Birds at the feeder

Hey everyone, hope you all had a great weekend.  We had a nice relaxing weekend...did lots of yard work, but it's that time of the year.  We had friends over on Friday night and had a great fire in the fire pit and enjoyed a few drinks, great food, and lots of good laughs.

I managed to get a few shots of some birds around our backyard on the weekend. 

What do you think??...........

Cheers

;o)

Bird Watching after "The Storm"

Well-we survived Tropical Storm Leslie!!

Folks in this area were bracing for a repeat of Hurricane Igor of September of 2010, but thank goodness, it was not to be this time around.  Not to say that many parts of the province weren't hit hard.  In fact there was massive flooding on our west coast and the winds really took a toll on the eastern and Avalon portions of the island, especially in the capital city of St. John's.


Last evening. between my bike ride and my regular nightly visit with Mom, it was so beautiful outside I decided to take my camera and go for a little drive.  I was drawn out around the shore of the bay.  The light was so beautiful  and the water was literally like a mirror---quite a contrast to the day before.  I wished it could stay like it for another few hours---I was really in the mood to take some snaps!!  On nights like this, it is not hard to be reminded how lucky I am to live in a place like this.  Sometimes the beauty around me almost takes my breath away.  What do you think??

 

I also got a few shots of some seabirds.  These are called Greater Yellowlegs.  There are lots of 

different birds on this shore.  Here's a few shots of the yellowlegs.......

Hope you like these photos.

Have a great weekend!

This Little Piggy went to Market!!

Well, there is nothing like the fresh fall air to make you want to go for long walks and visit the farmer's market.  And visit the farmer's market, I did!!!!!  Take a look...

Look at all the goodies I brought home......

 I see making a batch of apple sauce in my future.......

 Perhaps a big pot of stew..............

Definitely a big batch of brushetta....and yes, some cabbage rolls....YUMMMY!!!!

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I stopped by Cal's garden for a peek as well...... Look who I met today!!!

This little guy told me to go check out Cal's pumpkin patch.....

I suspect that some of these guys will be sporting some pretty awesome carvings in another month  or so.

It is so amazing how this stuff grows from a seed....of course, you need a green thumb to help it along too ;o)

Cheers everyone.

Fried Green Tomatoes

 Well, it's that fabulous time of the year....the time when there is beautiful produce everywhere, waiting to be brought home and cooked up or preserved with love.......

 

I went by my brother-in-law, Cal's greenhouse this morning.  Wow, he has a green thumb!!

 

There were loads of green tomatoes ripening on the vines, so I took a few photos..... and a few tomatoes..ha ha

 

I wanted to try something a little different, so I dug out a recipe for fried green tomatoes.

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 These green beauties were just begging to be taken home by me......

 

 They are so easy to prepare....

 

They cook really fast....

 

 Our lunch consisted of fried green tomatoes with some homemade salsa

 and a dollop of light sour cream.........

 YUMMY!!!!!

 

Here's my recipe...

Fried Green Tomatoes

6 large green tomatoes, sliced 1/2 inch thick

2 eggs

1/2  cup buttermilk (I use 1/2 cup milk with 1 tablespoon of vinegar)

3/4 cup cornmeal

1/3 cup flour

1 1/2 tsp cayenne powder

1/2 tsp sea salt

1/2 tsp fresh ground pepper

cooking oil of your choice

In a large frying pan, heat about 1/4-inch of oil over medium high heat. 
In a wide shallow bowl whisk together the eggs & buttermilk.  In a separate dish combine the corn meal, flour, cayenne, salt & pepper.  One at a time dip the tomato slices in the egg mixture then lay in the corn meal mixture and cover the tomato completely with the coating..
Once the oil is hot, add the coated tomatoes to the hot oil being sure not over crowd the pan. Cook the tomatoes until golden brown on both sides, trying to only turn one time once the bottom side is cooked and golden. Remove from the pan and place the tomato slices on a wire cooling rack which is covered with a paper towels.  Season with salt.  Serve hot, warm or cold, any way you eat them they are delicious!


Enjoy!

 

 Try some of your own and let me know how it turned out!!!!!

Cheers

;o)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Four more "Ticks" for my Bucket List!!

My Summer 2012 "Bucket List" that is on my refrigerator is starting to look pretty in pink, as I slowly strike off the items it contains.

Over the past few weeks, I have taken out another four items--they are.....

Lie on the ground and watch clouds...

This one looked like the map of Newfoundland, so I ran inside to grab my camera,but it had dispersed a lot by the time I got back out, but the resemblance is still evident here.

Map of the Newfoundland portion of Newfoundland and\Labrador

I remember spending hours, as kids, lying on our backs cloud-watching....we'd find elephants, fish, cars, and so much more.  Great memories.  We should take the time to do it more often.

Next off the list is..
Eat fries in downtown St. John's 

Drenched in malt vinegar.....Yummy!!

The smell pulls you in from afar..ha ha

Wear a dress....
I have worn a t-shirt dress once or twice, but when I made my list, I was thinking of something a little fancier, but there hasn't been a "fancy-dress" occasion, but I think my casual dress warrants taking that one off my list too.

 
Last, but not least......A walk in the summer rain.

We haven't had much rain this summer, but I did make a point to take a stroll in the rain on one occasion.  We were having showers between intense sun and heat all day, so I laced on my runners and headed out. 

I drove to my favorite trail, around Middle Brook Falls. I didn't take my camera....for obvious reasons, but you'll have to take my word for it. It was amazing.  Everything transforms when it's raining...things sound so different and even smells different.  

I am so lucky live in a place where I can simply go outside and take a walk in the summer rain.  We often lose sight of the fact that not everyone has that privilege.

“Life is like a rainbow. You need both the sun and the rain to make its colors appear.”

                                                                                                            ...Anonymous

 Cheers everyone, have a great long weekend!