CFFC: Sense of Smell

Tags

CFFC, flowers, nature, Photo Challenge, photography, River scenes, trees

Think of all the beauty still left around you and be happy. Anne Frank

Water

Flowers

Fresh Air

Some old-fashioned things like fresh air and sunshine are hard to beat. – Laura Ingalls Wilder

Happy Wednesday!

This is my post for Cee Neuner’s Fun Foto Challenge: Sense of Smell

 

 

 

CFFC: Sense of Taste

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baking, birthday, cake, CFFC, cookies, cooking, food, food photography, Photo Challenge, photography

People who love to eat are always the best people. – Julia Child

Cookies are made with butter and love.

Only the pure in heart can make a good soup. – Ludwig Beethoven

If God had intended us to follow recipes, He wouldn’t have given us grandmothers. – Linda Hemley

A party without cake is just a meeting!

Strawberries are what make life taste wonderful. ― Anthony T. Hincks

Because everything is better with bacon, right?

Happy Wednesday!

This is my post for Cee Nuener’s Fun Foto Challenge: Sense of Taste

CFFC: Sense of Hearing

Tags

nature, Photo Challenge, photography

 

It’s Spring. Birds are trilling in the trees, woodpeckers are knocking themselves silly, and the frogs by the pond are thrumming in a monastic chorus!

Sometimes you don’t have to go much further than your own backyard.

The Birds

 

The Bees

And One Little Froggy

Birds do it. Bees do it. Even educated fleas do it. Let’s do it. Let’s fall in love. Cole Porter

Happy Wednesday!

This is my post for Cee Neuner’s Fun Foto Challenge: Sense of Hearing

CFFC: Sense of Touch

Tags

CFFC, flowers, garden, nature, Photo Challenge, photography, snow, tea, trees

Nature invites us to experience it with all of our senses, including our sense of touch. Silky and smooth, hard and rough, hot or cold, fluffy, furry or fuzzy. Well, maybe not everything should be touched – poison ivy and bumblebees, for example. Even isolated at home, there are wonders in nature to be savoured, if you take the time to look for them.

No winter lasts forever; no spring skips its turn. – Hal Borland

Moss is popular for her unusual beauty, but what distinguishes her is that she is accessible and down to earth. – Rita Clifton

Green moss shines there with ice encased; The long grass bends its spear-like form; And lovely is the silvery scene When faint the sun-beams smile.    –Robert Southey

This is the forest primeval. The murmuring pines and the hemlocks, Bearded with moss, and in garments green, indistinct in the twilight, stand like druids of eld, with voices sad and prophetic. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Happy Wednesday!

This is my post for Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge: Sense of Touch

What’s In My Cup: Berry Blossom

Tags

#whatsinmycup, photography, tea, teacup, what's in my cup

You know that moment when you close the cupboard and you hear something fall? That’s the sound of someone else’s problem.

Since I can’t go shopping for tea anywhere, other than online (which just isn’t as much fun since I can’t smell as I browse), and since I’m getting a little bored with the few teas I brought with me, I decided to root through my Mom’s cupboards yesterday afternoon. Don’t worry…I didn’t leave a trap for her. 🙂 But I did unearth a sachet in a flavour I haven’t tried yet:  Tazo Berryblossom White Tea.

White tea is packed with antioxidants because it undergoes minimal processing. It is caffeinated, but has less caffeine than green tea. This Berryblossom tea contains both white tea and darjeeling, as well as natural huckleberry flavour and natural cranberry flavour.

Maybe I’m becoming a tea snob, often sipping from loose leaf teas that actually contain fruit and nuts, but what does “natural ___ flavour” mean? This essentially means that an oil or protein was sufficiently extracted from a natural source like a huckleberry, to count as essence or “flavour”, rather than being completely cooked up in a lab from scratch (i.e., artificial flavour).

This tea sachet described this berry blossom tea as “a delicate white tea with tinges of huckleberry and white cranberry”. White cranberry has the same health benefits as red cranberries; it is slightly less tart and contains less of the flavinoid that provides the red colouring.

The tea sachet had an inviting, pungent berry smell that reminded me of blueberries. There was also a slight whisper of something floral. I steeped the tea for longer than the recommended 3 minutes because it was such a pale colour. White tea is normally very pale but in this small tea cup, I expected it to brighter than it was. After 5-6 minutes the colour did darken, but I may have oversteeped it because it was also slightly bitter and very grassy. It reminded me more of a chamomile-flavoured tea with a slight hint of berry at the back of the tongue. My Mom smelled it and thought it was peach.

I read several reviews from different sources and most rated it 5/5, so if you are a fan of chamomile and don’t mind caffeine, this could be an option for you. 🙂

Peter was not very well during the evening. His mother put him to bed, made some chamomile tea; ‘One table-spoonful to be taken at bed-time’. -Beatrix Potter, The Tale of Peter Rabbit

Happy Monday!

Wilderness Wednesday: Evening

Tags

CFFC, Photo Challenge, photography, sunsets

Softly the evening came with the sunset. – Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

This is my post for Cee Neuner’s Fun Foto Challenge: Sense of Sight.

Wilderness Wednesday: Neighbourhood

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animals, barns, classic cars, cows, dogs, nature, neighbours, photography

Just walking in the neighbourhood… I gotta work off the Easter cupcakes somehow! 😉

 

 

I dressed and went for a walk – determined not to return until I took in what Nature had to offer.  Raymond Carver

Happy Wednesday!

Wilderness Wednesday: Big Bunnies

Tags

animals, bunny, Easter, photography, Wilderness Wednesday

Stop steamin’ up my tail! What are ya tryin’ to do … wrinkle it? – Bug Bunny

Even the smallest one can change the world. -Beatrix Potter

Now run along, and don’t get into mischief. – Beatrix Potter, Peter Rabbit

Some bunny inspired me to create more felt creatures…

Happy Wednesday!

Cee’s Black & White Challenge: Wheels

Tags

black and white photography, black&white Photography, CB&W, family, nature, Photo Challenge, photography

My dad’s wagon for wood, long abandoned in the center of the woods.

End your day with a smile, a happy thought, and a grateful heart. – Clint Walker

Happy, restful Sunday!

This is my post for Cee’s Black & White Photo Challenge: Wheels

Wilderness Wednesday: Like a River

Tags

nature, photography, River scenes, Wilderness Wednesday

How are you doing?

We continue to tuck in at home, which the introvert in me is loving. Of course, it doesn’t hurt that most of my time has been spent at my folks with Little Guy. We watch tv, play board games and drink endless pots of tea. Last week we made the 2.5 hour drive home (I had to pee most of the trip – no rest stops!) so I could lead worship for our online church service and deliver groceries. Three of us played and sang to an empty sanctuary, which was strange. What was stranger was watching the service later in my pjs. We are trying to establish some routines. Little Guy works on school stuff on my laptop. Mom and I spend time on Bible study. I get exercise by wrestling with Dad for the t.v. remote and chasing grackles from the bird feeder. On some days, we go for walks and see no one. Which is great because I only have enough hair dye left for one more touch up. It’s not going to be pretty. Did I also mention endless pots of tea?

All the while, the ice is melting, the birds are singing, and the earth is slowly greening…

 

Time is like a river. You cannot touch the same water twice, because the flow that has passed will never pass again. Enjoy every moment of your life. -Unknown

Happy Wednesday!