Sunday Letter: 02.21.2021

Dear Sunday Letter friends,

What a week, right? Lots of snow across the country, the entire state of Arkansas buried under record snowfall amounts. Many of my friends and family in Texas have been without power and water for days.

I swear I only wanted enough to fill my snow cream bowl.

Five things I discovered since last week’s Sunday Letter:

1. my fascination with snow greatly diminishes after four inches and/or four days;
2. -20˚ is stupid cold;
3. the forecasting skills of the groundhog are highly underrated;
4. Texas isn’t quite ready to secede from the Union; and,
5. in January when you order Girl Scout cookies, you should ALWAYS triple your order just in case.

Finally, Snow Cream

Yes, I finally got my snow cream. While it was mighty tasty, it wasn’t quite as good as Momma’s. She scooped snow into her mixing bowl from a deep drift beside the house and mixed it at the kitchen table while my sister and I watched and waited, our red cheeks still numb after playing outside all morning. But tell me, how could today’s snow cream possibly rival that made during a magical snow day from childhood?

Everyone knows to make snow cream with milk (regular or sweetened condensed {or both}), granulated sugar, and real vanilla. But, if you add childhood memories and mix everything in a vintage bowl, I promise it will be even better.

I’m a purist when it comes to snow cream, preferring it the old-fashioned way, heavy on the vanilla and a little slushy.

That’s how I enjoyed my first batch last week.

I got creative for the second batch and made Peanut Butter and Honey Snow Cream. This dressed up version is regular snow cream drizzled with honey and sprinkled with crumbled peanut butter cookies. (I used Girl Scout Do-Si-Dos.)

TASTY.

Regarding Girl Scout cookies: if you haven’t ordered cookies this year, you want to order more, or you want to donate them to local heroes via the Girl Scouts Give Back program, consider ordering from Hunter, a Pulaski County Girl Scout, who is very close to realizing her goal of 2,021 sales this year! Click HERE for Hunter’s sales page info.

Like so many things, Girl Scout programs have been hard hit by the pandemic.

Until I saw Hunter’s video below, I had no idea there are two different bakeries that bake Girl Scout cookies. And the cookies are slightly different. Who knew?

Squirrel Baffle

Last week I was asked how we squirrel-proofed our bird feeders.

Two years ago, we made a couple of changes to our feeders, and since then we’ve not had a single squirrel problem.

1. We moved our feeders onto a shepherd hook and placed it eight feet from the house and from trees/shrubs. The squirrels can no longer jump onto the feeders.
2. We installed a Squirrel Baffle on the pole. A squirrel baffle truly baffles the squirrel. Occasionally, one will climb the pole and end up inside the baffle. He backs down and disappears, looking confused and embarrassed.

Here’s our bird feeder setup. (We purchased our pole/baffle from Wild Birds Unlimited in Fayetteville.)

Birds & Blooms has tips and recommendations for specific squirrel-proof feeders HERE. I’ve not tried any of the feeders mentioned, but I can vouch for the baffle. THESE various styles are considered best by World Birds. If you are handy, I’ve seen homemade versions made from stainless mixing bowls that will do the job.

I believe all God’s creatures gotta eat, even squirrels. Our squirrels get plenty of food by eating the seed that falls down below. This setup allows birds and squirrels to co-exist quite nicely.

White Hats

One of the most enchanting things about our recent snowfall? I especially love how everything gets dressed up, wearing their finest white hats. Pots and pigs and even our pink flamingos that probably wish they had migrated south for winter.

White hats everywhere.

Just so you know, those are NOT Gracie’s ears in the picture below.

Yes, Gracie likes to run outside, scatter the birds, and try to gobble birdseed. But for the most part, her crazy ears are toasty warm inside the house with Annabelle.

Bye-Bye Berries

This public service announcement is mainly for the birds.

Did you know the bright red berries on Nandina plants (aka Heavenly Bamboo) are poisonous to birds? All animals, in fact.

Nandina berries contain cyanide and other alkaloids that produce highly toxic hydrogen cyanide (HCN) which is extremely poisonous to all animals. Sudden death may be the only sign of cyanide poisoning and death usually comes in minutes to an hour.  (Audubon Arkansas)

We have taken out the Nandinas in our back yard, but there are some growing along our driveway. If you have these common shrubs in your yard, be sure to cut off the berries so the birds don’t eat them. And don’t put the berries in your compost.

I removed so many berries this week, I filled two huge cups.

Nandinas are pretty, especially in fall. Nurseries now sell sterile varieties that don’t fruit or bloom. That’s the way to go with these.

Things Momma Says:

My hands feel like I’ve been shucking corn.

Also, for those concerned, Momma’s cable and internet have been restored. Hallelujah.

***

Once again this week, I’ve been reminded how lucky I am to live in a warm, comfortable home with food to eat, family and friends nearby, good health, and an imagination that keeps me entertained in much the same way I entertained myself as a child—reading, writing, painting, tromping through the snow, playing with our dogs, and cooking (although I no longer have an Easy Bake Oven).

After last week, the forecast is downright balmy. I’ll be out cutting back my roses soon, and continuing to watch for signs of spring.

Cheers to warmer weather, Sunday Letter friends!

Grace Grits and Gardening
Farm. Food. Garden. Life.