The Changing Seasons, February 2022

Happy Place, Happy Space

February has flown by with alarming speed: perhaps it is because the month is shorter anyway, or was it because we were obsessed with our Mandarin orange baking frenzy. Whatever the reason, Brian and I hope you will join us to recap the month.

We enjoyed a few art outings this month, one of the most memorable was to see Folded Stretched Pierced by Kanchana Gupta.

Not often does our little family have the opportunity to go out together; such a lively conversation ensued about the art. It was bonding & entertaining outing.

‘Folded Pierced Stretched’ series appropriates and re-contextualizes the imagery and information of tarpaulin, commonly seen in the urban slums of my native India as well as in the gentrified skyscrapers of the place where I live.

Kanchana Gupta

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Exchanging Mandarin oranges is a must during Chinese New Year ( 1-15 February) … “giving gold”, which the luck-obsessed Chinese have used as a symbol of conferring prosperity and well wishes to the recipient.

guide.michelin.com

Although we didn’t celebrate the season in a big way, we still managed to collect an impressive number of Mandarin oranges. Hence, the hunt for creative ways to use up the fruit.

vanilla-orange cake, orange filling, vanilla marscapone frosting

orange muffin

orange cake, orange filling, chocolate buttercream

vanilla-orange cake, orange filling, orange cream cheese frosting

orange baby bundt, chocolate frosting

vegan orange cake with orange drizzle

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About The Changing Seasons

The Changing Seasons is a monthly project where bloggers around the world share their thoughts and feelings about the month just gone. We all approach this slightly differently — though generally with an emphasis on the photos we’ve taken during the month.

For many of us, looking back over these photos provides the structure and narrative of our post, so each month is different. Some focus on documenting the changes in a particular project — such as a garden, an art or craft project, or a photographic diary of a familiar landscape.

But in the end, it is your changing season, and you should approach it however works for you.

There are no fixed rules around post length or photo number — just a request that you respect your readers’ time and engagement.

Tags and ping-backs

Tag your photos with #MonthlyPhotoChallenge and #TheChangingSeasons so that others can find them

Create a ping-back to Brian at Bushboys World or this post, so that we can update it with links to all of yours.

Roundup

• Marilyn at Serendipity Seeking Intelligent Life on Earth (have a peep at her lovely drawings)
• Natalie at Natalie the Explorer (visit Toronto through her eyes)
• Julie at Eat, Play, Live (took the opportunity to reorganise her space)
• Brian, my co-host, at Bushboys World (takes a trip to Macleay Island in Morton Bay)
• Natalie at Little Pieces of Me (shares an eventful month with a mixed bag of weather)
• Pauline at Living in Paradise (has a rollercoaster of a month)
• Donna at Wind Kisses (reminds us that we can’t get enough of love)
• welcome to Sarah at Travel with Me (takes a photo a day)
• Marsha at Always Write (shares a month of photos, reading & fun)
• Gill at Talking Thailand (brings us peeks of wildlife encountered on a walk)

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Reading your Joyful Posts brings me to my happy place. I hope having them in one place makes it easier for you to find when you need a bit of happy therapy, too.

If you would like to join in Happy Place, Happy Space, ping back to this post and I will include you next week

• Betsy at Parenting is Funny’s What next, you ask? Let me tell you: fills us in on the ills of the week with classic Betsy humor
• Carol Ann Siciliano‘s Delights: marvels at a rocket launch
• Laurie at Notes from the Hinterland‘s Christmas in February: gathers around the Christmas tree with family
• Mackenzie at Oh Hi!‘s Friday Favorites: shares some of her recent favourites
• Markus + Micah’s Thank you for helping us make the Year of the Turtle: saves the turtles
• Natalie at Little Pieces of Me‘s Grateful Fridays: basks in a unseasonably warm February run
• Natalie the Explorer‘s How I Enjoyed February 2022: recaps a fun & fulfilling month
• Tracy at Reflections of an Untidy Mind‘s Hello Darkness: shares moody & dramatic low-light captures
• Thistles and Kiwis’ This Week’s Small Pleasures: watches her sunflowers unfurl
• Trent’s World‘s The Weekly Smile: encounters a falcon

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This post is my contribution to

• Square Odds hosted by Becky at Life of B (odd: to see tarp usually encountered in construction sites in as art, but in a different form)
• Weekend Coffee Share hosted by Natalie the Explorer