Chris: February 26, 2022: The world is now trying to come to terms with yet another megalomaniacal dictator, who has dragged his ancient nation into a brutal invasion of a neighboring country just this week. These neighbors of the dictator have been struggling to make a success of democratic independence from that same blood-thirsty nation, which had harshly ruled their country from 1922 to 1991. Devastating damage and loss of life have already occurred from this most recent invasion.
Meanwhile, a bumble bee in our garden draws nectar from a cluster of tiny Western lilac flowers (above), and in so doing helps the Western lilac spread life-giving pollen to others.
Both the maniacal human and the equally determined bee possess power, though of different kinds. Whose power would you say is greater?
Just beyond our neighborhood, an almond orchard in bloom
In this month’s blog:
Garden Update: The First Month of California Spring
Kitchen Delights
February 2022 Gallery
Migrating snow geese and greater white-fronted geese in a field north of the Sacramento/San Joaquin delta, February 20. See this month’s gallery for more about these birds and others.
Garden Update: The First Month of California Spring
Front garden with apricot and cherry plum in bloom
The apricot is always the first of our trees to bloom. Although January and February have been rainless this year, our plentiful rains in the Fall gave our perennials, including the fruit trees, the start they needed to be ready for Spring’s pastel show. Within a week after the apricot exploded in pink-white blossoms, the pale pink cherry plum flowers brought an even more impressive display. In both trees, the bees have carried on a daily concert, to celebrate their life-sustaining work.
Two bees in this small bouquet of apricot blossoms, early February
Oranges and Meyer Lemons. These two trees continue to provide bountiful fruit for juice and snacking. We have used already over 300 oranges, with hundreds more still on the tree, and of the lemons we’ve used about 75, with more than 200 still waiting. The lemons are the largest we’ve had in over 10 years from this ever-spreading tree. From both trees, we use almost exclusively fruit that has fallen to the ground, and it is all we can do to keep up with the windfall. We squeeze about 30 fruit per week .
The Need for Irrigation. Through January, we had cut our household water usage by 50% since last year at this time, mostly because of the late Fall rains and because of my not planting fall-winter veggies. However, with no rain again this month and with none in the forecast for early March, I’ve turned in February to once-a-week irrigation, including both drip- and hand-watering. None of our perennials is stressed thus far, but as the temps warm into the 70s in March, I may be moving to twice-weekly watering. If so, we will be about on par for this time of year. The big question will be how many veggies will I plant in April. I’m predicting a smaller than usual planting, as the drought continues. Stay tuned.
California Poppies. My first effort at growing this drought-tolerant state flower has begun to pay off with exquisite orange blooms this month and many more buds appearing. March should be spectacular.
Our first poppies blooming, with many buds promising
Kitchen Delights: Coq Au Vin, Butternut Squash Stew, Apricot Scones
Jean’s coq au vin with rotini and mushrooms
Jean: I made my coq au vin the week after my late January birthday, with the flowers from one of our children gracing this photo (left). The crockpot was perfect for the ingredients, as slow cooking allowed the gorgeous flavors of chicken thighs, red wine, pearl onions, small potatoes, button mushrooms, carrots, and chard to mingle in the sauce. The veggie rotini, cooked separately, provided a perfect bed for this classic French stew.
Butternut Squash Stew
The recipe I used called for beef short ribs, but after the beef was eaten, there was still stew left, and it tasted just as good all-veggie. Chopped butternut squash (I used frozen chunks) is the star of the dish, because of its mild sweetness, which is perfectly complemented here with chopped white sweet potatoes, stewed tomatoes, carrots, sauteed onions, one chopped apple, and chard. Slow cooking in the crockpot made everything mingle, and the meat practically fell off the bones. Salt and pepper to taste. Chris said it was the best tasting butternut squash soup he’d ever had, with the presence of the other veggies, even though it’s technically a stew. As with the coq au vin, we used pasta, this time egg noodles, cooked separately, then added to the dish.
Jean’s butternut squash stew (or is it a soup?)
Dried Apricot Scones
To close out February, I made my new favorite scones, using the recipe for Cream Currant Scones from the Model Bakery in Napa, as printed in their Model Bakery Cookbook (2013). What makes these scones so special is their crunchy outside and their soft, buttery inside. Instead of currants I used finely chopped dried apricots, which we had frozen in the fridge after our harvest in 2020. The tangy sweetness of the apricot pieces provides a nice surprise in every bite. If you have one, I strongly recommend your using a cast iron scone pan (pictured), as it shapes the dough and keeps the heat in. Also, because this recipe is quite buttery, place a baking sheet beneath the scone pan, lest any butter should drip to the bottom of your oven.
Jean’s Dried Apricot Scones (Chris and I devoured two each before he took the photo!)
The February 2022 Gallery
Besides the array of photos from the garden, this month’s gallery (and the photography earlier in this entry) includes a few from a Sunday road trip south toward the Sacramento/San Joaquin delta. The weekend of February 18-21 marked the annual Great Backyard Bird Count, sponsored by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, when bird enthusiasts from around the world send their bird sightings to the lab. The GBBC is one of the best examples of citizen science every year.
A red-tailed hawk observes a farm field of mustard and other wildflowers, north of the Sacramento/San Joaquin delta, February 20
Huge flock of snow geese and greater white-fronted geese settle down in this field as they head north.
3 bees on Western lilac cluster, back garden
And on to March, in hope of peaceful uses of power…
From Sacramento to Potomac: Tales of Two Valleys 