Black pussy willows and camellias

Did you know the fuzzy "catkins" on the pussy willow are called "pusses?" I love that. We have a large black pussy willow along the back fence, but I can't remember when I planted it, or where it came from. I rarely see them in the nurseries. Of course it's a dull looking thing for 50 weeks of the year, but for a few days in early February it "blooms" with beautiful dark "pusses." I like to cut some branches for the window box, so I can see them from inside the kitchen.
The pale pink camellia forgave me for whacking its top off a few weeks ago, and is blooming too. It has a delicate and tropical looking flower, that unfortunately turns brown with the first drop of rain.

The first robin

"The snow doesn't give a soft, white damn whom it touches."
E.E. Cummings

For our family and friends in the East and Midwest, sorry to hear about your weather. Not to rub it in, but I'm off to Home Depot today to buy potting soil and rose fertilizer. Of course mother nature may still have some tricks in her bag, but our mild January is spilling over nicely into February. And with every week, there's less chance of another hard freeze in Seattle. Although I could still be eating humble pie...

The robins are supposedly year-round residents here, so I guess we don't really have a "first" robin in the spring. It just feels that way, because in the winter, we don't often see them in our neighborhood. But it is a happy day when you lie in bed on a quiet spring morning, and hear the first one singing before dawn. The robin is always the first bird up, all through the summer. You've heard the saying about the "early bird getting the worm?" My favorite little radio program "Birdnote" had an interesting segment called The Early Bird Gets the Worm, but the Late Bird May Live Longer.
The program said this:

Recent research shows... that birds dining early and heavily may lower their life expectancy. A study of three North American woodland bird species found that socially dominant birds stay lean during the day and then stoke up when it is most important – later in the day before a cold night. At night, birds avoid hypothermia by metabolizing fat. And by staying lean through most of the day, dominant birds are more agile in avoiding predators.

Interesting. So just because the robin wakes everyone else up early, doesn't mean they are "socially dominate." Maybe in the bird world, they are just plain old annoying? So, the revised moral of the story is:

Get the worm late in the day-- you'll sleep better and live longer.

I am cute

Hi everyone!

In a few days I'll be six months old...

My Grandma gave me a big, funny ball.

I can sit up by myself and I'm adorable!

Sizzle

Here's Sizzle taking a nice hay bath and chowing down. Good news-- we think she's finally figuring out how her new teeth work, and getting serious again about her favorite pastime: eating!

Ground Hog Day

Oh yes, today is Ground Hog Day. It was bad enough when Seattle was disrespectful to dead fish at the Pike Place Market, now I see our friends at PETA want poor old Punxsutawney Phil replaced with a robot. Apparently he is forced to be on display year-round at the local library (!) and not allowed to hibernate naturally.
January was the warmest month on record in Seattle, so you can't blame us for rushing the season. The grocery stores all have pots of primroses, daffodils and hyacinths out in front. These pretty containers were at Metropolitan Market this week, where they also had primroses for $1:
I bought some for my kitchen window-box, so we can see something cheerful when we go in and out the back door. And I made a little basket for the dining room table. They don't last long inside, but $2 will bring a week or so of bright pleasure...
Never mind what the the ground hog does, the best thing about February is noticeably more daylight. Not spring yet, but the light and flowers say we've turned the corner.

A new month

The morning I was very happy to turn the calendars, and leave January behind. I took a vacation from blogging yesterday and rode Sizzle, cooked a roast beef dinner and took a nap. Then I spent time on the Internet browsing for winter pictures for the blog (public domain, of course ;-)
I came across this February calendar page from medieval manuscript called a book of hours.

It's from one of the best known book of hours, and was created in 1415 for Duc Jean DuBerry, a high and rich nobleman. It is called Les Tres Riches Heures, and is one considered one of the great treasures of France, equal to the Mona Lisa and described as the "pinnacle of the art of manuscript illuminations." DuBerry was a connoisseur of the visual arts, with a particular fondness for jewels, castles, exotic animals and other rich guy hobbies.

The picture represents February from the calendar section of the book. It shows winter in a peasant village, with folks warming their feet by the fire while ordinary winter life goes on behind them. Along with their intricate beauty, the illuminations provide a record of life in the 15th and 16th centuries.


Above is an another example of a book of hours. Like all manuscripts, every book of hours is unique, but most contain texts, prayers and psalms for each liturgical hour of the day. Hence the name. Many were made for women, sometimes given as a wedding present from a husband and then passed along in families. The richly illuminated books were wildly expensive and rare, but small plain ones were more widely available.

If I haven't lost you by now on this topic, The Metropolitan Museum Art link on the medieval book is good. All of you know I'm a lazy librarian Wikipedia user, and their book of hours entry is well written, too. There are also thousands of images of illuminated manuscripts on the Internet.