Two days after I wrote about and had noticed an absence of catbirds in my backyard aviary, they showed up – three of them. One must be an offspring. So far they are getting along well, but I don’t think the hen has nested. Catbirds nest a little later than others in my yard. The bluebirds are working on their second batch. Mrs. Blue has been on the nest now for 5 days and three little … [Read more...]
Amazing Tuna Salad
I was in the mood for some tuna salad, but I don’t much care for tuna packed in water – which is what most manufacturers offer these days. I suppose they – and the buying public – thinks it’s healthier, but olive oil is good for you, a vital oil in a diet. But much to my surprise – at Wal-Mart no less – I saw a stack of tuna fish cans from StarKist packed in olive oil. Upon further inspection, I … [Read more...]
The Whiting Bite Is On
Some call them sea mullet, some call them whiting. What ever you call them, they are among the tastiest fish that swims in the ocean and they are biting on the Outer Banks. Some big ones at that. A 3-lb., 3-oz. sea mullet was beached this week. The speckled trout bite has also been happening in the Nags Head area and lots of stripers are biting in the sounds. Cobia are being caught as … [Read more...]
I’ll Wash, You Dry
Sunday dinner was over and Brad Stuart was outside. He had rounded up enough kids for a 4-on-a-side baseball game. But I couldn’t play. Yet. I had to do dishes. Mom had used every pot and pan in the kitchen to fry her chicken, bake her homemade yeast rolls, boil and mash potatoes, fix two bowls of vegetables and cook a chocolate cake. It was a great Sunday dinner (we called a fancy lunch … [Read more...]
On Golden Pond
This time tomorrow our “Golden Pond” will be complete. The hole has been dug, the liner is down, the rocks are in place and the goldfish and tadpoles will have new homes. I have not been this excited since the Dodgers swept the Yankees in the 1963 World Series. We will now have “waterfront” property. Goldfish ponds are a little like open fires. You can’t take your eyes away. It’s … [Read more...]
Janet’s Lentil Andouille Soup
It’s May. Who would want soup? Everybody. It’s the coldest May ever. Two nights this week were down in the 30’s. Global warming, I guess. But with soup on chilly May nights in mind, faithful reader Janet Gore sends us her world-renowned recipe for Lentil Andouille Soup. Say’s Janet: We have fond memories each time we have had it. We served it for a dinner party one … [Read more...]
Hummers on the Way
Break out the hummingbird feeders. The little fellows have arrived. Perhaps I should at least one has arrived. I saw him in the back yard Monday, snooping around. We have lots of blooms in the yard, but no feeders out – yet. Hummingbirds are usually late arrivals in our yard, sometimes June or July, so this was pretty early for our area. In and around Orange, hummers fly through … [Read more...]
Yummy Chicken Fingers
Chicken tenderloins represent one of the best buys in the grocery store. The tenderloins are those small pieces on the whole chicken breast. The chicken tender or tenderloin is a strip of breast meat attached to the ribs, that is part of the breast, but it’s not really connected so that it can be separated and used as it is. They are generally removed by the butchers when they make … [Read more...]
A Clover Lover
For the past few weeks, as I mowed my lawn, I have noticed beautiful flowers growing where they probably shouldn’t be growing - like violets and buttercups. This week I saw clover blooming. Clover is not at all a weed, but many consider the delicate plant to be invasive. Not me. I actually plant clover whenever I have a patch in my yard that may be in need of some grass seed. Clover is one of … [Read more...]
Mr. McGregor’s Garden
Flopsy, Mopsy, Cottontail and Peter - the four little bunnies from the tales of Peter Rabbit, one of my favorite childhood books. Rabbits are wonderful – in books, but not so much in gardens. For the past two seasons, rabbits have had their way with much of my garden. They are death on peas, beans and they even mowed down most of my cucumbers vines last summer. We were able to stop the deer … [Read more...]
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