Veggie Comfort Food: 14 Filling, Warming Recipes
November 7, 2011 by admin · View Comments
[ By Steph in Food & Health. ]
There’s nothing like a steaming bowl of hearty soup, stew or casserole straight from the oven on a cold day. But this kind of warming comfort food doesn’t have to contain meat to be filling and satisfying. These 14 vegetarian comfort food recipes for fall and winter, many based on traditional dishes from all over the world, will fill your home with delicious smells and your belly with nutritious, meat-free food that really hits the spot.
Henri’s French Onion Soup
(image via: the curvy carrot)
Rich, cheesy and infinitely comforting, french onion soup is readily available in many restaurants, but it nearly always contains beef broth. Try this hot and delicious vegetarian version, which gets plenty of flavor from onions caramelized in butter, plus white wine and thyme.
Baked Eggplant Parmesan
(image via: martha stewart)
Get a hearty texture without the meat using thick slices of eggplant, a porous vegetable that absorbs flavor like a sponge. Martha Stewart’s recipe for baked eggplant parmesan eliminates the fatty frying, layering baked breaded eggplant in a casserole dish with tomato sauce and cheese.
Butternut Squash and Sage Lasagna
(image via: martha stewart)
Butternut squash is a hallmark of fall and winter, with deep orange flesh that is creamy and slightly sweet when baked, sauteed, roasted or grilled. Try it in a hot seasonal lasagna with sage and nutmeg (substituting vegetable broth for the chicken broth called for in the recipe.)
Veggie Dumpling Stew
(image via: eating with the robertsons)
Who needs chicken? The dumplings are the star of this show, anyway. Dough made vegan by virtue of plant-based margarine and soymilk is simmered in broth with onions, garlic, carrots, celery and sage in this meat-free version of the classic cold-weather comfort dish.
In-a-Hurry Tamale Pie
(image via: eatliverun)
Need a hot vegetarian meal that you can make in a flash? In-a-Hurry Tamale Pie by Eat Live Run lines a pan with sliced polenta covered in pinto beans, corn, salsa and cheese for a meal that’s done in 30 minutes with minimal effort.
Curried Black Bean, Coconut & Sweet Potato Soup
(image via: keep it simple foods)
Black beans, coconut and curry? It may sound like a strange combination, but this soup recipe is absolutely heavenly, with just enough spice to kick the chill out of your bones. Garlic, cayenne pepper, ginger root and cilantro boost the flavor even further for a final product that’s hard to forget.
Vegetarian Posole
(image via: the kitchn)
Known in the South as hominy, dried maize mote is soaked corn kernels that are used in soups and stews in whole form, or ground up into grits. The classic Mexican dish of posole uses hominy as a main ingredient in addition to chilies, beans, tomatoes and, typically, pork, chicken or turkey. But the dish is just as delicious when you skip the meat, as proven by this vegetarian posole recipe from The Kitchn.
Pueblo Corn Pie
(image via: ezra poundcake)
Adapted from a Native American recipe, this recipe for Pueblo Corn Pie by Nava Atlas is an ideal addition to the vegetarian Thanksgiving table. Layers of bean chili, cheddar cheese and cornmeal make for a well-rounded dish that’s hearty enough to eat on its own.
Pumpkin Chili Empanadas
(image via: vegan yack attack)
No fall vegetarian feast is complete without pumpkin in some form, and these pumpkin chili empanadas are not only cute and convenient finger-foods, they’re also a novel way to get more of that pumpkin flavor. Pumpkin chili flavored with jalapeno, bell peppers and smoked paprika is simply scooped into rounds of dough, shaped and baked. Cut cute pumpkin faces into the pies to make them perfect party hors d’oeuvres.
Vegetarian Moussaka
(image via: homemade-recipes)
Bulgur wheat stands in for ground beef in this vegetarian take on Greek moussaka. Layers of allspice and clove-scented eggplant and diced tomatoes are slathered in béchamel sauce and covered in Romano cheese.
Vegetarian Green Chili
(image via: pink parsley)
Chili nearly always contains red beans and tomatoes – but not this vegetarian green chili recipe, which swaps them out for edamame and avocado. Packed with protein and healthy fats, this dish is warming without being sinful.
