Jay Walking at Wood Lake

I caught a Blue Jay at Wood Lake.  He is not a "friend" of most birds.  But look at his amazing plumage.   A beautiful bully.

He looks like a bearded grandpa here.

"The objective is to teach the student to see the land, to understand what he sees and enjoy what he understands"

Aldo Leopold

Thanks wise old Blue Jay for pointing out this quote to me.  I hadn't noticed it before.

Saturday's Critters

Wild Bird Wednesday

Golden Brown

The theme this week at www.illustrationfriday.com made me think of pancakes.  So I'm posting my latest illustrated recipe. I'll be making this very soon.  Juicy summer peaches are the best!  I've also been enjoying my granola with lots of summer berries.  Alas, the raspberries in our garden have come to an end.  And Winter Breakfast, a.k.a Nutty Toast has turned into Summer Breakfast.  Click here for that recipe.  But for delicious pancakes follow this...

1 1/4 cups buttermilk

1  beaten egg

2 tbsp oil

1 cup flour or 1/2 cup white and 1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour

2 tsps baking powder

1 tsp sugar

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

Mix the dry ingredients and then add the wet ones.  Don't over mix.  The batter should be lumpy.

Drop the batter onto a hot buttered skillet.  Add sliced peaches and toasted pecans to the top.  Fry until golden on each side.

Serve with butter and syrup and don't forget the bacon!

Sock Kitten Cam

Don't worry.  You don't have to play a movie...

I thought this was the perfect post to follow my Pawshanks Prison illustration...

Our cat Hana has this cute habit of leaving what we call sock kittens by the door when we leave the house.  I think it is like a welcome home gift.  Or something.  We'd never actually caught Hana doing it before this.  But we knew it was her because she loves to drag soft blankets around as well.  So a few days before we took our trail cam to the woods this summer we did some under cover cat surveillance.  Mission accomplished.

We left the house and...

Hana enters the frame with a sock at 11:43 am.

She sets it down...

She adjusts it....

But something wasn't quite right so off she goes.

But she immediately brings it right back and drops it.  I think the camera surprised her.  Ha!  This photo is hilarious.

Hmmm.  Is it right?

  No.  So at 11:47 we see an empty carpet and her bringing it back again!

The new placement.

She exits the frame.  

Success!  We find a sock kitten in front of the door when we come home.  So cute.  Thanks Hana.  We know she misses us.

P.S.  If you like cats be sure to scroll down to see my Pawshanks Prison illustration!

Saturday's Critters

Invisible Stash/Repeat Offender

I thought the invisible theme for www.illustrationfriday.com would be a tough one.  But I actually had quite a few pieces that would work.  I even had one with the word invisible in it.  Click here for my invisible thread piece. 

But I've never posted my Pawshanks Prison piece.  The orange cat is hiding his stash of illegal catnip behind a poster.  Hmmm.  I wonder where I got that idea?  If I wouldn't have painted a toilet in the background, I could imagine that the gravel chunks collected from the wall were hidden in the litter box!  But I did.

  The Shawshank Redemption is one of my all time favorite movies. A classic.   Pawshanks Prison is also a clawsic.  At least in my mind.  The acatamey nominated it for a Morris.  But it lost to a documentary on Li'l Bub and Grumpy Cat.  The catics ripped it to shreds in the press.  But I don't care.  I know it would get 4 paws if the voters knew how to vote!

P.S.  I posted this for invisible.  (Briefly) But it turns out the theme is Repeat.  But I think it works for that too!  

Apoyo Lagoon

We visited the Catarina look out over Apoyo Lagoon in Nicaragua last winter.  It was interesting to see the view from the top since we were staying at the bottom.  The Apoyo Lagoon formed from the inverted cone of a volcano.  It is warmed by hot springs and is the cleanest water in Central America.  The green slopes hold a diverse variety of fauna.  And a lot of Howler monkeys and Motmots.  Our kind of place! 

 Boy were we attacked by "sales" people at this stop.  My husband caved and bought 2 oval magnets.  They are sized and polished so that they make a whizzing sound when you throw them together up in the air.  The cats are fascinated by them.  And they remind us of the trip.  So I guess getting conned into them wasn't so bad.

Mombacho Volcano is on the right.  I recently read in the newspaper that Nicaragua had a big earthquake.  And all those Volcanos are no joke.  At the active Masaya Volcano (not shown) they request you back into your parking spot.  So you can make a quick escape!  Uff da.

Our little cabana at the bottom of Apoyo Lagoon.

And our first outdoor bathroom!

  It was quite the drive getting in and out of the crater for sightseeing.  But worth it.  We did all of our own driving in Nicaragua.  And it is almost impossible to be a tourist driver and not get waved over by a police officer.  So we had a whole variety of tricks up our sleeve for dealing with it.  Tinted windows.  Hats pulled down over our face hiding our gringo status.  An expired driver's licence at the ready.  And if we got pulled over we would act as confused as we really were.  You heard right.  We wouldn't need to act.  But it never happened!  I guess it is the watched pot phenomena.  We've heard that if you just don't pull over, gas is too expensive to give chase anyway.  But that was one thing we weren't planning to try.

A king fisher on the dock.

But what we really loved spotting were the Motmots.  

The Turquoise-browed Motmot is quite a stunner.  How does he keep his delicate tail so perfect?

