Scarlet Tanager

Earth Day 2022

In honor of Earth Day 2022, I bring you some of my birds. As you think of these precious birds, and our wonderful planet, I hope you can decide to work to make a difference. Not to save our planet, but things you can do to save our environment. The planet doesn’t need to be saved. It’s going to keep on spinning for billions of years. Our environment needs to be saved. The environment these birds need to survive. The environment we humans need to survive.

These and other delicate creatures and creatures that don’t seem so delicate need our help. Celebrate our planet today on Earth Day and determine to make a difference. There is so much to be done. You’ve heard all the options. Make up your mind and do it.

The birds, top row, left to right: Scarlet Tanager (Piranga olivacea), Northern Flicker (Colaptes auratus), Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis).

Middle row, left to right: Costa Hummingbird (Calypte costae), Scarlet Tanager (female)(Piranga olivacea), Sharp Shinned Hawk (Accipiter striatus).

Bottom row, left to right: Eastern Phoebe (Sayornis phoebe), Indigo Bunting (Passerina cyanea), Hermit Thrush (Catharus guttatus).

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They winter in South America. And their little wings carry them a humongous number of miles to get to their breeding grounds in eastern North America. Scarlet Tanager (Piranga olivacea).

Male Scarlet Tanagers are that perfect color combination of brilliant red and black. Smart birds, they’re my favorite colors to wear too. The females are a subtle yellow and black.

If you are interested in what you might offer to attract Scarlet Tanagers to your yard, the internet will tell you to put out, “suet, mealworms, grape jelly or oranges.” My suggestion is have a birdbath or two or three and lots of blueberry bushes.

These beauties will be arriving very soon. I can’t wait.

Blueberry Pie

Special occasions call for special things to happen in the kitchen. That’s why there’s blueberry pie just out of the oven. For dessert after dinner tonight.

I make my crust from scratch. I think I could make the crust in my sleep. It’s very simple, very easy. For me anyway. Here’s the recipe.

Pie Crust for a 9” two crust pie or two 9” crusts

2 cups all purpose flour
2/3 cup shortening
1 teaspoon salt
4 or 5 tablespoon COLD water

Blend together flour, salt and shortening with a pastry blender or two knives.

Add 4 tablespoons COLD water and continue blending with knives or pastry blender. Add additional tablespoon water only if needed.

Divide dough into two balls and let sit for an hour. Then line your pie pan. Freeze the other ball of dough for another pie in the future.

Like the crust, I have the recipe for Blueberry Pie memorized. As a matter of fact you may have seen my blog post about Apple Pie. It’s nearly the same. Only difference is the fruit. And I occasionally put in a bit of lemon juice on top of the apples before the crumb topping goes on. Here’s the blueberry pie recipe.

Blueberry Pie

Oven temp. 425° for first 20 minutes. Lower temp. to 375° and continue baking for an additional 40 to 45 minutes.

1 – 9″ crust, unbaked
Blueberries, about 5 cups, or enough to fill your 9″ crust
1 stick (1/2 cup) softened butter
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup all purpose flour
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Fill pie crust with blueberries.

Cream softened together butter, salt, cinnamon and sugar. Add flour and continue blending until crumbs are a uniform size and are well blended.

Top blueberries with your crumb topping.

Bake at 425° for 20 minutes. Lower oven temperature to 375° and continue baking for 40 to 45 minutes until blueberries are bubbling. Cool and serve. Vanilla ice cream makes a perfect topping for the pie.

All my blueberry bushes are in bloom as I’m typing this, bringing many bees that will pollinate the flowers.

Soon the bushes will be loaded with green orbs that look like they’ve got little crowns.

Perhaps by the end of May I’ll be able to harvest a few of the berries. By the middle of June there will be plenty of berries to make me, and birds like this female Scarlet Tanager, very happy.

Scarlet Tanager and Things to Come

This morning was what seems to be quite the trend. Sleet and freezing rain. That rain turned the landscape into a sparkly fairyland. For me, this winter has become The Winter of Ice and Sleet. And this is no complaint. I’m absolutely loving all the frozen precipitation. All the diamond covered trees. Snow takes me back to my childhood and the shimmering of ice yields the same reaction.

*Scarlet Tanager (Piranga olivacea). Either a female or a young male.*

But with the blink of an eye it is going to be summer again. A new set of birds to enthrall me. Summer birds to capture in pixels. Things growing, plants calling to me. Colors popping. Very soon.