Nature Note: Peepers at Last!!

It's all done with that very stretchy throat.

I realized only this last week that I had not heard spring peepers yet!! I usually hear them as early as mid-February and yet not a "peep" so far. But tonight, when letting Mr. Bingley in, I rejoiced at the chorus of little Hallelujahs coming from the neighbor's pond.

Have you ever seen 
a cuter amphibian?

Can't say what delayed them.  I don't think it was a lack of noticing on my part because with that pond close-at-hand you don't really have to try. Our bathroom faces that direction as does the back door so there's plenty of opportunity. 

Anyway, breakthrough.

   This observation does fly in the face of a study of changing animal habits attributed to global warming though.  

I was just reading the other night---in that bathroom---from the March 2011 edition of "Birdscope", a publication of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, that long-kept nature journals by "citizen scientists" (normal people like you who don't get paid, they just like doing it) have pointed to a trend across many species of animals of ever-earlier spring habits such as migration, mating, and even peeping. Maybe my peepers are radical non-conforming peepers.

Here is a quickie fact page by The Department of Natural Resources on "pseudacris crucifer" that could help your child's (or your) nature notebook. Note the "false cross" on the back. See? A basic knowledge of Latin does pay off. I also like how this site describes the sound of many peepers peeping together like "sleighbells!" (Though at this time of the year I don't want anything to remind me of winter.)

No wonder they're hard to find.

Of course the really amazing thing about these little guys---and it is just the guys---is that peeping. I mean, look at the size of him and then consider that he can be heard so far away. That pond I've been talking about is a good hundred yards--close but not THAT close-- and I hear them clearly, even if just a few are calling.

Here's a more in-depth site that also has .wav recordings of their singing.

In the six years I've lived at this house I've never seen one and if you do, please tell me about it and how you did it. 'Cuz whenever I try to get close enough, they all go silent.  Drives me crazy. 

In the meantime, I'm ready to sleep with the window open to be "sung" to sleep!

How about you? Got Peepers?

Menu Plan: Green Week!

 

Happy St Patrick's Week!

Being 3/4 Irish I always look forward to planning my St. Patty's Menu. But I have tired of Corned Beef and Cabbage, so I branched out this year with a springy soup and a twist on Irish Soda Bread.

I'm also trying to lose a few pounds from winter and improve my cholesterol, so I'm planning for that too. Oh, and I want to take advantage of spring produce! The Allrecipes.com site is helping me do all that and make my menu-planning faster and more efficient.

I am finally getting the hang of using their new Menu Planner program.  It's not the most intuitive design, but it's proving worth the trouble. I open the Menu Planner, give my Menu Plan a name (like Mar 14-Mar21, or St Pat's Day), and save. It asks me if I want a one-meal menu (like a St. Pat's Brunch maybe) or a multi-day plan. After making my selection for multi-day, a window opens with 5 boxes. Into those I drag and drop the recipes that I have either saved in My Recipe Box, or from the page the recipe is on I can choose to click on Add to Menu, and it will drop it in. (I will have to actually drag it to the day I want, but it will be in the queue.) I can add as many days as I want.

The next great part is that the Shopping List is being compiled automatically! When I save it I can edit in or out those ingredients I already have or extra stuff that I also want to pick up like bread.
This service is member-supported, but the reasonable cost is worth it!
 So here's what I planned:


Monday. Made with some-lo-fat ingredients, but doesn'y taste that way. We found it very comforting.
Easy Chicken and Broccoli Casserole
Sliced tomatoes with a vinaigrette dressing


Tuesday. Pioneer Girl Meeting
Frozen Entree




Wednesday
Pasta Primavera with Smoked Gouda
Green salad.
Crusty loaf of bread




Thursday. Happy Vegetarian St. Patrick's Day!
I kept it light and meatless!
Spinach, Leek, and White Bean Soup
Cheddar Onion Soda Bread


Friday.
We are studying Marco Polo and I wanted to try something with the flavors that he would encounter on his travels through the Middle East. While a tagine is traditionally Moroccan, the spices and fruits would be authentic to the spice trade on the Silk Road. Besides I just tried some at a homeschool co-op cooking class and HAD to make it, without or without a Marco Polo study!

Chicken Tagine 
I can't find eggplant this week, so am substituting already skinned and chunked butternut squash to replicate the texture, if not the taste. Never knew you could buy it like that!
served with couscous


Saturday.
Traditionally Father R's day to cook simply because he likes to!


Sunday
I'm sure there will be some great leftovers for tonight. A Day of Rest from the kitchen.

Clog over to Organized Junkie and more Menu Plan Mondays!