March's Lion

March's lion has hit with avengence  in Redbush's world!  The wind is whipping the snow around across the deck and off the roof, up to 60 K.  Bonzi stuck his nose out of the garage this morning, bracing himself before going out.  It didn't take either Bonzi, or Bonzerelli long to decide why they were out there, then back in where it was warm.  The school buses were called off because of blizzard conditions.  It's a good day for Redbush to stay inside and work on her artwork.  She is avoiding the much needed house-cleaning!  The weather is supposed to get better later this afternoon.  Here's hoping!  Redbush has decided that the only thing that will cure the winter blues is making  her favorite chili recipe.  She will share it with you.  She hopes your weather is much better than hers. 

Chili Macaroni

1 pound ground beef (or, Redbush uses moose meat)

2 medium onions, chopped (about 1 cup)

1 can of pork and beans ( 15 1/2 ounces)

1 can of kidney beans ( 15 1/2 ounces)

1 can of  Italian tomatoes ( 28 ounces) with herbs,or stewed tomatoes

1 can of tomato soup 

1 chopped green pepper (optional)

1 cup uncooked elbow macaroni

2 to 4 tsps chili powder

1 tsp salt

1/8 tsp cayenne red pepper (optional)

1/8 tsp paprika

Brown beef and onions.  Stir in remaining ingredients.  Simmer until macaroni is tender (20-30 minutes).   6 servings

 

Sunshine-Yeah!

Redbush is ecstatic to feel the warmth of the sun today!  Yeah!  It's beginning to feel a lot more like spring now.  Even Bonzi loves lying on the straw-filled burlap pillow outside the door now, not wanting to come inside when it is like this.  She has procrastinated doing a lot of errands because it has been either cold, snowing, or just plain blah!  Since last week, she has been working on a piece of artwork which needs to be completed by the end of this week.  If she gets it done, she will load it onto her blog.  This morning when she got up, she noticed the red ball of the sun through her dining room window.  By the time she photographed it, a lot of the ball had disappeared.  It's a photo taken from her place where she heads out onto the lease.  Redbush is wishing you all  a sunny day.

Spring's First Day-Or Noooot?

Today is supposed to be the first day of spring in Redbush's world- March 21st.  But she is having a hard time spotting anything even remotely representing that first day.   At the moment March seems to be indicating that it will head out like a lion.  Snow is still falling.  The temperature is -2 degrees (she knows it could be worse).  The trees are still frost and snow-laden.  Bonzi's water dish is still frozen solid in the morning and has to be replaced.  Redbush is aching for some of the usual signs that spring is here:

- Crocuses peaking through the ground 

- A snipe, or kildeer doing his usual roadrunner run along the water runs 

 of the driveway.

- Pussywillows forming on the willow trees.

- Water runs trickling out from the ice under the snow thaws on the lease.

- Green grass pushing through the frosty lawn.

-  Buds forming on her poplar and mountain ash trees.

-  Seeing hundreds of  Canada geese in their v-formation migrating back  and  hearing their honking voices.

Snow Hoppin'

When Redbush went skiing on the lease yesterday, Bonzi came with her as he always does.  In the last week there has been quite a lot more snow fall.  She has had to remake her trail and try to guess where the old one was, so it was a slow trip for Redbush.  Bonzi, on the other hand, wasn't phased by the deep snow, in fact enjoyed it as much if not more.  He did his usual sniffing of rabbit tracks, marking his territory after sniffing where the last coyote had been on the  trail. He would go  galloping through the bush after the occasional squirrel, then would come leaping through the bush even harder to catch up after realizing that Redbush had gotten a lead on him.    After digging through the snow,during rest times, he would stop to get Redbush to throw a stick that he had left there last time.  The video shows how deep the snow really was.  We're not far from the first day of spring now, but it's going to be a while before the snow disappears.  How is the snow in your part of the world, or do you have any?  