We had a lot of fun at San Simeon on our last night.  We were celebrating with a little Flor de Cana.  O.K., a lot of Flor de Cana.  When low and behold the owner brought out the aged 18 year variety.  Some of the best in the world.  Ours to taste for free!  Well, we certainly didn't need it.  But it made for a fun night.  And more fun memories.

Saturday's Critters

Wild Bird Wednesday

   

Orlando Outback

We are probably the only people on the planet that would spend a week in Orlando and only go to the parks one day.  But next year we plan to go to Universal and get a 3 day pass.  So there.  But one of the days we hiked on this Disney owned property in the outback.  Outback of Orlando that is. The souvenirs here were on the cheap side.  And oddly sticky even though no children had touched them.

There was water.  But no water rides.

We saw a bird.  And it had real wings.

The grounds weren't manicured.  And they were watered by God and/or Mother Nature. They both work for free by the way.

This young pine tree was one of the newest attractions.

And there were cranes.  Although, they weren't building a darn thing!

We walked for miles and didn't see any mice.  Nice

Saturday's Critters

Wild Bird Wednesday

Disney's Animal Kingdom

I called my last post, Mirror, Mirror on the Wall.  I was promoting my new Etsy shop. (See my sidebar)  And the magic mirror I have for sale there.  See my last post!  So I was inspired to follow up with a post about our day at Disney's Animal Kingdom last March.  You won't find Snow White.  And no wicked Queens.  But it is all Disney.  And they do a good job creating an environment where enclosed animals and birds seem like they live a downright wild life.  I know one thing.  This roller coaster through the mountain is wild and wonderful. 

You'll see a Yeti.  Yikes.  And he may or may not totally annihilate the tracks that your coaster is speeding down at break neck speeds.  P.S.  That's my Yeti.  Not Disney's.  It might be a good idea to say this mantra while screaming.  Maybe the Yeti won't kill you. 

They have a wonderful bird show.  Where they send birds flying over the audience.  And they have exotic birds wandering around bird enclosures.  Believe it or not I hardly took any photos while I was enjoying the park.  I only used my camera a couple times.  And took all of these photos then.

Look at that tail!

We took a fast and furious safari ride.  I can't believe I got so many photos while riding so fast!

Wait a minute.  Where did this come from?

I love this photo.  The king of the Jungle is sleeping on the job.  Perched high over his domain.  Just like in the Lion King.

The tree of life.  From a distance it looks like a real tree.  But look closely and it tells a story.

Mirror, Mirror on the wall

Who's the fairest of them all?

Not me after a long day at Disney.  

Wild Bird Wednesday

Mirror, Mirror on the Wall....

Mirror, mirror on the wall

I ticky tacked objects on you.

But will it be loved by all?

Late breaking news flash...

I started an Etsy shop.  Unfortunately Etsy won't let me forget that I actually opened the shop in 2008.  Geez, give a gal a break.  Can't I start fresh? Well, my first handmade oddity is my magic mirror.  No, it won't take the pounds off.  Or make your jowls shrink.  Oh, how I wish it would.  But it is original!  And made with mischievous love.

I'll probably add photo cards.  And maybe some art prints to my shop.  I mean there are only 90,000 photos.  And 10,000 handmade mirrors.  I'm sure mine will sell no problem. Why are you snickering?

Head to my side bar to visit my new (old) shop!  Or click here!

Robin Update!

There's a new addition to the hood.

Beaks up!

Feed Me!  AAARRGGGHH!!  MOTHER!!!   STELLA!!!!!!  They are such hideous little monsters.

Mission completed.  And a temporary beaky smile erupts.  Thanks Mom.

Meanwhile...

Only around 5 days later they look more like birds and less like miniature prehistoric beak monsters.  There was a thinning of the herd since there were 4 bright blue eggs in the nest originally. They'll probably be flying around free as a bird next time we walk by!

Wild Bird Wednesday

Summer Time

Well, this one was a no brainer.  Summer is the theme this week over at www.illustrationfriday.com  Easy as pie.  Or my favorite Summer Breakfast.  I've already made this with bing cherries this Spring.  And I can't wait to have it with the black raspberries shown here.  I don't have to worry about the local chipmunks stealing a bite.  But my cat Hana would give it a go.  Last night she managed to grab a whole cranberry cornmeal muffin and drop it on the floor.  AAARRRGGGHH! 

And don't forget to enjoy this with Summer strawberries, raspberries, blackberries and blueberries.  Even peaches.  Oh my.  Summer is the best.

The Rustic Red Cedar Trail

We had an enchanted walk on the Red Cedar Trail this Spring.  The Sun warmed our spirits as we bird watched.  There were a lot of gloomy days leading up to this wonderful one.  There still are!

The wild flowers were bright and beautiful along the trail.

Fresh and green.

We saw a pair of eagles on the other side of the river.

We caught a Baltimore Oriole pausing in a tree.  Their singing is the best part.  I just read that the males get there bright orange hue from eating super ripe bright fruit.

A robin was making her nest.  She was lining it with mud as we walked by.

A bright blue sky and a deep red sumak.

Three deer walked in the trees along the other side of the Red Cedar river.

We spotted another lone eagle. What a come back they've made!

An old hole in the wall.

The Sun danced on the river behind a row of dandelions.  

My sparkly new header photo.  So pretty!

A peek at the Devil's Punch Bowl. It really was a devilishly lovely morning.

For more birds visit Wild Bird Wednesday