That's just nutty

This is the walnut tree that grows out among the grape vines behind our house. The nuts it produces each year are small and not very good. Certainly not worth the work of shelling them. That said, I used to see one of our neighbors out there gathering them from time to time. He must have had a good use for them, but I never spoke to him about it.

The walnut tree at sunrise.

Today's another three-minute day for increasing daylight. The forecast predicts dropping temperatures as the week goes on. Ugh.

Sunrise

The sun rises at 08h08 this morning. We will gain another three minutes of daylight today. This is according to one of the weather sites I visit daily. I'm ready. More light, more warmth. Bring it on.

Sunday's sunrise over a neighbor's property.

It's getting to be time to do some outdoor work. Nothing heavy, yet. I'd like to trim the hydrangeas, for example. Maybe it's too early. Working in double-digit temperatures would be nice on a dry day. We'll see. 

Recovered slice

The pizza damage from Friday wasn't as bad as it could have been. It took me a good half-hour to clean off the pizza stone and the oven, but it wasn't difficult. The pizza itself didn't look good but, as I said, it tasted just fine.

A slice of the rescued pizza.

One of the reasons for the faulty crust, I think, is that I mis-measured the flour/water mixture, making the dough wetter than it normally is. I'm also using a softer flour than usual and that might have had something to do with the stickiness of the dough. I thought I had compensated for all that, but apparently not. Oh well. Better luck next time!

Pizza day

The sauce was tomato with ground chicken. We added sliced mushrooms, canned artichoke hearts, and two types of sliced cheese from the Netherlands (Edam and Maasdam). Yum!

Pizza fixin's. My mise en place.

There was one little mishap, totally my fault. I didn't realized that part of the first pizza had stuck to the peel. When I jerked the peel to slide the pie into the oven, the toppings went, but the crust stayed behind. Oops. I had to work quickly (with the oven at 270ºC, about 500ºF) to pull it all back together. Fortunately, most of the mess stayed on the pizza stone. It looked horrible, but it tasted fine.

Today is pizza day

I'm making pizza for lunch today. We have some tomato and chicken sauce in the 'fridge, left over from a previous meal. We'll root around in the pantry for some other toppings. I'm thinking canned artichoke hearts and mushrooms. Photos may or may not get taken.

In the "didja ever notice" catetgory: Did you ever notice that after a cold spell, while the outside air starts to feel warmer, the house acts like a refrigerator, seemingly sealing in the cool air?

Un temps maussade

That's the word of the day. Or week. Or month. Maussade. Gloomy, dull, and dreary.

Tasha doesn't mind the weather. She's a Shetland after all.

On the bright side, I've decided to make a coq au vin some time in the coming week. Ken got us a chicken from the supermarket and we haven't had a good fricassée in a while. Something to look forward to! 

Muck

It's wet outside. Very wet. Our house sits at the top of a high spot. The vineyards are planted to maximize drainage. The ravines that drain to the river below are running. Water still manages to collect. Nearly everywhere one tries to go, one is constantly splashed. One's feet sink into muddy ground. The cuffs of one's jeans are soaked. Leaf litter collects on one's shoes and boots. I, for one, am not happy.

Water stands in the tracks of shoes and boots and vehicle ruts. The ground has the consistency of a wet sponge.

However, I know things will dry up after a while. It's more or less the cycle that we're more or less used to. And I'll likely be back to complaining about the hot, buggy summer that we're pining for now. Spring is a toss up; it can go either way. It could go both ways. But, whichever way it goes, we'll surely complain about that, too.