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| Taken two days ago when it was sunny |
We walked five miles and then gathered in the Ferry Terminal and shared coffee and stories. That picture above tells the story of our beautiful area here in Bellingham: the dandelions have already turned to white stalks, and the buttercups and bluebells are in full flower. These are all considered by most people to be weeds, but the lawn where I took this picture didn't seem to consider them to be weeds at all.
If I find dandelions or buttercups in my garden, they are definitely weeds. But out here on someone else's lawn, they can be anything they want. I thought they looked pretty, even. Now that I've got my post done, I'm off to the garden shop to buy myself some more sugar snap peas. The ones I planted are almost done in by the slugs, and I'm going to try again.
Oh, and for those of you who don't know what squirrel bars are (from my last post), which is probably everyone, they are a nice little snack I allow myself on Thursday hikes, prepared at the Community Food Co-op where I go to pick up my trail food and even sometimes lunch for the hike. Here are the ingredients:
Almonds -whole
Cashews -roasted & salted
Pumpkin Seeds
Apricots -diced
Cranberries
Raisins
Rice Syrup
Corn Starch
Vanilla Extract
These are cut and packaged into squares of varying sizes. I try to find a square of 4 ounces or so, which I count it as 500 calories on my food tracker. It makes for a very satisfying little bite of something as I hike along. Usually the rice syrup keeps it together, but the bar almost melted into the package on Thursday, the first time I realized a downside to these bars.
Hope wherever you are today you are having a good day. I'm feeling pretty good myself and thinking about the garden and taking some pictures of its progress.
:-)
Thank you for the update about squirrel bars - which sound very, very good indeed. And a little moreish.
ReplyDeleteMy father told me that a weed is a plant growing where you don't want it too - which makes sense to me. And also means that the beautiful dandelions are NOT weeds while they are growing in someone else's yard.
ahhh... squirrel bars... :)
ReplyDeleteglad you had a good misty walk.
those bars sound great...i must not have got the notification on your last post...just read about the hot hike...would be cool to see the bluebells...i rather like weeds as flowers...smiles.
ReplyDeleteRight now I'm sitting in my recliner watching it rain, watching the Kentucky Derby, and catching up on some blog reading on my lap top. We've been to a plant sale, coordinated child care with SIL Jan while a Jill is on a Mountaineers outing, taken everyone out to lunch, and distributed plants from our greenhouse. Tom is napping. I read the paper and did the puzzles while having my coffee and chocolate. Later today we'll gear up, including rain jackets, and hear into town on the light rail for tonight's Sounders match.
ReplyDeleteHaving a little down time feels so good.Oh, it's time to sing "My Old Kentucky Home".
Oh, and yes, "weeds" are always prettier in someone else's yard. And I figured a squirrel bar had to be some kind of a trail mix bar.
ReplyDeleteI hope you get some gardening weather. We gave up in trying to today.
Melted or not, the bars sound yummy!
ReplyDeleteSounds like a good snack. We use GORP and add lots of other stuff like your ingredients but with no syrup.
ReplyDeleteI'm on day 3 of a monthlong no-sugar regiment. The bars sound wonderful beyond belief!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful picture. wonderful to finally see such bright colors after a long dreary winter.
ReplyDeleteThat squirrel bar sounds delicious. I like those ingredients. I am glad you found the walk satisfying.
ReplyDeleteOkay, the slugs. the only sure fire method of control is to manually pick them up and "slay" them. It works best at night if you use a head lamp. they are out at night and not in the daytime. I've tried this. It works but it's time consuming.
ReplyDeleteThe squirrel bars sound so yummy.. if they aren't melted.. and probably even if they are. The photo so beautifully depicts the season. Sigh!
ReplyDeleteThat sounds like a wonderful snack. I'd never heard of squirrel bars before.
ReplyDeleteArt used to shudder every time he saw the first dandelion puff balls every spring. I don't know why we don't have more dandelions in Hawaii, but we just don't. We do have every other kind of weed though.
Squirrel Bars I should have known! Slugs are getting you down have you tried beer in small containers buried right to ground level so they can drown happy:)
ReplyDeleteOK, so now I know that your are not eating meaty squirrel bars, but rather nuts n things - not that squirrels are not tasty, which they are. We have so much water from flooding that it is still way to wet in most places to plant and not warm enough really, although I've had some good walks. I am getting excited - I saw a patch of dandelions yesterday - there is hope yet. Soon the weather will change, I just know it. Have a wonderful Sunday :)
ReplyDeleteToo hot. Uphill. Not fun. I've done that in Montana with my brother who kept saying the fall with the pool and huge rainbows is just around the bend.... mile after mile.
ReplyDeleteSquirrel bars sound yummy. Good recovery from the long hike, DJan.
ReplyDeleteI could never understand why all those little wildflowers look so pretty when you see them in a field or along the side of the road. But as soon as they pop up in your yard, they are considered weeds, and you have to pull them, poison them, get rid of them as soon as possible. I keep telling B they are locally indigenous natural flora ... but she's not buyin' it.
ReplyDeleteI love it when healthy snacks taste delicious!
ReplyDeleteI thought you made these until I read your comment about finding the right size. At first read, I thought, well, why can't she just cut them that size when she makes them. Then I realized you BUY them, already made.
ReplyDeleteDear DJan, thanks for the "squirrel bar" recipe. I'm going to make them. You know, every time you use the name of your town--Bellingham--I think I ask you if you've ever read "The Living," a novel by Annie Dilliard. I read it when it was first published and it's the first time I ever knew about Bellingham. The novel takes place in the latter part of the 19th century and it's about the Pacific Northwest---and Bellingham!!!!
ReplyDeletePeace.
I love the wildflowers. They are only weeds to me if they are growing in the middle of my lawn.
ReplyDeleteI have a similar recipe for energy bars but I didn't have a name for it. Squirrel bars is perfect.
I've never seen a real slug. What I saw on a documentary it looked like a naked giant snail, right? I hope your snap peas survive this time. Do they have deterrents you can put around your plot to keep them out?
ReplyDeleteI love wildflowers and have loved dandelions since I was a kid--but they were the bane of my father's existence--LOL! ;)
squirrel bars...I could eat 'em!!
ReplyDeletelove the wildflower image too DJ.
Hope your headache is now in the past.