Little Cuties!

 Today I was out for a long day.  On my way home I ran into these little cuties!  This made me so happy.  I love these little creatures.  In no time flat they grow into less adorable guys.

It has been years since I have seen baby geese. Last year or the year before we saw baby swans but not geese.  There are only two goslings in this family which makes me wonder what happened to the others.  The question is based on the one time we were at the temple motel in Boston and outside our window a goose family walked by to the canal to play.  They had about a dozen babies.  So cute playing with each other.

Another Wildlife Post...

 Years ago when we used to visit Dear One's mom and dad we might see a beautiful bright lush male cardinal.  He was called Pierre.  I have always loved cardinals since then.  Since moving to South Carolina we have had a few cardinals visit us.

Here is a picture of the current neighborly cardinal...who we call Pierre, too!

Okay, it is not much of a picture but you can see a red blob in the middle of a not-so-lush lawn with the pond peering through the bushes and trees we have left on the bank of the pond to discourage the alligators from coming our way. The next-door neighbors have all cleared away their brush...

 The blueberry plants are just a few feet to the left of Pierre in this picture though of course not visible.  (Yesterday I went down there where the blueberries struggle, braving the threat of reptilian wildlife who were singing in the background, fortunately a little distance away, and pruned off the lovely little blueberries that were growing.  I spoke with the owner of Edible Yards where we purchased the plants last December.  She said it was unwise not to prune new plants.  By pruning then fertilizing and keeping them watered we have a better chance of the growing plants to become happy plants.)

No other excitement here to report...

A Favorite Sight

 One of my favorite sights in the world is the night sky.  From my earliest childhood I have loved looking up into the heavens and watching the stars go by.  The best is to watch the moon.  For the first time I got an image of a full moon. I love this.

A lovely thing about being a child in Vermont is that when you live on a farm with lots of lush grass on the lawns, you can lie there and watch the clouds fly overhead of a summer's day.  In the evenings you are safe to lie there again and see the stars move about and watch the constellations rise.  So good.  In South Carolina if you did that you would probably be visited by VERY annoying fire ants or brown recluse spiders or even one of the pond alligators.  Not my thing at all anymore...but photographing the moon, now that is nice.

Another Outside Visitor!

 Here is another wild life photo! Well, not a very good one.  You might have to use your imagination a bit...

We were sitting at the table eating some meal or other recently and I looked out the sliding doors. I jumped up to take a picture of the first hummingbird at the feeder that has been up for weeks.  When I got there, this is what I saw:  a hornet, though I think they are called wasps here in the South.  

This was a vast disappointment. SO...I smartened up and got some very colorful petunias and filled a porch railing planter with them.  I am very hopeful that they will call the hummingbirds.  Other people in our complex swear they have seen hummingbirds this year already...and yesterday the girl at the Tractor Supply said her Ruby-Throated Hummingbird is back.  Happy for her, waiting for the birds we have had in past springs and summers.  Hopefully soon.  I love to stand and watch them.  They are pretty skittish so we don't move.  At least not until later on in the year.  Dear One sits on the deck and they seem happy enough with him there.  But, as I say, a few weeks into the season.

Visitor to Our House!

 Some time ago I was in the kitchen and looked out our sliding door onto the deck. Something strange seemed to be there so I went closer to see what it was.

This is what I saw:

Since I was in the house, and since I am WAY bigger than this little guy, I was not afraid, or even nervous.  However, when looking at him or her more closely,  I could see a GREAT resemblance to the alligators in our pond.  I have had nightmares about coming downstairs one morning and finding one of the pond alligators stretched out on the deck between the sliding doors and the wicker chairs.  NOT a happy thought...

Food Friday: Grits and Greens, Sort Of, In The Instant Pot

 Recently I purchased ANOTHER cookbook!  Be A Plant Based Woman Warrior by the Esselstyn ladies.  I thought I would start with breakfast recipes, even though I was dying to try some of the sauce recipes. (No, even though I have referenced Amazon as a source, I am not going to get even the smallest commission. )

This morning I made my first try...though it was not from the cookbook. I did get the idea from the cookbook.

Because I wanted to use the Instant Pot, I read a few different people's suggestions on how to do it. I made a bastardized combination of several of them.

Since I wanted to cook with pot in pot, I found a two-quart pyrex bowl and got out the 8-quart Instant Pot. In the Instant Pot I place the trivet then 2 cups of water.

In the glass bowl I placed 1 cup water, 1 cup milk, 2 teaspoons onion-flavored Better Than Bouillon, one small finely diced onion, and 1/2 cup old-fashioned "grits" which turned out to be cornmeal once I really looked at the package. Oh well.  Since I had already put the cornmeal into the water mixture I became philosophical about the probable failure of the project.

So moving on, I added about 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper then about the same amount of pink Himalayan salt from the grinder, plus about 1/2 cup grated sharp cheddar cheese.  After mixing rather well I put the lid on and set the Instant Pot to HIGH pressure for 15 minutes and let 'er rip. After the pressure came down naturally,  I removed the cover, stirred the mixture, and called Dear One to come and eat.

Since I wanted to add greens, I steamed a few leaves of kale stripped from their stems in the microwave for 5 minutes.  That part was not an unqualified success.  The kale came out nice and green but mostly like green leather.  Still, I filled my bowl halfway full of kale leather then spooned on the grits/cornmeal.  It tasted really good.

Because I am such a nice little wifey and knowing Dear One's probable response to this I put one tiny leaf of kale leather in his bowl and gave him a chance to serve himself one teaspoon of the grits before putting any in his bowl.  His first teaspoonful seemed good so he served himself a reasonable serving in the bowl. He did eat the little leaf (and I do mean LITTLE LEAF!) of kale with the first teaspoonful.

Because I had already tasted the mixture and found it fabulous I served myself frugally...leaving another half serving in the bowl so Dear One could have more if he wanted it.  Turns out he did!  He finished it off.

This is something I will make again and again, assuming real grits taste as good!

Knitting Today:Bunny Tails

 This  morning’s project was to make a pile of bunny tails. They are done before breakfast! Now on to the bunnies!