Mushroom Turnovers
(image via: martha stewart)
Another delicious hand-held hot vegetarian snack for fall uses nothing more than salted mushrooms, onion, olive oil and frozen puff pastry. For this mushroom turnover recipe, use any variety of mushrooms you like – mild button mushrooms, meaty portobellas or exotic morels – and serve with sour cream or plain greek yogurt.
Vegetarian Gumbo
(image via: chocolate chip trips)
Nothing says Louisiana like a steaming bowl of gumbo. While this classic dish – found in either Creole or spicier Cajun varieties – usually contains shellfish, most vegetarians will find that it tastes just as good without it if you’ve got the right recipe. The secret is really in the roux. Learn how to make it the right way first, then try this recipe.
Veggie Paella
(image via: herbivoracious)
This simple one-pan dish skips the seafood usually associated with paella, focusing on the deliciousness of veggies like green beans and artichokes. Paella is a traditional Spanish dish made up of saffron-infused short-grain rice and diced tomatoes, cooked in a skillet until the rice is tender and the bottom is cooked into a crust.
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Great Ideas for Junk Mail
October 10, 2011 by admin · View Comments
Utility
1. Burn in Place of Wood
Yep, you can do it, too. Stay warm in the winter by a fire made of all that junk mail. Just throwing it in the fireplace won’t be too effective, but by using a product like the Newspaper Brick Maker (about $30), you can make paper bricks that will burn like real wood.2. Use as Packing Material
Sure, dehydrated mushroom mycelia and plastic pillows filled with air are both good green packing material options, but why not use your bounty of junk mail? Just run it through the shredder and use it to ship or store fragile objects.3. Use as Animal Bedding
Avoid the cost of buying bedding for your small rodent friends by shredding your junk mail. It might also come in handy as bedding for your urban chickens.4. Use as a Funnel
This works best with those return envelopes you get in the mail. Simply cut a small section of one corner of an envelope (for the bottom of the funnel) and a larger portion from its opposite corner (the mouth of the funnel). Use this to conveniently refill salt and pepper shakers. This idea is one of the useful ideas from JunkMailGems.com.Gardening
For these gardening projects, make sure there are no toxic adhesives or inks on the paper goods you use.
4. Make Seedling Pots
Another clever product is the PotMaker (about $15). You can use paper to make seedling pots, which can then be planted directly into the soil and will decompose on their own. This way, you don’t have to buy plastic pots (which saves money and resources).5. Garden Mulch
You can literally lay out junk mail or old newspapers on your garden as a mulch. This makes an excellent weed barrier and will have all the benefits of traditional mulch. But since this is a little aesthetically displeasing, you might also want to cover with a layer of leaves or other traditional mulch.Alternatively, you can also shred junk mail or old newspapers first and then lay them as mulch. This will allow them to break down easier.
Beth
Impossible Pillars: Another Natural Wonder of the World
September 23, 2011 by admin · View Comments
[ By Steph in 7 Wonders Series & Geography & Travel & Nature & Ecosystems. ]
Seeming to defy the laws of gravity, teetering, spindly mountains tower into the air in a surreal display reminiscent of the floating monoliths in the movie Avatar. This is China’s Zhangjiajie National Forest Park, and its particularly stunning natural beauty can’t be found anywhere else in the world.
(top & above images via: kenner116, fishki.net)
Located 19 miles from urban Zhangjiajie, a city in the northern Hunan Province, this park is part of the Wulingyuan Scenic Area, an officially recognized UNESCO World Heritage Site. Enjoying a comfortable sub-tropical climate, the park attracts thousands of year-round visitors who come to gawk at its unusual landscape.
(images via: top china travel, wikimedia commons)
Tourists navigate the many hiking trails and attempt to capture on film the staggering pillars that make the park so famous. The small girth of these towering mountains, particularly notable for their height, is the result of many years of erosion which occurs during the expansion of ice in the winter.
(images via: fishki.net, kenner116)
The similarity of the floating ‘Hallelujah Mountains’ in Avatar to the pillars in Zhangjiajie National Forest Park is no accident. The film’s director and production designers were inspired by their ethereal appearance. One pillar, the 3,544-foot Southern Sky Column, has been officially renamed ‘Avatar Hallelujah Mountain’ in honor of the movie.