Rugged Wilderness

As promised, Redbush is posting a few of her artworks that she is donating for the banquet when the governor general arrives.  A lot of her artworks consist of subjects taken as photos from an area that she used to spend a lot of time camping at in the summer.  The gold trees, tamaracks,  seen in the picture are some Redbush's favourites.  They are the only evergreens that she knows of that change colour in the fall, and lose their needles.  She would camp for a month in this area taking photos of landscapes and wild animals that she saw.  This area is known as the Wild Kakwa, and is a long grueling trip by truck and camper in the summer when the road is in one of its better conditions.  Even in its best condition, the road has many potholes, is gravel, and when muddy can be a nightmare with a truck and camper trailer.  For the past recent years, Redbush and her hubby haven't ventured out to camp there because the roads have been almost impassable even with a pick-up and have been told that the gravel is almost nil in spots with holes big enough to lose your truck in.  Redbush has collected many photos of the area and hopes to be able to venture out there someday again.  She is especially attracted to the area because of its ruggedness and remoteness.  She is presently sketching one of the photos, that she has left you with here, which is going to become her next work of art on display next month in a contest that she is entering in a gallery in town.   She hopes that you  had a great weekend with fabulous weather!  Ours is going to pot as I write this with wind and blowing snow! 

Frikkkkkkkin' Freeeeeeezn'

Redbush has decided that going out in the cold these days is becoming less and less inviting.  So, she has decided to stoke up the fire and enjoy it's warmth.  Today was still a freezing day in Redbush's world, so cold, that Bonzi wanted to head into the house before he did his business.  Bonzerelli, no doubt, wasn't long in deciding what he was out there for, and in the house he came, shivering and shaking.  Bonzi headed for the house, then back out in the yard, then back to the house, then  like a streak he galloped out to do his business, and came right back on the deck to do his usual scrape on the door.  This time, though, it was a desperate two loud scrapes.  Redbush has had the discussion before about who taught him to do that.  It took only once for her hubby to teach him to push the garage door open with his paw.  Now, he knows that this is something that he can use to his advantage.  When he came in, he had frost on his eyebrows and muzzle.  But, they say the warmer temperatures will be here tomorrow.   Redbush will share a movie of a fire that they made out on the lease last week.  Oh, drat!  Sorry it's another bungle on her part. Here's you having to crook your neck again!    She promises to figure her camera out for next time!  She will also share another part of a classic poem.  Hopefully it's the last time that she shares anything much to do with snow,although she doubts it.  Bring on the heat wave!  Guess the title and give the poet if you know it!  Ha!

The frost moved up the window-pane

Against the sun's advance,

In line and pattern weaving there

Rich scenes of old romance-

Armies on the Russian snows, 

Cockade, sword, and lance.

It spun a web more magical,

Each moment creeping higher,

For marble cities crowned the hills

With turret, fane and spire,

Till when it struck the flaming sash,

The Kremlin was on fire.

GEEEEEEEEEEE!

Redbush is ecstatic that the Bag Lady just happened to pick her favourite letter!  She is now going to attempt to narrow down 10 things that she likes that begin with the letter"G."  It just so happens that she can think of quite a few, but she will try to draw out the top 10.  So here are Redbush's 10 favorite things that begin with the letter "G."

1.  Green trees are  Redbush's favorite plants, not just because they indicate summer, but, because she uses them a lot for references in her artworks.   She likes anything green, of course, except cheese and meat!

2.  Gardening is Redbush's favorite spring and summer

activity especially flower gardening.

3.  Geraniums, gentians, and gladioli are some of the flowers that she grows.

4.  Grosbeaks, evening and pine, are at the top of the list of her

 favorite birds that visit her feeder winter and summer.  Redbush loves to drink her coffee in the morning watching them on the deck.

5.  Garlic, ginger are spices that she uses a lot  and she enjoys  anything grilled, especially steak.

6.  Golfing is an activity that Redbush enjoys in the summer, even though she isn't good at it.

7.  Gold comes to mind, and although she doesn't have any, a little would be nice, maybe one, or two bricks.

8.  Golden eagle, is a gorgeous  bird that flew up in front of

 Redbush when visiting one of her mom's estate properties on the river bank.

