Tuesday, March 5, 2024

Walking before the rain, AnneTyler and garlic bread

Yesterday I walked during a brief sunny interval between rainstorms, starting with a look at my own front yard. Here's why I love sedum. The rosettes have been growing under the old foliage.


And this is one of those runner plants I like, which some people think is a weed to be pulled,  which will have yellow flowers soon, getting under way.  Name escapes me.


further afield, nature's abstract expression 


The very first daffodils I've seen in bloom, miniatures


Then another clump, full size ones


The pale gold of beech leaves stays all winter, floating in clouds


Then home again, I found a really good audio book to knit by. I feel an affinity with almost all of Anne  Tyler, her characters'  missed connections, the East Coastness.  Her dialog is pitch perfect.


Happy day, everyone, raining today, Tuesday knitting group ifn the creek don't get up, with the current endless rain. 

Meanwhile, I made some instant garlic bread to go with anything -- slice of multigrain, butter, minced garlic, crumbled parmesan, toasted.  Could be cut into croutons for soup or salad. Or just picked up and eaten.




39 comments:

  1. Instant garlic bread. To me that means just add water and stir. I miss daffodils. I don’t miss the weather required to grow them but I DO miss the flowers.

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    1. Instant to me means I don't bake the bread!

      Yes, good point about the winter needed for the bulb to rest and develop then the rain for them to bloom, not too hot. It's always such an exhale, there they are again and here I am again to see them.

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  2. Walks, if done in the right place, are as much for the soul as for the body.
    I know I read that Anne Tyler book but I can't remember much about it. I have not loved her more recent books the way I loved her earlier ones.

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    1. I think writers flag after a few books. Or maybe readers do. I don't have that blinding light of connection I had when I first read her, but still get a lot from her writing.

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  3. I love garlic bread. Too much. I'm going to look for that book. I do like daffodils, yet I don't have any.

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    1. Plant them once they're there practically forever. Let us know what you think of the book if you get it. It's a great audio book.

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  4. I like the abstract, and it's very nice to see the daffs.

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    1. You could do a lot with that tree trunk, what with your fancy skills and cameras and the essential red hat.

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  5. I read all of Anne Tyler's novels which she wrote in the 1980s but have not read any since then. I see from Wikipedia that this one is a very recent publication. Glad you're enjoying it!

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  6. I had daffodils for years. Finally decided that the time they were an eyesore outweighed their bright yellow "hello" in the spring. Now I have hyacinths instead. Beautiful pink patch in my yard now. Smells terrific. I think the plant is creeping jenny? I had some of that in a pot a few years ago. It overran the pot, and is now scattered about under an oak tree. Seems impervious to freezes and Texas heat! I'm going to check into that book. Thank you!

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    1. Daffodils do have a long period of yellowed foliage which you have to leave alone if you want flowers next year. Mine grow in pachysandra which hides the fading foliage. Hyacinths are no match here for squirrels and robins, so I don't. Likewise crocus, torn apart immediately by robins wanting the pollen.

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  7. I've read almost all of Anne Tyler's books. Like many people, I like the earlier ones more than the later ones, but I'll probably get this one too. She IS a good writer and her language is so accessible.

    We've tried to grow sedum but haven't had great luck with it. I think our soil is too clayey and holds too much moisture.

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    1. Our soil is very sandy in this neighborhood, the alluvial plain left by the glacier. Just a few miles away, across route one, boulders and clay, beyond the alluvial plain.

      Try this Tyler and let us know what you think.

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  8. We are far to soon for those flowers to show for us. We still have snow in places.
    I have never read Anne Tyler's books but now I am interested. I am next in line for the new Kristen Hannah book so I am saving myself for a deep dive of that one lol.
    Bread sounds interesting
    cathy
    Cathy

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    1. That's funny, saving your reading energy. Maybe put Tyler into future planning?

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  9. Love garlic bread. I saw something today that made me think of you and your knitting group. Do you know about Korsnas? https://www.tapestrycrochet.com/blog/?p=23

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    1. Another fiberart form! No, I didn't know this one. I've now signed up for the blog and plan to find out what this is and how to do it. Thank you so much!

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  10. Lovely daffodils. No blooms here, yet, but you made me look and I see about 5 inches of growth in the leaves that wasn't there last week. Exciting.

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    1. They're stealth growers, mine, too, since they're coming up through ground cover.

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  11. It will be some time before we have any daffodils pushing up here. Sigh! They will be so welcome when they arrive.

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  12. We would call your mystery plant Creeping Jenny. I love the hammered bark tree. NZ has some natives with amazing bark that flakes off like hammered brass. (Matai and Miro). We are missing the peak of the daffodil display in our part of Hampshire - we will have some late daffs in our garden when we get home.

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    1. That sounds right for the mystery plant. The pieces of bark that fall off the tree are lovely, too.

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  13. Our autumn and spring are not like yours. Most of our plants are evergreen so we don’t get that bang right in your face changes. We have to work hard to see them
    I do love seeing the tiny new growth that announces the arrival of spring and the new hectic growing season
    I hope your rivers don’t rise. Stay safe

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    1. Several more days of heavy rain say they will rise. The water table here is very high normally, so it doesn't take much to inundate the region. It will bring trees down in a couple more days.

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  14. Hearty soul- I have not been outside for days! I am a sissy pants. I do love the texture you found on your walk and the tiny daffys. I am still thinking about your blue scarf, too.

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    1. If I don't walk I don't do well, get blue and a bit creaky!

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  15. oops - that was linda sue

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  16. That rain seems rather ubiquitous, except weather moves from west to east. Oh, well, it's raining here, too.

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    1. Quite a few of our storms move south to north. This one just seems to be everywhere.

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  17. I have no doubt that we will soon be seeing daffodils here, and they have been dispersed by squirrels (I presume) all through the woodlands. The weather has been crazy - fifteen degrees yesterday and seventeen the day before. Winter simply doesn’t happen any more.

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    1. Yes, the weather we used to get isn't much guide to now.

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  18. Those daffs are great. I love the idea of the garlic bread for croutons for soup. And I think today will be a soup day!

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  19. Daffodils should be a long way off here, but this winter has pretty much been a non-event in our area so who knows. I can see a green tinge on the trees by the river and that means they're getting ready to leaf out - at least a month too soon.

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