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Sliding Skin Adapts to Sunlight in Egypt’s SLIDES House
July 29, 2011 by admin · View Comments
[ By Steph in Art & Design. ]
There’s no shortage of sunlight in the wide open deserts of Egypt, and while that means lots of potential for solar energy, it also makes temperature regulation difficult. But new designs for sustainable architecture, like the SLIDES House, adapt and adjust in order to maximize solar power efficiency while keeping occupants cool.
Representing American University in Cairo’s entry for the 2012 European Solar Decathlon, the SLIDES House combines elements of traditional Egyptian architecture with modern features. Designed in the shape of a matchbox, the house includes a double layered facade of interlocking perforated pieces mimicking the patterns seen in Arabic buildings. The building is made from a recycled material developed by the students, which is a fiber-reinforced polymer made of plastic bags and wood waste.
The perforations control the amount of sunlight that enters the interior of the building, providing a cool, shaded haven from the heat without a need for air conditioning. Solar panels on the roof make use of all the sun while a grey water filter recycles water for irrigation and toilets.
The coolest feature of the building (in more ways than one!) is hinted at in the name. The perforated panels can actually slide out to reveal an inner structure with glass walls. This allows occupants to open up the interior to the light in the winter months; the screen absorbs heat which is stored in thermal mass flooring.
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Furry Forecasters: 7 Amazing Weather-Predicting Animals
February 22, 2011 by admin · View Comments
[ By Steve in 7 Wonders Series, Animals & Habitats, Nature & Ecosystems. ]
Animals have evolved to cope with changing weather conditions and in some cases, have learned to sense when these changes are imminent. These 7 amazing weather-predicting animals offer us more insight into weather’s whimsy than Phil Connors on a good day. Now for today’s fur-cast…
Groundhogs
(images via: Best Week Ever, Uncoverage and Daniel David Allen)
“Okay, campers, rise and shine, and don’t forget your booties ’cause it’s cooooold out there today.” How do we know? Because every February 2nd, Punxsutawney Phil, the world’s most famous groundhog weatherman, crawls out into the chill Pennsylvania air. If it’s sunny out and Phil sees his shadow, we’re in for 6 more weeks of winter.
(image via: Vondrook!)
Some people have a problem with this, most notably the character played by Bill Murray in the 1993 movie Groundhog Day. Says Phil (the weatherman, not the groundhog): “There is no way that this winter is *ever* going to end as long as this groundhog keeps seeing his shadow. I don’t see any other way out. He’s got to be stopped. And I have to stop him.”
(images via: Milk In The Clock, USA Today and Finding Dulcinea)
“Winter, slumbering in the open air, wears on its smiling face a dream of spring.” Indeed, spring always follows winter regardless of the prognostications of any number of representative rodents, but the tradition has ancient origins in European (especially Germanic) folklore. It should be noted that the National Climatic Data Center has measured the overall prediction accuracy rate of the featured groundhogs to be only 39%. Don’t blame the groundhogs, though, we just might be reading their predictions backwards.
Ladybugs
(images via: Animal World, Worlds Of Disney, eHow and MNN)
Ladybugs (or Ladybird beetles) are commonly found throughout out Eurasia and North America where they are susceptible to seasonal weather. Being cold-blooded creatures, ladybugs tend to swarm when temperatures reach approximately 12-13°C (55°F). A number of old proverbs concern the ladybug’s usefulness as a weather forecaster, one being “When ladybugs swarm, expect a day that’s warm.”
(image via: Sabrina School)
The advent of heated housing has allowed ladybugs to show another side of their weather forecasting ability. As autumn edges towards winter, ladybugs search for a warm and sheltered place to hibernate – such as your home. As the days lengthen and warm spring weather arrives, the ladybugs become active and begin to fly about, looking for an exit to the outdoors.
Cows
(images via: Wonder How To, Prafulla.net and Amazon)
Farmers are extremely cognizant about the need to be weather-wise – in the old days, the weather was literally a matter of life and death. Combine this need with close observation of domestic animals over thousands of years and you end up with the unlikely premise of weather-forecasting cows.
(images via: David Wall Photo, Corbis and Martin LaBar)
Cattle in pasture or on the range are social creatures but the extant of their gregariousness seems to be related to atmospheric conditions. Most obviously, a herd of cows sensing an oncoming storm tend to cluster together for warmth and security.