9.  Generosity is an attribute that Redbush admires in her close friends.

10. Gouda is one of her favorite cheeses.

 

Do You Carrot?

One of Redbush's regular grocery list items every week is carrots.  Usually Redbush buy's 3 five-pound bags of them for her family.  Now, you know all the pluses about carrots, like, beta-carotene, good for the eyesight, and probably full of vitamin c and d.  Redbush and her hubby enjoy carrots raw, cooked, in stir-fry and in stews.  But the main reason that Redbush  buys so many is that her buddies Bonzi and Bonzerelli enjoy them too.  Each morning and most evenings, Bonzi and Bonzerelli have a carrot connection.  It is usually initiated by Bonzi touching either Redbush or her hubby with his nose to make them realize that they have forgotten something.  So, Redbush knows that at this time we have a twenty minute span of carrot competition.  I believe that it's a time for Bonzi and his buddy Bonzerelli to bond.  It does Redbush' heart good to watch them crunch away in unison.  Redbush usually knows when Bonzi doesn't want anymore when he drops his on the floor and Bonzerelli immediately picks it up, not to be wasted.  Oh, by the way, neither one of them will eat them unless they are peeled and cut lengthwise for their appetites to enjoy.  Redbush is going to attempt to load a video of the two of them crunching carrots.

Wednesday Winter Warm-ups

One of Redbush's good friends called her asking if she and Bonzi would like to go out on the local cross-country ski trails for a ski.  Redbush informed her that after her wrist had been cracked a few years ago that she wasn't brave enough to deal with any steep hills. We agreed to take the dog trail that only had gradual slopes and Redbush survived the trip even though her good friend is an avid skier and would much have preferred  trails with much more challenge.  Bonzi enjoyed himself, too, sniffing out all the new smells, and tracks, turning to check on us to see if his mistress and friend were still coming.  The weather was grey and cooler than yesterday, so, Redbush had to stop occasionally to let her friend know that she had to warm her fingers even though she was wearing gloves.  Poor circulation!  She doesn't want  to admit that maybe it comes with age. Yesterday Redbush worked a bit on a watercolour artwork, one of two, that she has to produce to donate for a banquet when the governor general visits.  OOOOOOO  that sounds so important! The local art society was asked to have 200 artworks for display on the tables at the governor general's banquet when he comes sometime in June.  I haven't finished it yet, but thought I would show you the photo along with the unfinished 4"x6" painting.  Redbush wants to appologize for her illiterate way of presenting these pieces.  She will make sure to attempt to turn other ones the right way next time.   I hope you're having much more sunlight than we are in your part of the world. the world.

Icing Sugar Snow Shadows

Yesterday Redbush ventured out to the lease  on her skis because the weather was beautiful and has turned milder.  The mounds of snow and shadows mesmerized her with the colors of blues, purples, oranges, and browns.  Since she takes a lot of photographs for her artworks, she tries to capture the scenery, and take advantage of the sunlight on the warmer winter days.  The trees, snow shadows, twigs and grasses are used a lot in Redbush's paintings whenever she does winter  scenes.  The one day, when she went out on her skis, she had a terrible time coming back as on her way back, it got warmer, to a temperature that made the snow stick heavily on the skis , making it impossible to slide, so she basically had to walk with her skis with heavy snow stuck to the bottom of them.  She had a dilemma because if she took them off, she would have sunk deeply with each step, or if she kept them on, it still would be a heavy load with each ski step, sticking, and almost causing her to do a headstand.  Hey, now that's exercise!  Bonzi, as usual, would trot ahead without a care in the world.  Redbush wishes she had his energy.  The snow yesterday was just right, creating beautiful shadows that in some instances resembled icing mounds on a cake.  She will share some pictures of the lease and her yard and hope you enjoy them.  Do you recognize the classic poem following the pictures?  She has written one stanza of it.   What was the title? Who was the poet? 

Before I melt,

Come look at me!

This lovely icy filigree

Of a great forest

In one night

I make a wilderness

Of white: