Pierogi Casserole

I find it deeply satisfying to identify things, from unknown people in old family photographs, to the fabric content in clothing, to the weeds in my garden. 

The Great Backyard Bird Count last weekend seemed, therefore, like it was designed just for me: "Spend time in your favorite places watching birds...Identify them, count them, and submit them" to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and its partners. Even better, the bird count is an annual environmental effort, "to help scientists better understand and protect birds around the world."

Bundled up against the chill, and armed with binoculars, the Merlin app on my phone, and an ancient copy of "A Field Guide To The Birds,"  I set up a camp chair in my back yard. I immediately logged a grackle based on its sound recording on Merlin, and then I spotted a woodpecker, but it was gone before I had a chance to identify the species. And then...nothing. I began to get cold (it was in the 30s), and someone in the neighborhood started running a motor that drowned out any potential bird noises. And where were all the darned birds anyway? I'm happy to say my property is usually full of them, but not that day. I moved to my front yard, where I was annoyed by the sound of cars driving by. Not another creature stirred for the 30 minutes I was out there. Later that day, I spotted a large red-tailed hawk from my kitchen window, so maybe the little birds were lying low.

The experience did not scratch my identification itch, but it did lead me to wonder about how climate change affects bird migration. I did a little research and learned that has been some variation in migration patterns since the 1960s, and that scientists find it useful to track bird migration patterns because they give clues about other species that aren't so easy to track. And I learned about some bird species, like red knots, that face extinction because climate change is altering their habitats.

Just another reason to be worried about climate change, and take steps to address it. Eating less meat is an important step, since animal agriculture is a large global contributor to methane emissions that trap heat in the atmosphere, causing the extreme weather events and habitat changes associated with climate change. And reducing your meat consumption is an easy step: It's a choice you can make one meal at a time! No big commitment! The less meat you eat, the more you're helping, but any reduction in demand for meat is going to drive change.

Here's an interesting recipe that is easily made vegetarian: "Homemade Pierogi Casserole" (The Little Potato Company). Just substitute fake bacon bits for the real ones in the recipe! And use traditional lasagna noodles that need to be pre-cooked. I needed gluten-free noodles and the only box I could find was "oven-ready" ones, which puffed up weirdly in the oven (I urged them down with a spatula) and didn't cook sufficiently to get soft. But the taste was delicious, and actually the noodles softened when they sat and were reheated as leftovers the next day.

Weird puffs of lasagna noodles

Puffy lasagna noodles tamed with a spatula

Back to the topic of identification, I don't identify as a vegetarian; I still eat meat on occasion. But I would hate to identify as someone who shrugs off opportunities to slow the climate crisis.