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Even though we're getting showers here, I'm grateful for the warmer weather. It seems spring is officially here, for this week anyway, hopefully to stay! :)
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Polarbear, congratulations! That is such wonderful news.

Yep, being loved unconditionally sets so many things right.

I call my dog my third man.
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Sometimes dogs are better to be around than people.
I love my puppies too. :)
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I got one. I got a puppy. I got her from a shelter. She may be 2 or 3 years old, not sure, but she will always be a puppy to me. A dog is truly man's best friend. Sandy is my therapy dog. She keeps me sane when things get too crazy and stressful with my Alz. mother.
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National Puppy Day!
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My uncle lived in VT so we always had real maple syrup growing up. I was aghast when I found out my new husband used that faux stuff. Luckily he was an easy convert. Ive always wonder SANTA birch syrup tastes like. I spent the afternoon cleaning garden beds. It felt so good to be outside. I love the spring feeling of hope and lovely gardens.
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I buy my mom "real maple syrup" at local craft fairs,, and yes it is pricey. But we don't use much so I am glad to do it! I have had maple butter in NE,, it was awesome!
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I wanted to make mead for my daughter's mother-in-law, but first I would need rosehips. Recipe from TV show, "Alaska, the Last Frontier."
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Sunrise, a great cup of coffee and my husband.
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I've heard of people using birch sap, but the amout to boil off to get any sweet syrup is more than 16 to 1.  I do not have that kind of patience.

Do you know why they boil the maple sap outside (maybe with a roof and some walls).  Because boiling it in an indoor kitchen will peel wallpaper off the walls and leave cabinets and all surfaces very sticky!  A neighbor, born in Maine and still living here, said her husband did it the first time.  I don't think she ever forgave him.
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No kidding, it's selling locally for $18 a litre this year. I always try to get the late run syrup if I can, it's darker and stronger tasting so it goes farther.

If you've never had maple "butter" (no butter, just syrup processed to a spreadable consistency) you should try it if you can, when spread on an english muffin or crumpet your taste buds will do a happy dance.
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Maple syrup is an expensive thing!
Hubs buys Blue Agave syrup, from a cactus, he says.
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I remember my dad talking about making syrup from birch trees Send, I've always wondered how it tasted. And I know that other species of maples bleed in the spring if they've had a wound or a branch lopped off, it makes sense that any sap could potentially be boiled into some king of syrup.
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The bird song videos are a good idea, and I will try to get hubs to play several at one time. I have heard the cardinal song.

I asked hubs if he ever took sap and made syrup when he was a child growing up on his grandmother's farm in Oregon.
He (knowingly) said, "Everyone KNOWS that the maple only grows in the Eastern states!"
After he FORGOT he had to work yesterday, after (knowingly) saying he had the day off, and I did not check.......

Well, I decided to stop believing everything he says. So I checked online....
"Although the well-known sugar maple only grows in the eastern U.S., a variety of Pacific Northwest trees are also potential sources of sap for making syrup. ... You see, any species of maple (as well as hickory, birch, alder, butternut, and black walnut trees) will produce sap which .."

I've got this! I am on it! I do not have a need to be always right, however, I cannot stand it when I am constantly MISINFORMED! Interferes how I have to choose to jump in the car and drive him at the last minute.

Guessing this should have been on the brat thread.

But it is a good thing that I am on to him.......
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What a wonderful idea cwillie!  Thanks. YouTube it is.
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I'm sitting here on the computer and listening to a cardinal sing outside (bird song is such a wonderful sign of spring) and I remembered something I'd like to share with you all -
Whether you are in the midst of winter doldrums or are stuck in a concrete jungle you can go to YouTube and search for the bird songs of all your favourites, it's especially fun when you open multiple tabs and get a whole chorus going😁
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Glad, last year, I cut the flower stalks from all plants but one well before they went to seed. I learned my lesson about invasive plants thanks to morning glory plants years ago.
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Linda, never heard of wood so googled it.

Be careful and keep it under control as it invasive.
https://www.nps.gov/articles/dyers-woad.htm
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I can remember my brother and I spending the day helping at our neighbour's sugar bush when I was about that age, all spiles and buckets and a wood fired open pan evaporator. I've noticed that now some stores will even sell you "maple water" 😂
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My great-nephew (11) is busily tapping sugar maples. When his latest haul was cooked down, he got a precious 1/2 cup of syrup. What a wonderful thing for a kid to keep busy with! I was weeding last weekend and found what I thought were woad plants. I processed some leaves to extract dye (think indigo blue) and was thrilled that it appears they are indeed woad. So my dyers garden has a bonus of volunteer woad plants. It's in the brassica family so I'm going to feed heavily.
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When the days are above freezing, and freeze at night, the sweetest maple sap runs in the trees, ready to be collected and made into one of my favorite syrups!  At the same time, my dog is running a lot outside, and at recess most of the kids run.  As a teacher with recess duty, I saw them just run back and forth with the new spring energy rising. No flowers yet, but mud is starting to show.
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Hugs, chocolate and laughter.
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Walking along the trail and seeing sticky buds and tiny pussy willows starting to emerge. Feeling the warmth of the sun on my back.
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Me too! And the more colorful or goofy the better. Maybe I picked it up from George. Maybe I even started before he did.👣👣👣👣
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New socks. I do not know what it is but I just love new socks.
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Carnations, caffeine and chocolate (in no particular order)
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Beautiful Favorite things, and lovely uplifting decorum!
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Vibrant spring flowers
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Maybe some day in my future I will be able to drive to the ocean again that is only 45 minutes away, but for now, a glass of wine while looking through clothes catalog's is one of them.. lol
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Antelope Valley California Poppy Preserve, beautiful meadows of poppys and other wildflowers like lupines. It is a State Park.

Yes,we also had lots of rain.

Just beautiful!
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