Indian villages and cranes

Gilbert is appearing to have undertaken a new interest. I'll let you know how he progresses.

And he seems to have mastered with some measure of pride in the accomplishment, using the doggie door. What fun!

What do Indian villages and cranes have in common? Well, nothing really. But my imagination is running wild here. Look at these “Indians” here in the village. This is what happens when the temperature dips below freezing, or there is threat of frost. All available blankets and sheets are tossed over tender plants and bushes and even some trees in hopes of rescuing them from the bitter effect of the dropping temperatures. Orange grove owners use spray from the irrigation systems to keep a steady mist going to protect their crops. And it’ll work if the low temperatures are not sustained or prolonged. However, there has been damage despite all efforts to the contrary.

As we take our morning walks, well bundled up, I might add, we see what appears to be visions of Indians standing around the outside of homes. Under that vision, one would find a chilly tomato, or a tender struggling flowering plant. The efforts to protect those plants were not 100% successful. The ones shown here might have had extra protection from the overhanging trees. They were uncovered briefly today and they appeared to have fared better than most others around the village

On the premises here, the tender mango tree in the back yard has been hit for a second time. Last year chilling weather took away leaves and the plant put out new shoots from the bottom. It was really trying to make a come back, about 18 inches tall with healthy nice leaves. But, it’s once again been damaged by the cold. It remains to be seen what the true outcome will be for this plant. Mom’s tomato plants were also hit by the freezing temperatures. This reminds me of the year we lived in the UP and tried to grow a garden. There was a killing front every month that summer. Oopps. Rabbit trail! LOL The pretty Crotons weren't protected. I don't recall noticing whether they were hit by the freeze or not.

Speaking of being well bundled up for the walks, I have a confession to make. I have to admit, my hands got cold on the walk Tues. Wednesday, I did accept the gloves that were offered to me. It was 28 degrees. OK? It was COLD!!! Today was better, and I walked with my sweater sleeves over my hands. Not quite as bad. If it weren’t for having to hold onto Gilbert’s leash, I’d just keep my hands in my pocket. But since I can’t, my fingers do get chilly.

What about the cranes??? Well, they are obnoxiously noisy and for what ever reason, seem to like to hang out behind the house here or next door. Theses are the 3 birds that inhabit the village. We have had the privilege to watch the pair raise a young one. Hatched while we were here a year ago, watched fledglings grow while we were here in the summer. At some point the 2 babies became only one. Speculation has it that one of the young ones became the ‘gator’s dessert. Remember the ‘gator in the picture a few posts back? There is certainly a good possibility that might have happened. Well, the remaining Crane did in fact manage to escape the Dessert Plate, and has grown to near full adult size. Can you tell which one is the baby? There are times the territorial instinct overcomes the male, he defends his turf, flying at the big sliding glass door of Mom’s sewing shop in back of the house. I've heard that with other creatures the rule of defending the turf is that contenders fight to the death. Since there was only one bird and his reflection, you can safely guess who might have lost his life. I have to think someone might have intervened when enough blood had been shed and chased the bird away from the window.

Here is a project I worked on this week. It was made from denim and red kerchief material. I like the way it turned out. I hit the jack pot last week. There was a flea market selling blue jeans for a quarter a pair. Woo Hoo. I came home with 11 pairs of potential projects. I'll post what I do with them as the projects develop. Ya gotta love those flea markets!!!!

One more item to report With the onset of such cold weather the fruit trees...oranges, tangerines, grapefruit etc...are needing to be picked. Being the person I am, I was compelled to try to can tangerines to take them home with us. I found the recipe needed on the internet. Spent a couple hours peeling and taking seeds out of the sections of 24 tangerines, the amount it took to fill the 6 pints that fit into the canner . It took about the same amount more to make the juice needed to cover the fruit in the jars. I should have suspected we were in for a disappointing out come when we tasted the juice and found it totally too bitter to use. I made a regular syrup as I would for any other fruit I have canned. We went through the pressure canning process, cooled the jars donw and eagerly opened one to taste the results. Just let me say there are a few adjustments that need to be made. The fruit was bitter too, so I'm thinking that it wasn't the occasional seed that we thought made the juice bitter. Something about those tangerines did not work in the canning process. To eat one fresh, they tasted OK. A challenge. I feel a challenge coming on.

That about summarizes the week this week. Chilly weather curtails a lot of outdooor activity. And most everything else is routine.