Katherine J Krein

Waxwings that Work

The Cedar Waxwings are a bird that secrete a reddish orange waxy substance, though not all of them have it in these pictures. I read that it has something to do with attracting mates. These pictures are from January 2009. I am posting them because this was the first time I witnessed them in my garden, and today they were in my garden again. Today they were mostly interested in my fountain bowl that was full of fresh water from the recent rains. In these pictures it was the middle of winter, and the fountain bowl was pretty sad looking, though I did keep a heater in it so that the water would not freeze.

I was happy to see them again today.

I titled today's post Waxwings that Work mainly because the thought of the myth of Daedalus and Icarus came into my mind. I read a student version of this myth this school year, and in this myth the wings of wax melt when Icarus ignored his father's advice and flew too close to the sun. Sadly, Icarus's mistake was fatal. There is much more to the myth than what I shared here (you can look it up.)

These pictures are not the best. The birds caught me off guard, and they move very quickly. They seem to be always on the move from branch to branch. Here they are enjoying privet berries. Today the berries are gone, and I did not see them do anything other than enjoy all the fresh water in the fountain.

I will post a co-pilot answer about how they got their name.

Oh, When the Ants Come Marching In…

Today is the vernal equinox or the start of spring, though I do not need a calendar to know that spring is upon us. I have been seeing the signs of spring all this week, (even with the crazy temperatures we have been witnessing.) First I saw some yellow crocuses beginning to rise up and bloom, and then I saw my diminutive iris blooming by our mailbox, and then just yesterday I noticed the tulip magnolia tree near an entrance to my school beginning to show an increasing number of pink buds.

Yesterday I noticed to my dismay the small black ants wanting to come through the radiator in my personal bathroom. We have an older home, so we have a few places where every spring I can reliably see the tiny black ants wanting to seek new territory inside. They are easily eliminated and pose no problems once the season is in full swing. They are a sure-fire beacon of the change of season.

Early this morning when I looked out the kitchen window I saw the wild cherry in our backyard showing a spray of opened blooms. They have suddenly appeared, almost overnight it seems. The popular cherry blossoms downtown around the tidal basin are showing their signs, though I am not sure what stage they are in at this point.

Here are a few pictures of our backyard wild cherry tree blossoms.

I am off work today because of Eid.
"May this Eid be a reminder to carry kindness, gratitude, and generosity throughout the year."

River Blessings

When doing my Sunday reflection this morning the thought of rivers came into my mind. I am still thinking about March as a month to honor my Scots-Irish heritage. River symbolism runs deep in many cultures, and the river is used symbolically in the bible as well. As I was researching rivers in Scotland and Ireland, I remembered the Riverdance show starring Michael Flatley. My daughter was in love with this show, and we bought her the VCR tape which we still own and can still watch on an old TV/DVD/VCR machine we still have. I took a picture of it. See below.

She is watching this today. Luckily the tape still works and so does the TV/VCR/DVD player. I wish we could buy another newer version of this same machine. It is made by Toshiba. When we bought it was being discontinued. We got the last one.

This coming week Saint Patrick’s day will be celebrated, and not necessarily in the way it was historically intended. However, we live in America and the year is 2026, so the spirit of celebration is one of happiness with family and heritage.

Cheers!

Scots Irish or Scotch Irish

https://www.jameswebb.com/books/born-fighting

With Saint Patrick’s Day being celebrated this month, I have been thinking about my heritage on my mother’s side of the family (the Irwin’s). She always said they were Scots-Irish. She even traced her family tree back to Rev. John Craig of Augusta county Virginia and the Old Stone church. She was able to visit it and take pictures before she died.

“The present building was dedicated on January 22, 1749 and is the oldest Presbyterian church in Virginia.” (https://www.augustastonechurchva.com/our-history)

The book pictured above was purchased by my mother and it came to me when she passed away. I read the book and enjoyed it. It contains a lot of good historical information about the Scots-Irish in America, and their influence on American culture.

Here is my great aunt Bess Irwin, and her sister, my grandmother, Myrtle Irwin DeVall. They were proud to be Scots-Irish and their father was an Irwin. . Their father was a teacher, and his father was a doctor.

I have decided to honor the Scots-Irish this month!

A Week of Celebrations

Chinese Fire Horse 2026 image generated by AI. My daughter was born in a Metal Horse year. “Metal Horses are often described as ‘spiritual warriors’ due to their immense inner strength and endurance.”

President’s Day holiday, Mardi Gras, the beginning of Ramadan, and the Chinese New Year all will be happening this coming week.

My brother’s birthday was last week, and he wrote to me that his wife was making him an angel food cake. When we were growing up together our mom would often make him one with strawberries and whipped cream for his birthday. I cannot remember the last time I made one.

This conversation got me to thinking about making an angel food cake for my family. I have one of the special inverted cake pans that is very old, so I decided to search for a new one. This took me outside my normal day to day radius, and I had fun exploring the Galleria. I found a nice new angel food cake pan.

I have been researching recipes because this cake needs to be dressed up for more flavor. I did not want to make the standard strawberries and whipped cream version. I found a recipe that uses pumpkin puree and pumpkin pie spice. I happen to have a can of pumpkin leftover from the Christmas holidays. This recipe does use whipped cream with added crystallized ginger for the middle and top of the cake. I had previously read that “gourds, particularly bottle gourds or hulu are significant in Chinese New Year for symbolizing prosperity, health, and protection.” Since pumpkin is in the gourd family, the pumpkin angel food cake will be the recipe I use. If I can successfully make one and get a good picture, I will post it later. I will need to wait a day for the crystallized ginger to arrive.

