Wild Edibles of Missouri & Settling In

Winter has certainly made her presence felt this year but I have hope that part of the reason is that her sister Spring will come early.
I saw the first Robin on the way into town last week. One lovely robin among a small flock of finches. I read that the groundhog saw a shadow which might also call early to Spring.

I don't mind the winter but the rabbit hole has been chilly, something we're not used to inside. A wood stove is at the very top of The List!

We're getting quite settled in the cottage. Each day our love for it grows and we feel loved and wanted here.

We still have no hot running water, not really a problem. The sink and shower drains are still clogged, a bit of a problem. But the toilet works very well which is a huge bonus. My list of goals for the year has grown quite a bit and includes a lot of plumbing work.

Among my goals is to have a Housewarming next month. Everyone will be welcome and the only gift needed is the gift of friendship and caring. It won't be a huge gathering because the Cottage is small (much larger than the Burrow but small just the same). If you would like to drop by for it just send me an email :)

I've also been working toward setting up a regular local Trade/Barter Gathering for some time. The idea of it at least because I had no place to actually do it, until now :) So, also starting next month (depending on the weather etc) we're going to have the first monthly Trade/Barter Gathering here. I'll post more details about it later and I still have things to work out.

Before I forget, one of the biggest reasons for my post is to share one of my favorite books :) Wild Edibles of Missouri. I've had it for years and still use it often. I'm always telling people to get a copy but until now the only way i knew to get it was to buy it from the Conservation Dept like I did. But yesterday I found a free PDF copy online which you can print. Most excellent :)

http://mdc4.mdc.mo.gov/applications/MDCLibrary/MDCLibrary2.aspx?NodeID=1995


On a strange and sort of bummer note, I have recently experienced several people freaking out in an unpleasant way. One minute all is well and the next a person just loses it and thoughtfully directs it at me. I'm thinking maybe it's cabin fever or something because of the weather. It's happened before, several times in the last year or two. I hope it's not some end of the world affliction *-*


And now to sweep out the bad, I saw a true blue bird day :) so very beautiful. He landed on the clothesline right outside of the window behind my desk and sat there for several minutes. How very blessed we are :)