(image via: WN.com)
Cows exhibit other weather-related habits such as restlessness; a state of anxiety perhaps brought on by sudden changes in air pressure and/or a buildup of static electricity in the air. Cows have also been known to lie on the grass when rain is imminent: possibly they’re shading a dry spot that would be more comfortable during a rainy spell. Then again, these things may just reflect the prevailing bovine moood.
Frogs
(images via: Naturfoto-CZ, Dr. Oliver-David Louis Finch, Memegenerator and Rotholl)
Years ago in Germany, kids would catch a certain type of temperate zone tree frog called a Laubfrosch which had a habit of climbing up branches when the weather became warmer. Placing the frog in a glass jar with a tiny wooden ladder inside, the children would watch the frog climb or descend in conjunction with the changing weather. A ribbeting barometer, to be sure!
(image via: Mach Publishing)
Old & busted: Punxsutawney Phil. New hotness: Snohomish Slew! Yes indeed, Snohomish, WA’s resident “GroundFrog” has got the jump on the meteorological marmot in more ways than one, making his annual animal weather prediction every year for the past 6 years on the last Friday of January.
Ants
(images via: WN.com, Di Greenhaw and Able 2 Know)
Anyone who’s seen the 1998 movie A Bug’s Life knows that what for us is a gentle rain shower is, for ants, a catastrophe of biblical proportions. The fact that ants construct their nests underground with the entrance/exit opening at ground level would seem to be a recipe for disaster, yet ants are among the most abundant creatures on the planet.
(image via: Telegraph UK)
Ants have worked out a number of defenses against rainwater ingress but they all depend on one thing: foreknowledge of when rain is going to fall. Y’see, it takes time to build the anthill extra high and, in some cases, put a trapdoor or blocking pebble in place. Sort of like walking down the street when the sky opens up: by the time you buy yourself an umbrella, you’re soaked to the skin.
Sheep
(images via: Images82ask, Hill Shepherd and Mandi859)
Sheep are one of the earliest domesticated animals and shepherding one of the world’s oldest professions – and a family-friendly one at that. Over thousands of years of watching over their sheep, shepherds have noticed a thing or two about how the woolly wonders react to environmental stimuli like oncoming storms. This was (and is) important – one never wants to be accused of crying wolf, especially one wearing cheap clothing.
(image via: Corbis)
Like cows, sheep can sense minute differences in their environment and sudden changes in temperature, humidity and air pressure seem to invoke anxiety. Clustering together before a storm strikes helps keep sheep warm and prevents stragglers from drifting away. Hey, they don’t call it the Herd Instinct for nothing!
Woolly Bear Caterpillars
(images via: Tony the Misfit, Getty Images, That Guy With The Glasses and Jonclark2000)
Woolly Bear caterpillars are the larval stage of the Isabella Tiger Moth, found in the northeastern United States and parts of eastern Canada. These shaggy caterpillars are black on either end with a reddish-brown band in the middle. According to folklore, a wider brown band indicates a warm winter is on the way, while Woolly Bears that are predominantly black are harbingers of a colder, harsher winter.
(images via: The Chronicle Telegram, FOX8 Cleveland and Pixelate Photography and Design)
Not to be outdone by groundhogs and green frogs, the annual Woollybear Festival in downtown Vermilion, Ohio, has been held every autumn since 1973. By all accounts, the Woollybear Festival is a huge success and has grown is size and scope since local TV personality and WJW-TV weatherman Dick Goddard first floated the concept. Over 20 marching bands, 2,000 marchers, hundreds of animals and over 100,000 spectators participated in the 2006 parade, which has outgrown its original location in Birmingham and is now the largest one-day festival in the state.
(image via: A Simple Life)
Are much-maligned TV weathermen about to be replaced by, say, weather-sheep or weather-frogs? Not likely, though groundhogs would probably work for peanuts. That doesn’t mean we should shrug off behavioral manifestations that creatures have evolved over thousands, even millions of years. Besides, if you want a prediction about the weather on any day BUT February 2nd, you’re asking the wrong Phil. Now it’s time to go, gotta beat the weather. Chance of departure today: 100 percent!
