Signs of life

After bitter weather, low temps, freezing and thawing, some plants are just intrepid. Here's food getting under way on the patio.  Bittercress, growing well inside the patio, away from the demon landscapers' spraying.

Some of this will go nicely on my soup for lunch.  It grows prolifically around here, in grassy areas, but the only hitch is that they are also areas that get sprayed, so you have to proceed with caution. But I like it as an interesting addition to a green salad.  Or anywhere, really.

And when the leaves drop from trees in the fall, they leave behind the start of buds for next year, always a cheering thought. Here's the Japanese maple.

Then, reason #687878 why I love sedum, here's the Autumn Joy sedum rosettes already making an appearance, under ice and cold, see them, tiny blue green buds there? I'll remove the dead foliage from last year soon, after the rosettes start developing, but for now it's okay for protection.

 

 

All this burgeoning reminds me that in a couple of weeks it will be time for my Annual Witch Hazel Hunt.  The witch hazel blooms in January and there are a couple of bushes within walking distance, just right for me to go along and swipe a few little twigs to put in water.  Then the minute blossoms, perfect miniatures, develop, and a scent along with them. like this, about a quarter inch across, at least the variety I see.

Nature never seems to take a day off.  So much for everything closing down and sleeping through the winter. 

Winter and spring food collide

Made a big pot of seafood chowder this morning as it was snowing.  I use an ancient xeroxed recipe, and I can't find  a credit on it.  But it's very good, and simple, too.  It's Manhattan, meaning with tomatoes, condemned by New England chowder purists.  But it doesn't have bacon, condemned by me as a foodstuff. Winter food.

But, spring trying to get here, too,  I'd also noticed an interesting few clumps of greenery outside with tiny white flowers.

I'm in a wildflower group on Twitter, but they're UK based, and my candidate didn't seem to be in their pix to date.  However, another tweeter id'd it for me.  Hairy Bittercress! Hilarious name. She dismissed it as a weed, but I pointed out that to wildflower fans, they're all wildflowers.  Anyway, it turns out to be edible.

I had to wait till the snow abated and the plant showed up again before I could test this hypothesis.  Since it's growing where for many years I've stopped the landscapers from spraying, it's in clean ground, always a good thing to note.

And I took a little sample and tasted.  Not really bitter, not peppery, but a bit dark, along the lines of cilantro.  I can see people who can't tolerate cilantro not liking this, either.  But I fancy trying it on a sharp cheddar, wholewheat bread sandwich.  That may happen quite soon.  I'm guessing it's best eaten this early in the year, before it really does get more bitter and tough. Also that it's probably a good spring tonic sort of green.

So that's today's adventure in the food world. Except  I did get a new supply of lemons and ginger, ready for the next batch of marmalade.