Friends

This is Jake. He is my morning alarm clock. Jake taps at my bedroom window to let me know that it is breakfast time for him. So, I load his feeder with whole peanuts and he is a happy Scrub Jay.

Dear Friends

I know, I know, it has been a long, long time, but you all know what a hectic and joyous time of year this is. We had company for five days, cooked many meals, and had lots of great adventures. I am hoping that your Thanksgiving was wonderful and filled with love. Ours was. We celebrated our first Thanksgiving with a little boy who fought hard and long for life. He is our blessing.

Thanks so much for your letters, cards, and gifts. I can't believe how thoughtful you all are. Oh, and a wonderful gift was this autographed book from the author herself. It was a surprise, but oh how welcome in my library. 

Marta McDowell's book, Beatrix Potter's Gardening Life, is scholarly, but homey, elegant, and filled with information for all the fans of Beatrix and her works. I LOVE this book. For those of you who are Beatrix lovers too, please visit my blog posting I did on Beatrix's beloved Hilltop a few years ago.

Thanks dear Marta. I wish you great success. YOUR book is brilliant!

And to my dear Cousin Julie Marie at Idyllhours.blogspot.com. Thank you for the little squirrel friend who is doing her best to get me through my separation anxiety with my little Audrey.

As I work through 280 pages of what is called First Pass on my new middle grade novel, Running Out of Night, (Delacorte Press/Randon House, Fall 2014), the sights outside my window keep me going. What could be tedious and trying is punctuated by the beauty and grace of the birds in my life. I love them.

What better gift for a youngster than a simple feeder or a birdbath? Such a great way to introduce a child (or someone who is infirm and housebound) to the nature right outside a window. I treasure my bird friends and love them so much.

The shy Hermit Thrush visits a few times a day for berries and baths.

The Yellow-rumped Warbler ...

... drinking daintily.

Dear little Chestnut-backed Chickadees and White-crowned Sparrows feasting at the wooden feeder Jeff built for me. Such a busy stop for so many birds.

House Finches try to run the show...

...but the chickadee never gives up. (A good lesson for us all?)

An immature White-crowned Sparrow

Jeff shows our little guy how to feed the birds.

And at the window feeder he drops in seed by seed. Phew, that took awhile. This is a great feeder with heavy duty suction cups to hold it on the window and an easy fold out front for quick cleaning. This comes with my book My First Bird Book and Bird Feeder (Workman Publishing).

You're never too young to enjoy nature. And, never too old.

This is my girlfriend, author Sherry Shahan. Her grandsons used the recipe for my bird booster, which can be found in Toad Cottages and Shooting Stars and My First Bird Book and Bird Feeder.

Bird Booster Recipe: 

Note: please replace peanut butter with almond butter IF your child has an allergy to peanuts.

1 cup almond or crunchy peanut butter

1 cup canola oil

4 cups yellow cornmeal

1 cup white flour

A few tablespoons of shelled sunflower seeds and/or raisins.

Mix together and stuff into a pine cone. Hang the cone from a wire or string. Place it where you and your children can enjoy all the activity. The birds need protein and fat during the winter months. Feed them and feed your soul!

NEWS FLASH!! The winner of Susan Branch's new book, A Fine Romance, has never responded. So Jeff did another random number generator choice and the winner is number 67, Bonnie K at Birds, Bees, Berries, and Blooms. Bonnie is a Grimy Hands Girls' Club member so she'll be receiving a bonus gift.

Joys to you and love across the miles,

Sharon

A Spoonful of Bitter, A Spoonful of Sweet

A parade of birds visit the feeder just outside my bedroom window. Look at the brilliant colors of the male House Finch and the gorgeous Black-headed Grosbeak.

And my little house-shaped feeder from my new My First Bird Book and Bird Feeder allows the birds to watch me!

Can you see the male Anna's hummingbird to the left above the hanging feeder? Two finches are in the blue bird feeder. Orioles visit the one on the lower left. 

I don't think that this flashy finch realizes that the bird he is cozying up to is actually a hundred year old piece of carved folk art. Sorry to dash his hopes.

About 30 tall hollyhocks have forested my backyard. The bumblebees and hummers are ecstatic about this turn of events.

And because I've been off my game, I didn't harvest all the artichokes, which makes the bumblebees even happier and makes the artichokes look like 8 foot sculptures.

I can't remember who said that a lazy gardener is wildlife's best friend, but I think it's true! 

Look closely and you'll see a bee nuzzling into the nectar. When it opens fully, the bumblebees roll around and dance the bumblebee rhumba. 

And because I've been a lazy gardener, the butterflies, flower flies, and bees are happy.

A bit of a hot shot, but you can see some of the honeybees in the Provence lavender and the Tulbaghia blooms. What would I (and they) do without my herbs?