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Freeze Frame: 10 Very Cool Frozen Waterfalls
February 8, 2011 by admin · View Comments
[ By Steve in Geography & Travel, Nature & Ecosystems, Uncategorized. ]
Waterfalls are one of nature’s most dynamically beautiful phenomena, even when the water isn’t falling… wait, what? These 10 fantastic frozen waterfalls show what happens when Mother Nature decides to take a snapshot of her most moving creations.
Gullfoss, Iceland
(images via: Orvaratli, Dassi1 and Iceland Private Tours)
Gullfoss (or “Golden Falls”, in English) is one of Iceland’s most popular tourist attractions in all seasons but when the mighty Hvítá river freezes up, Gullfoss becomes an icy, otherworldly landscape. The falls – actually a series of step-like waterfalls – was once considered as a hydroelectric power source but luckily those plans were shelved and today Gullfoss is a nationally protected area.
(image via: Let’sBuyIt.com)
New Wave music fans may recognize the frozen falls at Gullfoss from the cover of Echo and the Bunnymen’s iconic 1983 album Porcupine. Band members posed for the cover shot and filmed three music videos in close proximity to Gullfoss, a potentially dangerous endeavor. According to lead singer Ian McCulloch, “If we had slipped there wasn’t anything for hundreds of feet below us.”
Dow Spout, Galloway Hills, Scotland
(images via: Needle Sports)
Dow Spout is a terraced, step-like waterfall located on the slopes of Craignaw in southern Scotland. In warmer weather, water drains off the mossy, treeless summit of one of Scotland’s most eerily beautiful landscapes, cascading over well-worn rocks for several hundred feet. After a hard winter freeze, however, Dow Spout becomes a slick, crystalline “icefall”.
(image via: FindTarget)
Dow Spout in winter is one of the UK’s most challenging climbs, though it takes several heavy night frosts following rainy days – not unusual in this part of Scotland – for the falls to reach its optimum level of climbing difficulty and photographic beauty.
Kitsiputous Falls, Finland
(images via: Outdoors.fi, Tleerberg and Timo_W2S)
Kitsiputous Falls is located in the far northwest corner of Finland, close to the point where the borders of Finland, Sweden and Norway meet. Hikers can get to Kitsiputous Falls by following the trail that leads through the Malla Strict Nature Reserve. If Lappland’s a bit too far off the beaten track, however, not to worry – Finland in winter is a frozen waterfall paradise.
(image via: Cartina)
Naturally, winter travelers can expect much more difficulty but those who have made the trip say that the frozen vista of one of “Kitsi”, Finland’s highest waterfalls, suspended in nature’s icy embrace, is well worth the time and trouble.
Taroshi Falls, Japan
(images via: Pink Tentacle, Hanamaki City and Happy Haiku)
“So magnificent — this icicle before us — bulging with promise.” This serene haiku was composed in tribute to the annual freezing of Taroshi Falls, located in Japan’s Iwate prefecture. Folk legend has it that the greater the circumference of the frozen waterfall, the more bountiful the upcoming season’s rice crop will be. Though the practice or measuring the frozen waterfall goes back 700-odd years, it’s only since 1975 that a local conservation group has begun recording the measurements. To date, 8 meters (26.25 feet) is the record girth while about 4 meters (13.12 feet) is required for a good rice harvest.
Minnehaha Falls, MN, USA
(images via: Two Cities Two Wheels and Shawn Brankart)
Minnehaha Creek flows through the city of Minneappolis before emptying into the upper reaches of the Mississippi River. Just before it does, however, its waters pour over 16 meter (53 foot) tall Minnehaha Falls. The falls are beautiful in warmer weather but when frozen, they take on a uniquely exquisite appearance.
(images via: Dan Anderson)
There are ice caves behind frozen Minnehaha Falls though it’s illegal to climb behind them – a fact either unknown or ignored by the intrepid ice climbing photographer who provided the technicolor evidence above.
Old Man’s Cave, OH, USA
(images via: Wunderground)
These spectacular images show a waterfall captured in the process of freezing as it spills over the overhang at Old Man’s Cave at Hocking Hills State Park in Ohio, USA. As there is no freeze sudden enough to stop rushing water in its tracks, the process occurs incrementally from the outside in. This causes the creation of an “ice tube”, the inner diameter of which slowly constricts until no more water can flow through.