I hope your week ahead is productive and festive in one way or another.

I made the cake. There were a few small problems I worked around. It tastes great! I am not a professional baker. This was the first time I made a whipped cream frosting. It was made with a pint of heavy whipping cream and 1/4 cup powdered sugar. It made more that I expected. I had not originally intended to ice the whole cake. It will need to be refrigerated. You cannot see it, but between the two layers is a crystallized ginger paste. I made the mistake of putting some in a food processer and it made a sticky paste of it. Fortunately I did not put all of it in the processor, so I had some to chop into smaller pieces for the top. I think this will be my early birthday cake.

Soul Train

Soul Train TV show theme song by George Martin Duke, composer

George Martin Duke (1946-2013) was an American keyboardist, composer, singer-songwriter, and record producer.

This is an image from a TV show that was on in the 70’s.

We are in Black History Month right now. Soul Train was a TV show that ran in the 70's when I was in my teen years.
I think the #2 definition of soul is a good reflection of the intense energy that was exhibited on this show. I loved the energy of the music and the dancing. I did not watch the show consistently, though, when I did watch it the energy was contagious!

A celebration of the soul embodied in this show is definitely worth showcasing during Black History Month.

Snow Shadows

As I was drinking my chocolate macadamia nut coffee topped with marshmallow whipped cream, I saw tree shadows dancing across the snow as the wind stirred up their tempo.

Turning the page on my Old Farmer’s Almanac Gardening calendar 2026, I see the “Leaves that Please” of February. Tonight the full Snow Moon will rise, and tomorrow the question of the day will be : Did Punxsutawney Phil see his shadow?

I think he will!

Words of Affirmation

I captured this picture from dandyworldwide.com.

I finally got out of my house today. I ventured out within a 3 mile radius (or less.) While I was out I spotted 2 teenage girls that were both wearing pink oversized sweatshirt hoodies with these words on the back. I told them that I liked their hoodies, and I asked where they got them. They told me online at a website called dandyworldwide.com.

I found the website, and I found the “Words of Affirmation” hoodie. I would have preferred a crewneck with these words, but still I liked the words so much that I bought one in a navy color. I work in a school, and I love the messages that this will spread to everyone that sees it.

I don’t get anything out of advertising products other that a good feeling about spreading the word on a product that I like.

Snow Day 3!

This is how I am feeling today — worn out from baking cookies.

My husband shoveled our driveway yesterday. He said it is like blocks of cement out there. The temperatures outside have been varying between the mid single digit range with wind chill at zero or below, and when it warms up it reaches the low to mid 20’s. I have stayed inside cooking and baking. At least we have been well-fed.

I received a Spring 2026 catalog from Vermont Bean Seed company recently. I shopped for seeds and indoor grow lights yesterday. My intention is to give vegetable growing another try. I have been reading up on planting asparagus from crowns. I first read about growing asparagus last year in a Martha Stewart article. I learned that asparagus is a perennial vegetable, and this interested me since I have experience growing many perennial flowers. Yesterday, I ordered some asparagus crowns, a Sweet Purple variety. I hope to do the preparation work early spring. “Hope springs eternal…” (This is a partial quote from Alexander Pope 1733.)

Thinking about spring helps to weather the winter pauses. I hear there is the possibility of another winter weather system coming this weekend.

Stay warm and don’t hurt yourself shoveling!

Invasion of the Cowbirds

This picture was taken by rfotostock located on Pixabay. I wanted you to see what the male cowbird looks like.

I woke up very early this morning when it was still dark outside, though the whiteness of the snow made it possible to see. At this time of morning there was no visible bird activity. I was wide awake, so I made a black walnut banana bread, and drank some tea as it was baking. Eventually, I went back to bed, and slept for about an hour before the noise of bird activity woke me up. I went into the kitchen and was somewhat startled to see about 2 dozen cowbirds resting on our deck as close to the door as they could get. There were many more cowbirds resting in the surrounding trees and several fighting over the seeds in a couple of feeders.

My husband had purchased a small wooden birdhouse that is a seed feeder that he placed on the back railing of our deck. Normally many small sparrows play inside and outside of it eating the seeds. This morning many cowbirds were flocked around it. When I opened the door to scare the noisy flock they all flew away or up into surrounding trees. There was one exception, one cowbird was left stuck inside the little bird house. I called my husband to come see the commotion. I will let him decide what to do with the stuck cowbird. Perhaps it can eventually free itself.

Our regular backyard birds were still around. I spotted the cardinals, a blue jay, the visiting winter juncos, and I was delighted to see a cute little wren exploring the corners of the deck.

I was not delighted to see the cowbird flock. I used to see a few here and there in our garden many many years ago. They are not regular inhabitants here, and I have not seen any in a very long time. They are called cowbirds because they follow herds of cattle and eat the seeds and insects stirred up by the herd. They used to be called bison birds before many of the bison were killed off. The female cowbirds do not look like the males, and are very non-descript looking. They do not build nests, and they are called brood parasites because they will lay their egg in another birds nest. Often the other bird will foster the cowbird egg along with their own eggs. I used to read a lot about the different birds I would see in my garden.

It is still snowing and perhaps the cowbirds were brought here by this weather system. They will eventually move along, especially if the feeders are empty.

Enjoy the snow if you can, and stay warm.