Bluebirds Fly

September 2, 2013

Until the Last Cricket is Quiet

Since leaving the desert of the southwest, I've come to love summer as my favorite season. Perhaps my body knows it was meant to endure the heat, to relish in the sun's intensity on my skin and to know that I can get by on a camel's ration of water. Here in Colorado summer comes late and leaves early but while she's here I take it all in and appreciate the 5:00 A.M. wake up call. As autumn draws near every day I can't get enough of:

falling asleep to the crickets' serenade
the "caw" of that annoying black bird just before the sun comes up
feeling the breeze swirl above my bed as it collides in my room from two oppositely positioned open windows
watching my little girl pick raspberries in her birthday suit out in the garden
slowly walking the farmer's market saying hi to people who've been hidden in their homes all winter long
the smell and feel of fresh mowed grass
flip flops!
no makeup and wet hair
the roar of a mountain creek crashing wildly down a mountain side
leafy green Aspens
music in the park
kids playing in the sand
dogs swimming after ducks they never catch
my dinner growing outside
sharing my harvest
sipping wine with good friends watching our children play
sleeping under the stars

Even though summer isn't over, school has started and the carefree pace seems to have left with the school bell. I'll keep my list handy until the last cricket is quiet.

August 31, 2013

Share, Share Alike

I'm not sure why there are those recipes that we all have, that people love, but we keep them to ourselves and can't seem to share. I'm over that. Today I offer up my mom's most beloved Peach Cobbler recipe that I've converted into a fantastic Gluten Free version. This cobbler, along with pizza of any variety, was one of the things in life I lamented when learning I had to go gluten free a few years ago. I've been determined to create an equally yummy version and here it is my fellow GF tribe. I hope you enjoy it and by all means pass it on.

Peach Filling

1 1/2 TB corn starch

1/4 Cup brown sugar

1/2 Cup cold water

4 Cups sliced peaches (fresh certainly preferred)

1 TB butter

1 TB lemon juice

Mix first 3 ingredients above, add peaches and cook on medium heat

Stir until thickened, add butter, lemon juice

Pour into 8 inch round baking dish

Add Biscuit Topper

Biscuit Topper

Sift together,

3/4 Cup "Pamela's GF baking & pancake mix"

1/4 Cup "Bob's Red Mill" Almond meal/flour

1 TB sugar (turbinado if possible)

1 1/2 tspn baking powder

1 1/2 tspn salt

Cut in 1/4 Cup cold butter until course crumbles

mix 1/4 Cup milk & 1 slightly beaten egg

Add wet ingredients all at once to dry ingredients, stirring just to moisten

Drop by spoonful on HOT fruit, sprinkle with sugar

Bake 400 degrees for 20 minutes - watch that biscuit doesn't brown - gold is best

* If you don't care for almond simply delete and use 1 Cup GF flour - also, if you're not GF simply use regular baking flour and keep the rest of the recipe the same - EASY

April 15, 2013

Spring Speaks to my Soul

For winter's rains and ruins are over,
And all the season of snows and sins;
The days dividing lover and lover,
The light that loses, the night that wins;
And time remembered is grief forgotten,
And frosts are slain and flowers begotten,
And in green underwood and cover
Blossom by blossom the spring begins.

Algernon Charles Swinburne (1837–1909)
Atalanta in Calydon (1865)

I've never been one for poetry much but shivering under blankets one night in the deep of January, dreaming of warmer days to come, I found this one. It resonated with me in it's brief simplicity. It's simple truth.

This winter has been the longest and coldest for so many reasons. I have longed for spring in such a visceral way it's hard to explain. I've laid in bed on cold winter nights picturing the green spring growth peaking up through the soil, the blossoms busting through their tight woven combs on the tips of the trees.

On the occasional warm day we've had recently, I've gotten out in my yard, gloves on, and feverishly pruned-pulled-yanked and hacked at the dead, dried leaves as if vestiges of a past life that I just needed to be rid of. The incredible satisfaction at looking deep at the root of each plant to find tiny green life waking and reaching for the sun has been so healing. It's true, time does heal. I feel it and it looks and smells like Spring.

". . . And in green underwood and cover
Blossom by blossom the spring begins."

