Snowy March Day.

What do you do on a snowy March day?

If you're me, you grab your camera and head to the chicken coop, 

to take pictures of the snowy coop before it's disturbed by the chickens or myself.

I clear a little area outside their door, so they can eat their hot sour mash and other breakfast goodies without standing in the deep snow.

Then, I leave them to eat and take pictures through the snowy netting until I get a lovely bokeh effect.

My fingers start to feel cold, so I head inside to turn the oven on, because somehow, baking bread seems like the right thing to do today.

I couldn't wait for it to cool.

What do you, would you, do on a snowy day in March?

Tea and Shamrocks

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Today, like everyday, I'll be using my "shamrock" teapot, which I love.  It was a gift from my Mom.

Did you know that the word shamrock derives from the words, "seamair óg", which means young clover?  We have an abundance of clover on our property, much to the delight of our chickens and other people's horses and cows. (which really is another blog post entirely...escaped animals make a bee line to our clover fields)

I know that many people are drinking green beer and Irish whiskey today, but I'll be drinking tea and I'll be in good company.  By capita, the Irish consistently drink more tea than any other country in the world.  (although rumor has it that Iraq is on par with them or even supassing them now)  Yes, they even drink more than their neighbors in England.

In Gaelic "cupan tae" means cup of tea, and in Ireland it's a strong cup. Irish tea is blended to be mixed with a lot of rich milk. The custom is to add the milk to the tea cup first along with sugar if desired, then pour in the tea, which is how I was taught to make it.

"Life is like a cup of tea, it's all in how you make it."  Irish proverb

Of course there are always those who like it even stronger and for them there is Irish Tea.

Irish tea?  Why not?  There's Irish Coffee. Irish Tea is as simple as some freshly brewed hot tea and a shot of good Irish whiskey.

Irish Tea

1 tbs loose tea, or 1 tea bag

1 oz whisky

1 oz milk or cream

1 tsp sugar

Preparation:

Brew tea in hot water for 3-5 minutes.  Remove tea leaves or bag. Add whiskey and other ingredients.

However you like your tea, enjoy a cup today.  You'll be in good company.

'Sláinte!'

WW - Keep Calm Spring is Coming

I'm linking up with

http://wordlesswednesday.blogspot.com/2013/03/march-13.html