Dear Friends,

Thank you for all your e-mails, Facebook comments, and notes. Yes, I am still suffering from the shingles, but I am grateful for the time to enjoy the garden and birds through my bedroom window, and to continue on with my new children's middle grade novel, which is set in Maine. 

Today I wrote a kitchen scene and realized that what makes food tasty, what makes life zesty, is a mixture of the bitter and the sweet. This is how I wrote it for the children:

“To taste the sweet, you must taste the bitter,” Gram said. “Life is all about dark and light, good and bad, bitter and sweet. You can’t choose how it’ll be dished up for you, but you can choose how you dish it up for yourself.” 

So I am dishing up gratitude for friends who have stopped by and left food and love, and gratitude for family and a great husband. It all helps.

This is short, but long overdue. Next posting I will be giving away a $60.00 Amazon gift card compliments of Grammarly.com. Fantastic.

Sending love and a jam jar full of good wishes across the miles,

Sharon

P.S. Just to let you know what has really helped the skin pain, deep burning, and sores...my beloved and trusty Aloe Vera. I cut the leaves at the base of the plant and store them in the refrigerator. Then, as needed, I slice into a leaf and rub the cool, healing, and antibacterial leaves across the shingles. It is AMAZING how quickly the relief comes.

Holding Them Close to Your Heart

This snowman is feeding his bird friends. A bucket of seed is being visited by woodpeckers and a nuthatch. An apple core necklace, mouth of raisins, and strings of fresh cranberries look tantalizing to the Cardinal. Broom corn hair, strings of cranberries and peanuts, and a hat topped with black oil sunflower seeds will entice many other birds to visit. Is that a chickadee I hear??

Dear Friends,

Are we all on a run right now? Running to the store, baking, entertaining friends and family, finishing  our craft projects, addressing cards, and wrapping the last of the gifts. 

At night, we like to slow down and sit quietly by the fire, the little fir tree lit with ornaments that tell some of the story of our lives. 

The quilt at the base of the tree was made by my Nonie Clarke. The starfish that tops the tree came from Laguna Beach in 1965. It was my first ornament and is the best tree topper ever.

The long farm table is filled with the last of the gifts to be wrapped. It may look like chaos, but I have piles separated and labeled for each person. I better finish wrapping these tomorrow because we have company coming this weekend.

The stockings aren't hung by the chimney with care–yet. I'll hang them up on Christmas Eve. The stockings were all  done by Christmas Cove Designs in Maine. One knitted stocking for each of the grands. Little Luke, who just left the NNICU (after four and a half difficult months), has the newest one with Santa and a reindeer.

And, finally, my little German stick sheep are flocking on the mantel. I am thankful that they survived the big earthquake in December of 2003. They were lined up along the mantel in our Cambria cottage when the big San Simeon quake hit. All the sheep, the trees, and greenery shot across the living room and landed about ten feet from the mantel. Some were broken, others lost their ears or legs, but these survivors are still a part of our family traditions.  

Tomorrow will be baking day with a final wrap up and delivery to neighbors and shut-ins. When the grands come, they'll be whipping up my special "Bird Booster" to satisfy all the birds in our lives and the lives of our friends. We plan to smear the mixture into pine cones and into the dried halves of oranges, but you can simply smear this onto tree trunks and branches.

Kids love to smear the "Bird Booster" into pine cones. This is my good friend, author Sherry Shahan, who is showing off the pine cone her grandsons filled with booster for her for her birthday.

This recipe provides fat and protein, which will help keep birds warm on cold winter nights. This is a simple project for the children in your life and will help connect them to the magical world of nature.

Recipe for Bird Booster from My First Bird Book and Bird Feeder.

1 1/2 cups of peanut butter

1 1/2 cups of shortening, bacon grease, or suet

3  cups yellow cornmeal

1  cup flour

1  cup sand

Mix thoroughly and enjoy watching the birds feast on your offerings.

Sending love across the miles,

Sharon

P.S.

This is a live stream of two radio personalities in Cleveland reviewing my bird book and bird feeder. Jeff found their site online and took a photo of them talking with me in California. They were a part of a 23 city "radio tour" that was arranged by Workman Publishing. Yes, 23 interviews, which began at 4:18 a.m. and went on for over 8 hours. Jeff and I got up at 3:30 and prepared for the onslaught.

Yep, I'm in my robe and in bed and talking with radio hosts around the country. The headset is a necessity. It is almost impossible to hold a phone for 8 plus hours, sip tea, drink lemon water, and locate things in my book without fumbling. Click here for a list of stations. Scroll down to December 13, 2012. Some interviews were taped for later broadcast.