(image via: Wunderground)
Note the massive ice stalagmite growing up from the ground to meet the ice tube… will the water freeze before the twain shall meet? Also check out the onlookers in the left portion of the image above to get an idea of this unnamed waterfall’s daunting size and scale.
Longchuang Reservoir Dam, China
(image via: China A2Z)
Not all frozen waterfalls are natural, though wind, weather and temperature play a large [part in their formation. The Longchuang Reservoir Dam located in China’s Shandong province is one such example of Man’s works co-opted by natural forces. The images above, taken on December 24 of 2008, show water frozen in a the act of cascading over the top of the dam. Local authorities attributed the phenomenon to “continuous strong wind and a sharp fall in temperature.”
The Fang, Vail, CO, USA
(images via: Fundivision, Pravda, Superstock and Tourism On The Edge)
The Fang, near the resort town of Vail, Colorado, only forms during exceptionally cold winters – does Global Warming make it an endangered species? Al Gore aside, The Fang is a gargantuan ice pillar that measures up to 50 meters (164 feet) tall and 8 meters (26.25 feet) wide at the base.
(image via: Fundivision)
The Fang is a popular objective for ice climbers, though one thinks you don’t want to dig your spiked soles into the frozen pillar after countless other climbers have done so previously. One careless kick and it’s thanks but no Fangs.
Niagara Falls, NY, USA
(images via: Dennis Hurd, Niagara Frontier, Sighted Moon and Solomon Hoasjoe)
Mighty Niagara Falls, pouring over the Niagara Escarpment to the sound of rolling thunder… most of the time, yes, but not always. Bitterly cold winter weather has been known to freeze the Falls in its tracks, so to speak, though this hasn’t happened to its fullest extent since the nineteenth century.
(image via: Collections Canada)
The photo above dates from 1875 and shows Niagara Falls mostly frozen over. Move over, Maid of the Mist, today’s tour is being conducted by none other than Yukon Cornelius!
Blue Heaven
(images via: JMKirk, Punchstock and Superstock)
Even frozen waterfalls get the blues, but from a vantage point behind a frozen waterfall in an ice cave, it’s all good and then some. Though it may be hard to keep one’s spirits up as February’s snowstorms just keep on coming, we hope that these cool frozen waterfalls – when viewed from the warm comfort of your home or workplace – act as a cozy hearth for your winter-weary heart.
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The Benefits of a Snowy Day
January 11, 2011 by admin · View Comments
If you live where I do, you wouldn’t be able to open your front door this morning, the snow drifts are so high. The idea of doing anything outside is overwhelming when simply opening a door is a challenge! Plus, there are the cold temperatures. And the whipping winds. In short, it’s a good day to stay indoors…or is it?
A full-fledged snow day brings out that little child in us, where heavy snowfall meant no school and outdoor fun. So what does it mean as an adult? How can you benefit from a grown-up “snow day”?
1. Get out in it! There’s a tendency as adults to withdraw from the cold and to stay in artificial heat until it’s “safe” to go outdoors again. It’s good to take some time and adjust to the cold temperatures, feel the crisp air, walk around and get some circulation. (This doesn’t just mean snow shoveling, which is far more strenuous.) Take a short walk around first. You’ll be surprised that it’s not as intolerable as you think. And walking in the snow is a great workout!
2. Revisit your books. Books have a naturally therapeutic effect on our bodies. We breathe more rhythmically and genuinely relax into a good story. Find that book you’ve put aside. Get in touch with the act of reading again. Remember it’s meditative effect on our minds and souls and imagination.
3. Boil that water. Non-caffeinated teas and other warm beverages are a wonderful way to hydrate and warm us up naturally. Teas also possess a naturally calming effect on our systems. There’s a ritual each of us have when we drink teas, whether we’re aware of it or not. Get in touch with yours again.
4. Remember that nothing is alright! We’ve become almost robotically programmed at this point to stay busy. But it’s alright to do nothing; to contemplate, dream, nap, doodle, stare out a window without a thought in your head. We’re not machines. We’re people. And “lazy” isn’t always as bad as we think.
Snow days can be magical days, if we remember how. What can you do in the midst of this Winter to remind yourself of its magical qualities and peaceful effects?
