Chocolate, Orange Peel and Strawberries

Vitamin C(hocolate)!

With a nice fruity touch!

As consumed!

Lazarus

After several agonizing days, this morning we were treated to this sight! We have now seen three roadrunners all at the same time. Yesterday it looked like we have a mama bird, this larger baby (now known as Lazarus!), and the small one still in the nest.

Today the nestling has been flailing about in the hedge, disappearing from time to time – to where? We cannot tell. He comes; he goes. I’m sure he is just in the hedge where we can’t see him at all times. He is too small to be out of the nest area completely, and blends in easily with the shape and angles of the branches in the hedge.

So what did the hawk get the other day? Hopefully just a mouthful of feathers and little else. We haven’t specifically seen the original male parent since that fateful day, but he was seldom around anyway, so we are assuming that he took off for good after saving his son from the vicious predator.

Lazarus is sticking kind of tightly to our yard area. We are assuming that he feels safer here than out in the “back 40″, as nothing bad ever befell him while growing up next to our deck, even if he did have to endure my prying eyes and camera!

If I’ve done it right, you should be able to click on the picture to see a much larger version.

More as it happens!

Baby Roadrunner – R.I.P.

Yesterday morning we were soooo excited! The biggest fledgeling roadrunner was out of the nest and in the backyard. The parents were on the other side of our fence calling to the little guy to join them. He was running up and down – all around – trying to figure out how to hop up on the fence and thence to the ground to scamper over to his parents for his first lesson in lizard acquisition. Whilst he was frantically trying to get out of the yard, I was following him with the telephoto lens on my camera. He wouldn’t hold still, of course, so the pictures are not sharp.

Within moments of his having been able to loft himself over the fence, a huge hawk swooped down where the family was practicing and . . . well, we don’t really know what happened, but we didn’t see any of the three for the rest of the day. There is still a nestling that is probably five or so days behind in growth and ability. We despaired!

We called our birder friend, and she directed us to another friend who does this sort of rescue, and she assured us that the nestling should be left alone; that it was exceedingly unlikely that a surviving parent would abandon a nest with a chick in it.

We had heard the clicky/buzzing sounds that the roadrunners make after the appearance (and disappearance) of the hawk, so we knew that at least one had survived. But the day passed by (very slowly!), and we just kept wringing our hands and worrying.

Then, at almost dusk, one of the parents re-appeared. We heaved a combined sigh of relief as she settled down on the nest for the night. She was out bright and early this morning, returning with goodies, but she spends a lot of time hunting now, so the chick is left alone for a good part of the day.

The hawk spends a fair amount of time soaring over the open area, so is probably keenly aware almost instantly when a tasty morsel is available.

My heart aches!

Click on the picture to see a close-up of his dainty little foot in the air as he runs along!

One-Layer Dip

Well, just one layer – but a mix of flavors. This is a mixture of leftover refried beans, end-of-the-line fresh salsa, and leftover spaghetti sauce. DH heated up a tostada shell and put some shredded white Cheddar on it, and then spread this mixture over it. I dipped a few tortilla chips into it. It was really good. There was a bit more chip dipping before the meal was over.

Accompaniments were a nice bowl of green leaf lettuce, with red peppers, avocado, and tomatoes to go into the salad ad hoc, and whole wheat toast and avocado (for me).

Oddball Condiments

I tried out a few “different” flavors on my plain turkey bits that I had plucked off the wings. Here you see a pile of my new favorite sour cream – Mexican Crema. Wanting to have some more pungent flavors, I put down a spoon of Hoisin Sauce, one of Chinese Hot Mustard, and one of a “Southwestern Spicy Mustard” that I found in Safeway. It is their own brand. It is tasty, but VERY mustard-y. I thought it would be more like a sandwich spread, but it isn’t. Definitely a spicy mustard! Use in small quantities.

The bits of turkey were dipped into the pile of sauces so that I could savor each one separately. In the end, I mixed it all together with the curried rice, and that was really good, too. The stir-fried veggies got a bit of a dribble of soy sauce.

Next up for the stir fry veggies is to mix the tubed fresh ginger, soy sauce and sesame oil into a bit of basmati vinegar as a “sauce”.

Try new things! It’s like eating out, only more healthful.

Roadrunner Baby Picture

Diana was off hunting this morning, so I sneaked out with my camera to see if the babies were visible . . . and they were! What a thrill!!

Do you know what a baby roadrunner is called? I didn’t, so off to Wikipedia. It is a “fledge”.

ROADRUNNER BABIES!

I don’t have a picture of them, and I’m not clear that I can just take one off the internet and use it without permission, so it’s just words today.

Up on the left side, under the picture of Dorrie Anne, is the rundown on what has been happening with our resident roadrunners. Click there to read. I haven’t posted every little movement, but suffice to say that Diana has been a busy lady, and the lizards in our area are quaking in their little boots!

See the story above to read about the breakfast that she brought in this morning from McDesert.

Window to the Past

Once in a while I get unchained from the kitchen and venture out with my camera. Last Thursday a small group of “photo phanatics” drove over to a nearby ghost town for a couple of hours of living in the past.

This is Fairbank, a once thriving “town” about ten miles away from our house. My friend, Beverly, takes much better pictures than I do, and you can see her photo from that day at:

http://desertaura.com/blog/a-peek-into-fairbank/

Be sure to go see it – totally worth the trip!

Potatoes O’Brien

This is one of our most favorite side dishes. When I make potatoes, I always make extras for at least one more side dish and/or a round of soup. This time I sautéed one Mexican Scallion and one red pepper, while cubing up the leftover potato into small bits. When everything was done, I sprinkled a small amount of extra sharp Cheddar cheese over the top – just enough to make it glisten. Some more greenery – either parsley or cilantro – would probably have added interest. I had cilantro, but didn’t think of it until just now!

Italy, China, Mexico – Southern Style

Italian pasta, Chinese sesame oil, Mexican Queso Fresco, and COLLARD GREENS? Yup – and it was delicious! A quick lunch made totally of leftovers. Just pop everything into a small frying pan on the stove, spray with a little water to moisten, cover and heat for about three minutes. Sprinkle the sesame oil on after it is on your plate, and add some almonds, if available. Sliced scallions would be pretty on this, and add a bit of spice. Very satisfying for a light lunch.