Too Much Vanilla!

Kind of what it looks like here - greyish.

Our small flock of 4 grackles has really fascinated me this week. As I said in an earlier post, they are quite beautiful, with glossy black feathers and iridescent blue heads. They are about the size of a blue jay and I consider them one of "The Bully Boys" as they can crowd out smaller birds. They are too big and not built quite right to use either the suet or seed feeders. However, in the past 5-6 days, they have taught themselves to do both. They have been very persistent, overcoming many, many falls and upsets and are now expert feeders. I just wish they wouldn't claim everything and jab others on the head. They are not nearly as ferocious as some of the bossy little sparrows, however. Wow, when they want to hog the feeder, everyone else better look out!


On this very dull day I am having some green tea - green for spring, right? Actually, it is a mix of green and black teas, with jasmine and vanilla. This is Golden Moon's Vanilla Jasmine. You certainly can smell the vanilla, it is almost overwhelming. I don't catch any jasmine in the dry tea. I brewed it for 3 minutes with water off the boil for a minute or so. The brewing tea gave off a much more well-rounded aroma, of jasmine, with a hint of vanilla. I hoped it would taste well-balanced as well. I was not disappointed at first, as both flavors melded well. However, the vanilla, which did become overwhelming, stayed in my mouth looooooooong past the time it was pleasant. I also could not taste the tea, which I do not prefer.


We had "Squirrel Convocation" here this morning. Instead of the usual three, I guess they invited their cousins by the dozens to visit the bird feeder. There's not much there as I got smart and only put out enough for one day. However, superfast Ernie chased them away, once again nearly catching one. I guess we need to do sprint work with him, so he is faster.

The great celebration of Passover begins tonight. Best wishes to all of you who are celebrating. Next year in Jerusalem!

The Christian world is getting for our great celebration of Easter. I will not be writing anything on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, as I take the first 2 days for a time of preparation and Sunday is filled with celebration. For those of you also celebrating, may it be a time of great joy and renewal for you all.