Beth
Positive Quote Wednesday - On Winter
January 10, 2011 by thegreenchildrenfoundation · View Comments
I prefer winter and fall, when you feel the bone structure of the landscape - the loneliness of it, the dead feeling of winter. Something waits beneath it, the whole story doesn’t show. ~Andrew Wyeth
Winter is nature’s way of saying, “Up yours.” ~Robert Byrne
There is a privacy about it which no other season gives you…. In spring, summer and fall people sort of have an open season on each other; only in the winter, in the country, can you have longer, quiet stretches when you can savor belonging to yourself. ~Ruth Stout
One of my current pet theories is that the winter is a kind of evangelist, more subtle than Billy Graham, of course, but of the same stuff. ~Shirley Ann Grau
Let us love winter, for it is the spring of genius. ~Pietro Aretino
The tendinous part of the mind, so to speak, is more developed in winter; the fleshy, in summer. I should say winter had given the bone and sinew to literature, summer the tissues and the blood. ~John Burroughs
Winter is the time of promise because there is so little to do - or because you can now and then permit yourself the luxury of thinking so. ~Stanley Crawford
I like these cold, gray winter days. Days like these let you savor a bad mood. ~Bill Watterson
Every mile is two in winter. ~George Herbert
“Hear! hear!” screamed the jay from a neighboring tree, where I had heard a tittering for some time, “winter has a concentrated and nutty kernel, if you know where to look for it.” ~Henry David Thoreau, 28 November 1858 journal entry
When the bold branches
Bid farewell to rainbow leaves -
Welcome wool sweaters.
~B. CybrillI was just thinking, if it is really religion with these nudist colonies, they sure must turn atheists in the wintertime. ~Will Rogers
Winter dies into the spring, to be born again in the autumn. ~Marche Blumenberg
Every winter,
When the great sun has turned his face away,
The earth goes down into a vale of grief,
And fasts, and weeps, and shrouds herself in sables,
Leaving her wedding-garlands to decay -
Then leaps in spring to his returning kisses.
~Charles KingsleyTo shorten winter, borrow some money due in spring. ~W.J. Vogel
O, wind,
If Winter comes, can Spring be far behind?
~Percy Bysshe ShelleyWinter came down to our home one night
Quietly pirouetting in on silvery-toed slippers of snow,
And we, we were children once again.
~Bill Morgan, Jr.Spring, summer, and fall fill us with hope; winter alone reminds us of the human condition. ~Mignon McLaughlin, The Second Neurotic’s Notebook, 1966
Mignon McLaughlin
Beth
The Magic of a Head Clearing Walk
November 29, 2010 by thegreenchildrenfoundation · View Comments
I just returned from my high school graduation and boy, my head was spinning! It’s so strange and wonderful to see so many familiar faces. Yet also emotionally evocative. It’s as if you’re beemed back in time and relive and re-experience feelings of yesterday. - no easy emotional task.
So what did I do to process it? Simple. I went for one of my “power walks.” Now, I’m not talking about power walking in the traditional exercise sense. It was a spiritual power walk.
The air was cold and brisk, the winter sun shining brightly. As I walked, I kept an intention in mind: clear your head, let the thoughts blow away in the cold breeze, breathe, enjoy the now.
Simple, right? For me, this “power walk” helped me mentally digest a busy weekend, regroup and return to myself.
So the next time you’re feeling overwhelmed (especially as the holiday season approaches!), never underestimate the power of a good walk!
Walk your Mind Away
Beth
Happy Halloween History
October 30, 2010 by admin · View Comments
Straddling the line between fall and winter, plenty and paucity and life and death, Halloween is a time of celebration and superstition. Halloween has long been thought of as a day when the dead can return to the earth, and ancient Celts would light bonfires and wear costumes to ward off these roaming ghosts. The Celtic holiday of Samhain, the Catholic Hallowmas period of All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day and the Roman festival of Feralia all influenced the modern holiday of Halloween.
In the 19th century, Halloween began to lose its religious connotation, becoming a more secular community-based children’s holiday. Although the superstitions and beliefs surrounding Halloween may have evolved over the years, as the days grow shorter and the nights get colder, people can still look forward to parades, costumes and sweet treats to usher in the winter season.
Beth
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