tiny

Tiny flowers in pink adorn the branches of a tea tree. It's a plant in the myrtle family native to Australia and New Zealand, living here in the northeast inside a greenhouse.

a soup day

Today was a sunny warmish winter day; it felt like a good day for soup.

I looked for a recipe for tomato rice soup, starting with cookbooks and then moving on to the web. I found a one that looked interesting on the Tori Avey's site.

The first step in creating tonight's tomato rice soup was to saute chopped onions, carrots, and celery, followed by throwing the tender vegetables into a blender with some tomatoes. This was the start of a smooth base for the soup. That's a step I never would have guessed!

The recipe called for either chopped fresh tomatoes or for canned tomatoes. I moved away from canned tomatoes a long time ago, using Pomi chopped tomatoes instead. Instead of the 3 14-ounce cans called for by the recipe, I used 2 26-ounce boxes. That worked!

I've just started wandering through some of the other recipes on the site. I plan to continue to try recipes from there. It feels like a good time to experiment with food!

If you're interested in trying this tomato rice soup, click to the recipe.

photo courtesy of Tori Avey

flowers

Today was a beautiful "not January" day. Temperatures in the mid-40s made it feel like the season couldn't possibly be winter. That's not a complaint; it was a wonderful day to be outside.

After my outside time I headed to the greenhouses of the Lyman Estate for a taste of color. While this doesn't appear to be the prime blooming season for many of the plants in the greenhouse there were enough flowers in bloom to satisfy my need for color.

crazy windy

As I walked the beach in the Parker River National Wildlife Refuge late this morning the wind grabbed my hat and threw it into the ocean. The ocean kindly returned it to me on the next inbound wave. It was crazy windy out there!

Luckily the temperature was warm for January since the wind was howling with a low wind speed of close to 30 miles per hour. Sand was swirling, hitting exposed skin. Walking to the south was easy while walking to the north was a bit of a challenge.

It was a good day for a walk by the sea.

frozen

Smooth ice is interspersed with rapidly flowing water on the Royal River in Yarmouth, Maine. It's winter!

in the harbor

A walk along the Eastern Promenade in Portland provided a view of a ship sitting in the harbor. It created a splash of bright color to contrast with the blue of sea and sky.

wrack line

Walking the beach as the time of high tide drew closer allowed a glimpse at the wrack line, the line of debris left on the beach by high tide.

still waters

The waters of the Merrimack River wore a smooth surface at high tide yesterday afternoon.

I'm always happy to walk to the center of the bridge to Plum Island to catch a view like this one.

to Parker River

As I drove past the entry station at the Parker River National Wildlife Refuge this afternoon a sign caught my eye.

Where public access to refuge lands does not require the presence of a federal employee or contractor, activities on refuge lands will be allowed to continue on the same terms as before the appropriations lapse. Any entry onto Refuge System property during this period of federal government shutdown is at the visitor's sole risk.

While I would have been happy to trespass by walking in on the beach if the gates had been closed, I'm glad the entry was not blocked.

It was an hour before high tide when I arrived in the refuge. My preference is to walk the beach as the tide is going out since it leaves a wonderfully smooth walking surface, but sometimes the timing of my visit doesn't coincide with outbound tides. Today it was a bit of a challenge to keep my feet dry - and with the temperature in the low 30s, that was important! I walked close to the water's edge, keeping an eye on the inbound waves, moving quickly when the water intruded.

I feel a sense of peace as I walk by the ocean.

a window

A walk along a canal in Lawrence just north of the Merrimack River this afternoon left me standing across from Pemberton Mill, a replacement for the building with the same name that collapsed in 1860.

I was fascinated by the curves in the windows. I wonder when the metal grills over the glass were added to the structure; somehow I can't imagine that they were part of the original structure.