Staring at the Oven and Farewell Dinner

Isn't it amazing how we all seem to gravitate toward water and flames? How we sit and stare at both of
those mesmerizing elements and lose ourselves in them. That sure happened on our last night out at the Bassetti Vineyards where Ellis and Susie Bassetti did what was called "The Maiden Voyage," with their new, hand-built (but not finished yet on exterior) outdoor oven. A labor of love and a long time dream for them and for all their friends.

Ellis (back turned) shifts some of the oakwood to the side and situates the chickens and pumpkin in his new oven. Soon the entire oven will be faced with pieces of sandstone hand "harvested" by Ellis. To the right is our beloved Susie Bassetti, in front of Susie is John Gonyer, to the right of John is me in the blue top, behind me is Bonny Spencer, and to the left of Bonny is Lee Spencer. 

We all arrived carrying food and wine, but the Bassettis, who have their own vineyard, olive grove, herb gardens, and fruit trees, were already stocked with food. The Bassetti family has owned this ranchland for over 100 years. Imagine, in California, which is such a movable culture, a family of many generations has owned and worked this land.

Susie and I have taught classes on herbs, crafts, and cooking together. We have a ball doing this and talk constantly about teaching some more classes at their ranch, Green Valley Flower & Herb, and at one of her best friends' (Harriet Scully) home near Cortona in Italy (you've read about Cortona in Frances Mayes' books about Italy, Under the Tuscan Sun. Now we have a new dimension to add to cooking classes, this fabulous outdoor oven, which we'll be learning to use for the next few months BEFORE inviting you to the ranch.

We'll also be teaching a simple cheese-making class and some classes on drying and blending your own herbal concoctions, like herbs de Provence, fines herbs, and more.

We've had weather of 106 degrees here, but finally, the fog began to cool the land, and we watched as a bank rolled from the sea toward Green Valley. Here Susie is trying to get Ellis under control. He is cooking his first meal in the oven and is pretty excited about it. John Gonyer is sampling fresh picked figs drizzled with balsamic vinegar, stuffed with cheese, and tucked into the new oven.

When Jeff shot this photo, we were adding up all the years we've been friends with this group. The total was over 160 years. Amazing. Bonny once worked at Heart's Ease, which is where Lee met her. We ladies all loved Lee and tried to be cupids. I've known John since he was a teenager, and Ellis for the past 30 years. When a group like this gets together, it is like a rich soup that has simmered on a stove for hours with all the ingredients melding and producing a complex and satisfying taste. 

Here are the spectacular "Maiden chickens," of which Ellis can be VERY proud.

A big stuffed squash filled with herbs and stuffing. This baked in the oven, too. It was delicious.

John and Jeff don't waste any time lining up for the food.

Bonny and Ellis (our chef) fill their plates with great food.

The table awaits friends and laughter.

And at the end of the meal, we counted our blessings for having such a joyous gathering with great food and well-seasoned and beloved old friends. 

The next morning, we began packing for our five week book tour. I know this is an odd selection of things to be taking, but I need to be able to explain birds to children with real things they can touch. The antique egg carton is filled with the eggs of domesticated birds–zebra finches, button quail, turkeys, and ducks– and with a guinea hen feather tucked into the nesting materials. On the table are a turkey flight feather and a turkey tail feather.

Slipped into acetate envelopes are parrot feathers–flight feather, tail feather, contour feather, and down feathers. The big white "egg" is actually a gourd. The old straw hat is one I pictured in my book. It was a perfect home for a thriving wren family.

On our last afternoon at home, a lovely family came to visit and left this wonderful card.

Time flew past and before we knew what had happened, we were at our first stop on the book tour, Family Day at the A.K. Smiley Public Library in Redlands, CA.

We were warmly greeted by Pam Karr, who is the children's librarian at the FABULOUS (you will have to experience this library, it is beyond compare) A.K. Smiley Public Library. Dr. Marjorie Arnett (who is a great cook) made Hester, Christina, Pam,  and us a great welcoming dinner. We ate outdoors under an arbor with her two dogs, Ben and Lily, at our feet. 

A long line of children waiting to pick up a copy of My First Bird Book and Bird Feeder.

I got a chance to speak with dozens of children who are fascinated with nature and who love reading. This was an amazing crowd of inter-generational families. One family that attended brought FIVE generations!

The afternoon ended with a bang when my friend, writer, and blogger Lydia Plunk, drove fifty miles to greet us. Lydia, thank you. Your smiling face was such a joy to see.

Tonight we are in Boston, and it is gently raining. Tomorrow we will work our way up the coast to Maine and drop in for spot signings at bookstores and toy stores. We will also be looking for more props for a television appearance Tuesday morning on "Good Day Maine," WPFO 23, Portland, Maine.

Please stay in touch and let us know if you'll be visiting with us as we travel.

Sending love across the miles,

A weary traveler,

Sharon