March 22, 2013

Law of Diminishing Returns

$\frac{1}{X}\sum_{i=1}^{X}\frac{1}{2^{i-1}}=\text{D}$

Substituting 3 for $\text{X}$ and expanding yields:

$\frac{1}{3}\sum_{i=1}^{3}\frac{1}{2^{i-1}}=\text{D}$

$=\frac{1}{3}\cdot\left(\frac{1}{2^{1-1}}+\frac{1}{2^{2-1}}+\frac{1}{2^{3-1}}\right)$

$=\frac{1}{3}\cdot\left(\frac{1}{2^0}+\frac{1}{2^{1}}+\frac{1}{2^{2}}\right)$

$=\frac{1}{3}\cdot\left(\frac{1}{1}+\frac{1}{2}+\frac{1}{4}\right)$

$=\frac{1}{3}\cdot\left(\frac{7}{4}\right)$

$=\frac{7}{12}$

$=0.58\overline{3}\text{ t/kg}$

I walked into my favorite coffee house this morning and was greeted with the sounds of Hawaiian music and Nathan's friendly smile asking me if I wanted my regular 2 shot Americano in the 16 oz cup. I say, "yea but can you put it in a 12 oz cup? I need my coffee stronger these days." He says, "ah the law of diminishing returns".

As defined by the oh-so convenient wikipedia:

The law of diminishing returns states that in all productive processes, adding more of one factor of production, while holding all others constant ("ceteris paribus"), will at some point yield lower per-unit returns.^[1]

So this starts me thinking about the concept and how relevant it is to much more than economics. How many times have we found ourselves in relationships at home, at work, with friends where we see ourselves constantly putting more and more into it when we feel the return becoming less and less. Like the lab rat in the cage pushing the button frantically as the reward becomes less frequent and unpredictable.

We might find ourselves going above and beyond at work, putting in longer hours only to find that then this is what becomes expected of us as our new baseline. In relationships, we may find ourselves taking extra care to show the other person that they're special, that they are loved and appreciated only to find that over time those things are taken for granted.

So given this unfortunate Law of Diminishing Returns should we stop "adding more factors of production"? I don't think so. The important variable in all of this is finding yourself in a relationship, whether personal or professional, where the other cog in the wheel (your partner, your boss, your co-workers, your friends) is of like mind, cognoscente of this concept and careful not to take things for granted. The other key to not becoming a victim of Diminishing Returns is to "shake it up". Add random variables to the equation to keep things fresh and interesting, to spark production, to keep love and happiness thriving.

As for my Americano? Perhaps tomorrow I'll order a latte.

February 21, 2013

One, two, count the "MOOs"

"There are obviously two educations. One should teach us how to make a living and the other how to live."
James T. Adams

I'm ecstatic! Since the day I stumbled upon this little gem of a school tucked away on a hillside just outside of our town I have wanted my daughter to attend school there. She was only 6 months old or so but I was already looking forward to the day I could put her name in for a coveted spot in the lottery drawing to admit the new class of preschoolers!

Well that day has come and she got in! Not only does that guarantee her a spot in preschool, but if it's a good fit for her she can attend there through the 12th grade. It is one of the only farm schools in the country that educate Pre-K through high school. The curriculum is so different from anything I've seen before and the physical environment of both the buildings and the surrounding farm are just serene. No cramped desks and sterile hallways. There's a beautiful fireplace in the cozy library with a gorgeous river rock hearth. The classrooms are dedicated to things like spinning wool from the resident alpacas to a working bike shop for learning about physics and math.

Although I'll be sad to have my little one gone five full days a week at only the age of three, I can't imagine a more stimulating and nurturing environment. What fun it will be to learn to count by gathering eggs just laid by happy hens and to learn about fruits and vegetables by planting and harvesting them.

I'm pretty sure that I'm more excited than she is.

February 7, 2013

Beauty & Grace

I want to thank a talented artist and childhood friend, Ann-Britt, for allowing me to use her gorgeous photo for my blog title art. Since I've known Ann-Britt as a teenager, she's always been a free spirited, kind hearted person. She is especially dear to me for her compassion toward animals and the natural world, her humor and the child that will always live within her. Although I haven't seen her in 20+ years, I can gather through her art that she is even more dear than in those days of our youth. Check out her work at http://www.ann-britt.com/ and again I'm so grateful for her generosity.