The rain has stopped a bit here in Portland. Flowers bloom in my bleeding heart.
I see a single flower bowing next to the oak tree behind me. There will be even more flowers around the tree thanks to BethBAT planting the bulbs. The future of flowers for several years! That's a wonderful gift.
We are considering planting some plants. I know I want another currant tree. And I crave honeyberry bushes. There's space for them in the back! Probably the site of a large, now defunct holly tree. One corner is bare ground and receives plenty of sunlight.
What does honeyberry taste like?
Honeyberry farmer Jim Riddle likens the flavor to slightly underripe blueberries and blackberries, which can be eaten like typical berries. So if you happen to come across these at your local market, swap them out for your favorite blueberry jam or strawberry muffin recipes. Riddle co-owns Blue His Fruit Farm in Winona, Minnesota with his wife Joyce Ford. The couple has been growing several types of bluish perennial berries (hence the farm's name) for more than 30 years, but about six years ago they decided to add honeyberries to the mix. Riddle prefers to eat honeyberries raw, but says they're also great for making delicious jam or fruit wine.
Honey berry health benefits
Honey berries are rich in antioxidants, which greatly strengthen your immune system. When tested against other common berries such as blueberries, mulberries, and blackberries, honeyberries consistently produced the highest levels of anthocyanins. Anthocyanins are produced by natural pigments found in blue and red fruits and have been linked to all sorts of anti-inflammatory benefits, including improved eye health and relief from gingivitis (inflammation of the gums) and rheumatoid arthritis. I am. These berries are more than just antioxidants. It is also a valuable source of fiber and vitamin C.
You need at least two honeyberry trees to cross-pollinate. I would like three.
What else is going on? Anne and I are listening to the audiobook version of John Scalzi's The Starter Villain, read by Wil Wheaton. That's dangerous! Here is the publisher's blurb:
Taking over your uncle's supervillain business is more complicated than you think. Especially when you discover who runs the place.
Charlie's life is slow to progress. A divorced substitute teacher lives with her cat in a house her brother wants to sell, but she just wants to open a pub downtown if the bank will approve her loan.
Then, his long-lost uncle Jake dies, leaving his supervillain duties (complete with a volcanic island hideout) to Charlie.
But it's not just giant laser beams and lava pits that make you a supervillain. Jake has enemies and now they're after Charlie. His uncles may have been stand-up, old-fashioned villains, but they're the real deal. They are rich, soulless predators backed by multinational corporations and venture capital.
It's up to Charlie to win the war his uncle has started against the League of Supervillains. But with unionized dolphins, a highly intelligent talking spy cat, and a terrifying henchman by his side, the evildoers are starting to look pretty good.
In a world where the fittest survives…become a cat.
Anything else… I recently broke a long hiatus of several decades and started using tarot cards again for meditation. My old deck is almost an antique now. Since the mid-1990s! The new decks released recently have vastly different art styles and are refreshingly inclusive in their presentation. One of the things I really love about tarot is the art. I think the Tarot is basically an elegant mathematical arrangement of pictorial archetypes that opens the mind and encourages intuition.
Below is a new deck that is completely different from mine, reviewed by Wicked Moonlight, a reader I respect and follow.
And here is her short reading using this very deck:
youtube.com/…
Ah, spring! And eggs also appear at Easter. These are gorgeous deviled eggs. The yolk is never piped out. you?
The weekend begins. Please share your day, your Easter weekend plans, and your menu! Also, share your spring photos!
This is an open thread.
