Don't Be Afraid of the Dork: Saturday in the Garden

OUTSIDE

So where do you fall on Didelphis virginiana - the Virginia Opossum? I know a lot of people that are freaked and/or grossed out by them, including one of my co-workers who is a wildlife technician. I kind of like them. They're North America's only marsupial, have fifty freakin' teeth (more than any other mammal hereabouts), opposable thumbs on their back feet, a prehensile tail and are obviously very adaptable. I have a soft spot for the opportunists in the animal kingdom. They're survivors.

And the fact that these critters survive is kind of amazing because their defense behavior is just odd. They are famous of course for playing dead when really frightened but the two I have had close encounters with lately didn't even bother with that. Apparently, I'm not very scary? They just freeze, open their mouth wide and maybe hiss, which you can see below:

They must be the easiest prey on the planet. Though there are the 50 teeth to contend with, I suppose. I think the gentleman above was not in great shape. He was skinny and wandered right in front of our office in the middle of the afternoon (they're generally nocturnal). He didn't even notice me walk out the front door and up to him until I was two feet away. Then he just froze and let me have my mini photo shoot. He was missing part of his tail and you can see his ears were nicked and torn. He's probably an elder. I hope he's still doing okay and I enjoyed his visit though I am sure he could have done without my attention.

SOOOOOOOO....the garden plan. YIKES! It is February 11th and I have yet to do anything garden-related nor ordered the first seed packet. Priority for tomorrow! How about y'all? Are you rarin' to go for the garden season?

Update on the indoor bulb forcing for grape hyacinth? LOTS of growth as you can see!

Last Week

This Week

GAK

So I just want to point out two things.

One, I have found an overnight oats recipe that is TO DIE FOR. I am not so sure it is the healthiest but it's at least not a doughnut or a pop tart? It has chia seeds? And oats? And only a small amount of unrefined sugar (maple syrup)? The key I think is the chia seeds and coconut milk which solidify overnight to make a kind of chocolate mousse. Because, yeah it's got cocoa powder in it. The below picture doesn't make it look really tasty and I forgot the frozen cherries and toasted sliced almonds I'd been topping it with but hopefully the texture comes through. Yum! Do you have any overnight oats recipes you love?

Overnight Chia Oat Pudding. Recipe

Second I wanted to shout out a list of Modern Classics on Book Riot that I particularly like. I may have loved it because the very first book listed is a Barbara Pym, and one of my favorites of hers, but also all the books on the list I have read, I really agree with. That doesn't happen often and it definitely makes me want to read others on the list!

WATCHING, READING and BLOGGING

Watching

I finished the K Drama City Hunter and while overall I did think it was pretty great, the ending really drove me up a wall:(. It was bad enough that it bumped this drama from top-of-the-heap stellar to middle-of-the-pack good.

I caught up with the recently released season two of Voltron on Netflix - It was a lot of fun. I ADORE Hunk and Pidge especially.

I watched the final 2.5 episodes of Arrow season 4. I got irritated with the show during this season, when after a really strong start they threw one of my favorite characters under the bus. The last couple eps were good and they left me curious to watch season 5 once it makes its way to Netflix.

I also started watching The Flash again which I had stalled on about halfway through season 1. Barry Allan/Grant Gustin could literally not be more charming and adorable and awesome but the rest of the cast bores me.

Reading

Finished Since the Last Time I Posted

Memories of Ash (Sunbolt #2) by Intisar Khanani: I loved book 1 so much, I immediately had to jump into book 2! Not quite Sunbolt levels of awesome but still good!
Ninefox Gambit by Yoon Ha Lee: WHOA. This book is going to be impossible to review...

Currently Reading:

Intuitive Eating by Evelyn Tribole and Elyse Resch: A book about how to improve your relationship with food.
Mr Impossible (Carsington Brothers #2) by Loretta Chase: Regency romance set in Egypt. It's okay.
Lady Cop Makes Trouble (Kopp Sisters #2) by Amy Stewart: I am so happy to be hanging out with Constance, Norma and Fleurette Kopp again!

Added to the TBR:

This is a list of books that I have added to my Goodreads TBR list this week. It helps to burn the books I want to read a little more firmly into my mind, maybe get them on some other folks TBRs and gives me a chance to recognize a lot of the awesome bloggers that add stuff to my TBR!

I added some books this week but don't have time to make the list. I'll include on nest week's.