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A gathering place for wordsmiths of all levels
Category Archives: Nature
My Last Hay Field
This evening I am feeling wistful. I have cut my last hay field. Over the Memorial Day weekend, I had a window of sunny, dry weather. It was perfect for making hay. So I did.
Last summer I made close to 1,000 bales. Most of that hay was unloaded and stacked in the barn by me. I had a helper once in a while. Otherwise, I was on my own. The trouble is I tore my rotator cuff when pitching all that hay. I ended up in surgery in January. My doctor told me no more manhandling hay.
I intended to sell the hay equipment on Craigslist. Then the nice weather came, and the tall grass beckoned. I had to test the equipment out to be sure it worked before selling it, didn’t I?
There’s a wonder for me in farming. My ancestors farmed, on top of running businesses or teaching students or treating patients or working in laboratories. Though they had other “white collar” employment, they farmed. I have an M. B. A., and I write. Yet if I could, I would farm full-time.
That is, when I am not sailing, traveling, gardening, cooking, horseback riding, hiking, mischief-making, and spending time with family and friends. Yes, I would farm.
Reward
One of the items on my bucket list was to see petroglyphs in situ. As a reward to myself for finishing the first draft of the novel, I went to Valley of Fire State Park in Nevada and saw a collection of over 800 specimens in the Mouse’s Tank region.
(photo from Mr. Silva, Wikipedia, in the public domain)
A tank is a natural well in a depression in a rock formation that collects rain water and holds it over a long period. The tanks were used by native peoples as a source of drinking water in the desert. Summer temperatures in Valley of Fire can reach 120 degrees.
Seeing the petroglyph above, and others nearby, thrilled me. I can scratch that item off the bucket list.
While the Cat Is Away. . .
I am basking in spring-like temperatures in my writer’s hidey-hole while mother nature does this at home:
Using Science in an Action Scene
Today I found the coolest video that shows what happens to boiling water when it is pitched into the air in arctic temperatures. It makes INSTANT snow. Cooler yet is the science behind it: hot water is easier to freeze than cold water. How’s that for defying logic?
According to Mike Krumboltz, writing for Yahoo’s quasi-news segment “The Sideshow:”
The man boiled water and then tossed it over the balcony of his apartment. Normally, that sort of thing would get you arrested. But in arctic-like temperatures, the result is quite beautiful. As soon as the man tosses his pot of boiling water into the freezing air, it turns to snow and leaves behind a trail of mist across the sky.
If you paid attention in high school chemistry, you might remember that boiling water freezes faster than cold water. Known as the mpemba effect, the phenomenon remains a mystery to many. Not even scientists can agree why hot water tends to freeze quicker.
I envision a bad guy on a high balcony trying to hurt the hero standing below in the snow. The fiend pitches boiling water at the man below him. The hero cringes, bracing for a scalding, then laughs and bounds through the snow veil into the building to apprehend the crook. What do you see?
To see the science in action, watch this video.
http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/sideshow/boiling-water-turns-snow-siberia-171453719.html
Kid’s Stuff 2–Homemade Suet Cakes for Birds
As I mentioned a couple of days ago, I plan a Kid’s Stuff book sometime in the future. Here’s another project from the book suitable for the school-aged child. It’s a perfect activity for the Christmas break from school. It keeps idle hands busy, AND it teaches children about the winter life of birds.
In winter, natural foodstuffs for birds can be sparse. When the thermometer dips, birds need a source of fat, carbohydrates and protein to provide calories for warmth, flight fuel, and general health. Suet cakes offer a source for all three at one convenient location.
Children benefit from this project by:
- engaging in a useful activity
- learning about other creatures who share space with them on the earth
- helping birds survive in winter
- learning about bird nutrition
- identifying the birds that show up to eat the suet
- Understanding the thermodynamics of changing a solid to liquid (melting suet) and returning the same to a solid (freezing the suet cake)
- following the directions in the recipe
- working cooperatively with you to complete a project
The first item you need is a feeder. The hanging wire cage type of feeder, with an opening door on one side for reloading, is readily available where bird seed is sold. Or you can recycle (another child benefit) an aluminum pie pan to use as a flat surface feeder.
The second item you need is wax paper to wrap the finished product for freezing. You may substitute freezer wrap or other food wrapping material if wax paper is unavailable. Scotch tape is useful for sealing the package ends.
Ingredients list
- jar of peanut butter (creamy or chunky)
- 1-2 lbs beef fat (see the butcher at your grocery store). Any bits of beef still attached to the fat offer a source of protein, but you want the fat as clean of large pieces of meat as possible
- 1 C flour (if you have old flour that has gotten buggy, that is perfect for this project)
- 1 C corn meal (ditto on the “buggy” advice above)
- Sunflower seeds or mixed birdseed
- Raisins and/or finely chopped apple or cranberries
Assemble a square cake pan or small rectangular casserole dish, a large mixing bowl, a measuring cup and a large spoon for mixing the dough. Spray or wipe the pan surface lightly with oil to make it easy to remove the finished suet cake.
Instructions
Melt the beef fat, using a large pan over medium to low heat. You do not want the oil from the fat to sizzle. (Warning: closely supervise your child to prevent the child from getting burned.)
When the beef fat is melted, add the contents of the jar of peanut butter to the fat and stir until mixed well. Turn off the heat under the pan.
In a large bowl, stir together the flour, cornmeal and chopped fruit. Carefully pour the hot, melted fat into the dry mix and stir, adding the seeds to help thicken the dough. You want a finished consistency of thick cookie dough. Set aside and cool until fingers can safely touch the soft dough.
Press the suet cake dough into the cake pan. Let it cool thoroughly. Slice it into rectangular blocks, sized to fit the suet cage feeder. Wrap the block in wax paper, tape it closed, and freeze until you are ready to put a block into the feeder.
