Spring is in the air

I cannot wait for spring to come. After all that snow, most of which is melted. I think today should finish off the rest. It is suppose to be very nice outside. And not a lick of wind, YEAH! I try to focus on all the positives of our move. One of them is hardly no wind, and a longer growing season. I am so looking forward to planting. I talked to my friend Ruth yesterday, she is crazy for plants, she has all the best places to go. I can hardly wait! Anyone that knows me, knows I love plants and flowers. She says that there is a lady that comes down from Bear Lake that sells Geraniums, big beautiful ones, for $5. Who can beat that. In the fall I can re-plant some tulips for this yard. We live far enough away from the mountians that I think we should be ok with the deer not eating them.
Last year, a mother Robin decided to nest in my wreath on my front porch. Here she is perched, I caught her laying an egg. That is why she is staying in her nest, letting me take the picture. Otherwise, she would have flown away. Her eyes are so wide, she must have been scared out of her wits. But I just had to take the picture.
This is her nest full of eggs---she laid five altogether. Only four hatched. It is amazing to see what she did with her young. After they hatch they are little scrawny things, but then they get fat and fluffy really quick. It was hard to imagine them all fitting in the nest. But one by one she would take them from the nest. You at first saw them on the ground, almost as if they had fallen out. I guess birds need to get their land legs before they get their wings.

This baby robin was in the tree in our back yard. I had to stand on a chair to get the picture. Cute isn't he.

I really am looking forward to spring---flowers, dirt, grass, eating outside, seeing all the neighbors come out.

It Never Hurts to be Prepared

I went to a class on Saturday with an old friend from Casper. It was at Kitchen Kneads in Ogden and the couple who own the store talked about how they lived on their food storage for 11 months in Montana. So basically they talked about how you can actually live on just the foods stored. They claim that in that 11 month period they did not purchase one thing from a store---no dairy, no meat, no vegatables, nothing. They gave demonstrations on how to prepare foods with wheat, beans, and rice basically. Oh, also, the art of sprouting. They actually covered a-lot, it was a 3 1/2 hour class.
So I thought I would share one of my favorite things.

The first thing he told us about--- was a candle that will burn 3 hours made out of toilet paper.
Buy cheap toilet paper for this:
1 roll of toilet paper with the center roll and approximately a 1/2 inch thick of paper left on it pulled from the center.
1 empty new quart can with lid. (looks like a small paint can)
1 32 oz bottle of rubbing alcohol
take the roll of toilet paper and place inside the can, pour the entire contents of the alcohol over the toilet paper.
To store, place lid on top and always store upright. Will eventually evaporate--but will last for a fair amount of time. (If it's possible to store upright in a car, this is a great thing to carry along in-case of an emergency)
Another great use is that you can turn it into a makeshift stove. Place a #10 can (the ones we use to can with at the distribution center) after punching holes around the top of the can and the bottom of the can, and of course one end off, place over the small can. Presto stove, cook on the top of the #10 can.
You just basically light the alcohol in the can and the toilet paper serves as the wick. The best part: the toilet paper doesn't burn, you just replenish by adding more alcohol. Good one, don't you think!

So there you have it. Thought I was going to share a recipe or two did you not. I was considering it, but decided you probably have seen all those things before. It really was a fun class and I am now asking that Bryan buy me a wonder mill for my birthday. So I can make flour out of anything and everything I can.