there are enough tests available for everyone who wants one, even if someone is asymptomatic but feels they are at risk of carrying/spreading.

I have always approved of mass testing. I think it’s a no-brainer…so we’ll see if it’s actually true and people will be given a test on demand.

I bet we’re all a little politician-fatigued (or maybe have been all along, especially in recent years). So many of them are a walking contradiction, saying one thing and doing the opposite themselves. Maddening.

So it’s Monday or something (isn’t it?). For some of you this means school and work. It means the same thing for my household too. Wish me luck getting my teenagers up at a decent hour (to do schoolwork). 🙂

35 Replies to “Early morning ponderings…”

  1. Rhubarb is a bit of a favourite with Mr Jones. It is difficult and expensive here as the climate is not conducive to growing it (he grew up in a much colder part of Australia). I am not a huge fan it is too acidic for me.
    I have cooked it with apple, which Mr Jones doesn’t like, but strawberries sounds interesting.

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    1. Yes it’s quite tart. Brown sugar and strawberries make it so scrumptious. That’s how they make it for pie filling as well. So good. I go easy on the sugar but you do need something to sweeten it.

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  2. We’re all fatigued from the news they report and then they say otherwise. Actually, I don’t pay any attention to the news anymore, I got tired of it.
    Politicians seem to have equal qualities in many places, walking contradiction.

    May 25 in my country, Argentina, is patriotic feast. Flags in the houses, cockades on the lapel, some traditional meals and hot milk with chocolate.

    Greeting.

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  6. I actually keep forgetting it’s Monday. It’s a holiday for us, so it feels like Sunday.

    We’re talking about planting some rhubarb in one corner of the backyard. I may have to hit you up for some recipes…other than pie, I don’t know what to do with it.

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  10. From the traffic going on here, I am guessing that Toronto does not have so many residents in lock down. They are at the beach, here in Florida. Holy Moley, we have a trazillion “Canada” plates on the streets! 🙂

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  12. Ah, rhubarb. That’s something I don’t recall having seen in Belgium. And I used to love rhubarb crumble and custard when I was younger — I shall have to try and find some.

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  13. Morning is peaceful, yes, Claudia. I am appreciating the Memorial Day holiday off from work today down here in the states. I haven’t had an extra day since the work-from-home started in early March, so this will be appreciated for sure. Everything is phasing in over the border here, too, with some people appearing to adhere to the cautions better than others. We must, or the virus numbers will worsen again most certainly.

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