Tuesday, March 13, 2012

Sensory Confusion

Do you ever have the feeling that something is just off?



The past week or so, I just haven't been able to shake it. We had an unseasonably cold and snowy February, and then March arrived and boom! It feels like mid-June. Seriously, March is usually our snowiest month, but this year it's been bone dry and in the 70's.


It's not like bizarre weather is anything unusual here... it is Denver after all, but this year things just feel really strange.


Anyhow, I put the peas in the ground a few weeks early, and the chives, scallions and garlic are all showing already. The raspberries are starting to get a few leaves, the neighbor's crocus is in full bloom, and the tulips, iris and daffodils look like they'll be blooming in a week or two.


I keep having to remind myself that it's only mid-March, because the temperatures haven't even dipped below freezing at night. Seriously, I'm sort of worried about the spinach bolting, and I keep feeling like I should be planting the tomatoes and squash! It's just too hot to be March!


At the same time... We had a HUGE pumpkin crop last year, but because of the hail storm it was all VERY late and most had to be harvested green. They've been happily ripening inside though, and we've had a steady supply of pumpkin soup and pumpkin bread, and well... pretty much any pumpkin recipe you can think of.


But they're all starting to reach a state of ripeness now, and they're gonna have to be used soon. So I'm finding myself in the odd position of trying to cook and freeze all of the pumpkins... in MARCH! I've gotta say, it feels really weird to stick something in the freezer that's labeled: Pumpkin March 2012.


It all sort of makes my climate apocalypse radar go off.


OK... I know it doesn't happen that way... but it just feels wrong.


I dunno... maybe it's just me. Does anybody else out there feel like the weird weather is messing with their psyche?

20 comments :

  1. YES! I'm in South Dakota and our temps sound much like yours. Trees are budding and grass is turning green. I hung out a load of clothes this morning (usually not doable in March). I think we nearly hit 80 this past weekend; crazy. However, because my birthday is in April and we've had a blizzard on it more times than I can count, I'll get back to you at the end of next month, LOL. In the meantime - yeah, it feels really strange.
    Loved the pumpkin "pie" pic, BTW!

    Misty

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    1. I hear you in terms of the blizzards! I'm sort of expecting that the universe will punish me for writing this by dumping 3 feet of snow before the month is up!

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  2. I got your snow right here... Want it back? If I said please nicely? :)

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    1. Actually, my garden could use some water... send it this way!!!

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  3. PUMPKIN BUTTER! It's like apple butter & it is yummy. Of course, I don't have a recipe but there's bound to be one on the internet. Found some:
    http://www.pickyourown.org/pumpkinbutter.php
    http://www.skinnytaste.com/2010/10/pumpkin-butter.html
    http://easteuropeanfood.about.com/od/fruits/r/pumpkinbutter.htm
    And pumpkin-apple butter: http://blog.fatfreevegan.com/2006/10/pumpkin-apple-butter.html

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    1. I've never heard of pumpkin butter, but it looks yummy! I may have to give it a try! Thanks for the suggestion!

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  4. Unusually warm weather here in Bozeman, too. I went nordic skiing last Thursday, then, bam! I was already road cycling on Friday and climbing on Saturday. Totally weird. Usually March is a great month for skiing, but with temps in the 50's-60's with no forecast of changing, the show is melting fast. I just noticed today that the cottonwoods were budding- a month too early. But like Desiderata said, April could very well be the snowiest month of the season.

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    1. 75 again today... my best friend and I are gonna go to the zoo tomorrow to take advantage of the nice weather, and I may go for a bike ride again today. Had to go to the bank yesterday and there are still huge piles of snow in the parking lots (although they're black and disgusting now). Anyhow, I think I should probably try to be prepared for anything weather wise!

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  5. I am out of season. I blame our very different life for that. It's March, and people are leaving where we are, but that makes me feel like it might be winter, and it all feels the same so I can't tell by the weather. Plus, we should leave soon, but we're going south instead of north like everyone else.

    At least New York gives clear-but-ugly temperature cues to remind me what season it is.

    Roxanne
    The Good Luck Duck

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    1. Ha! Well, being on the move has got to make it interesting in terms of weather. You're already down in Arizona aren't you? Are you headed to Mexico?

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  6. It's 77 degrees in Iowa today, and definitely a shock to the system! It makes for uncomfortable sleeping at night and is wreaking havoc on sinuses. Wearing shorts for St. Pat's Day just isn't right -- blame it on leprechauns.

    As for the pumpkin -- I put my vote in for good ole pumpkin bars. They freeze well. I suppose if one were wanting to make them with less oil you could substitute some applesauce.

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    1. Pumpkin bars? I've never heard of pumpkin bars... I think some Googling is in order!

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    2. Well, they're great with cream cheese frosting, and since I just read you bought like 3 pounds of the stuff, these might be just the ticket:-)

      They freeze extremely well, and I think you can probably substitute unsweetened applesauce for some of the oil.

      Here's a good basic recipe:
      http://allrecipes.com/recipe/pumpkin-bars/detail.aspx?event8=1&prop24=SR_Title&e11=pumpkin%20bars&e8=Quick%20Search&event10=1&e7=Home%20Page

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    3. Hmmmm... actually those look remarkably similar to my pumpkin muffins... except they're square and I never met a cream cheese frosting that I didn't love!

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  7. It *is* strange; I have to keep reminding myself it's March. We're having highs in the 70s in Ohio. But I am enjoying being able to ride my bike again (I'm a fairweather only biker). I don't remember being able to ride in March before, let alone three times in one week!

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    1. Me too. I bought myself a bike pack for my birthday to carry my camera in, and it arrived today, so I might have to go try it out today! They're saying we should get rain and or snow early next week... which is actually a really good thing because my garden is parched already!

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  8. Most definitely agree! We have had maybe 3 or 4 days of cold weather in Florida this winter, winter felt like spring and now it feels almost like the middle of summer already. I'm ok with it since I hate cold but everything has seemed so off.

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    1. I know what you mean, it's sort of hard to complain about beautiful weather... it's just odd.

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  9. The weather here has been so weird! I can only remember it raining a couple of times this winter... which would be normal if I weren't living in Scotland and enjoyable if I didn't love rain so much.

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    1. Our sunny weather continues. It was almost 80 degrees today. It's supposed to rain next week... still feels weird, usually in March it's blizzards not rain!

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