Frozen Pond

I had to zip into work today.  With overnight temperatures well into the 20s I felt safest waiting for daylight.

The way was filled with rhyme covered grasses and trees.  Everything is frosted with a coat of white.  Thankfully, the main roads were safe driving.

One the way out of the business park I stopped at the little mitigation area.  This complex of meadow and pond has taken charge of controlling the runoff of the large business parks and easing it into the two large creeks that meet here.  Our roads no longer flood in the Winter and Spring when the rains are heavy. 

The once dirt trail is now paved and there are nice berms and a split rail fence to greet you.

Everything is frosted with crystals.

Birds are swarming the ground and blackberry bushes eating old dried fruit.  I noticed rowdy flocks of Robins up by the buildings where Cotoneaster is filled with berries.  The Robins were probably a little tipsy with fermented fruit.  This female Spotted Towhee was much more subdued with her dried blackberry.

As I walked along the path a River Otter came out of the pond, crossed the trail and went into a little runoff channel that meets the larger creek.  I waited and tried to capture a picture, but was not successful.  This shot of the frosty grasses hides a lump of otter, way out of focus.  That is its head at about 10:00 from center.

Ducks were clustered in one corner of the pond near open water.  There were some comical belly sliding icy landings and one duck even slipped, waddled then crashed through thin icy.

A lone Blue Heron found refuge in the tree.  I am sure the sunshine felt good up there.

The pond has obviously frozen and refrozen at different water levels over the last few days. Icy is jumbled in layers and pieces here and there.

 

 

 

It was just a little walk in the brisk sunny day.

 

 

The week ahead is forecast for sunny cold days.  A welcome relief from the persistent gray days.

Sunny Frosty Day

Yesterday we started off with an interesting Convergence Zone snowfall. This unique weather pattern ranges in central Puget Sound, most predictably on a line that roughly cuts across King and Snohomish county. While Seattle proper was mostly missed, the area to the north and east (me) was hit with a short lived snowfall. It was pretty and what I call convenient snow. The roads, easy to drive, the view, pretty and temporary.







So here when the skies open and the insulating protective layer of clouds rolls away the temperatures plunge. It did so last night but not before dropping a small amount of frozen snow/rain pellets.

Overnight the wet environment from yesterdays short snow combined with a late precipitation equals solid frozen everything.

Streets are sheet ice and the grass is crunchy. Vapor rises from trees then re-freezes.

There is not much you can do but hunker down and wait for daylight. Proceed slowly and trust that everyone else is of like mind. Happily, I have no place in particular to be today.

I decided to try out a recipe for butter chicken so I walked carefully to the store.

NO one is waiting for the bus.






This frozen tree planter acts as a sundial and says it is Oh Chilly-o-Morn.







I now have a pot of chicken stock brewing on the stove top and a batch of butter chicken marinading in the refrigerator.



North Indian Inspired Butter Chicken



1 lb chicken breast meat

1/4 C fat free half and half

2 Tbl peeled and chopped ginger

6 cloves of garlic minced or pressed

2 Tbl of chopped cilantro ( my store is on recall for all leafy greens so I used dried parsley and a good grind of pepper ~ not a cilantro fan anyway)

3/4 tsp ground coriander

1/2 tsp ground cumin

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

1 Tbl butter

1/2 C no salt tomato sauce

2 T chopped celery greens



Slice chicken crosswise to 1/2 inch strips. Place in 1 gallon zip lock



Combine half and half, ginger , garlic, cilantro, coriander, cumin and cayenne in cup, mix well and pour over chicken.



seal and refrigerate 1 to 12 hours.



Place butter in a microwave safe cup. Microwave on high for 30 - 40 seconds until melted. Allow butter to stand 2 minutes then skim the fat solids off the top. Pour remainder into a medium nonstick skillet and heat over medium heat. Add chicken mixture with all marinade. Add tomato sauce. Cook 5 minutes, stirring frequently.



Stir in celery leaves and reduce heat. Cover and simmer for about 10 to 12 minutes or until chicken is fully cooked.