Tuesday, January 31, 2012

A Beautiful Day

Amazing! This warm breezy weather at the end of January is unheard of.
Today, the weather is something to behold! Sunny, mild, and it is the end of January. Who knew?!

I've been watching the birds in my yard. They are hunting for nesting places already. Last year I watched out my kitchen window as little sparrows made a nest in the corner of my neighbour's roof where the eaves trough meets the roof. IMG_1161The little sparrows worked so hard every day, bringing bits of this and that to feather their nest. And eventually, the babies were hatched and mom and dad had the task of going back and forth with bits of food. Eventually the family left the nest.
Unfortunately, later on in the summer, I noticed my neighbour cleaning out his eves and stuffing wire mesh into the spot where the nest was built. I was sad...

Just this morning, I noticed the sparrows were back, perched on the roof where they built their nest last year. They were looking at the wire mesh that blocks the entrance into the corner of the roof/eve. I'm sure they will find another spot. I will, of course, place bits of yarn and leave some garden refuse around as I clean up this spring...so that the birds will have some extra bits to put into their nests.

Meet Rusty. I call him Rusty because if you look closely at his ears, they are tinged with rust coloured fur. IMG_1162He is new to our yard this year. I’ve never seen a fatter squirrel. Someone has trained him to beg for his food, and to come close to find it. He will come right up on to our deck when he sees us out, and he waits to see if we have a peanut or two for him. Doesn’t he look like the most polite squirrel you’ve ever seen?


Today he was enjoying the apple I put out for the gang. There are several very overweight squirrels in our yard this year. I am guessing someone’s bird feeder is not squirrel proof like ours is.


It is amazing what you see when you stand in one place for an hour or so and take pictures of those things that are within your eyesight. And I find it interesting to see where one’s mind goes when you are doing this exercise in photography. You see things you wouldn’t normally take notice of.

I am packing up slowly for a weekend departure on a month long vacation down south. We've never done this before, so we are really excited for the adventure. Lots of stops along the way and a wonderful grand-kiddie-filled destination! We are looking forward to lots of rest and relaxation...and I’ll be taking my camera, documenting our trip and posting as I go.

What will tomorrow bring?
nametagDeborah

Sunday, January 8, 2012

The Red Pot



It's time to put my red pot into service and make some yummy chicken soup. Besides, I'm fighting a cold and when I feel like this, there's only one thing that makes me feel better. That would be some delicious, comforting homemade chicken soup.

So first thing tomorrow morning, I'm off to the grocery store to buy an organic chicken, some carrots, celery, onions, and fresh parsley. I'll fry up the giblets, deglaze the pan with some white wine, add the chopped veggies, the whole chicken, cover with water, and let everything simmer until the chicken is cooked.  I'll remove the chicken, pick off the meat, return the bones to the pan and then let the stock simmer for several hours.
By tomorrow night, I'll have some yummy, homemade chicken soup. Yum! Until then, I'll have to comfort myself with my hot water, lemon, and honey. I hate being sick.