Sunday, January 31, 2016

Kauai Albatross Nesting with live Cam . . .





So I think on A wintry Sunday morning in Northeast USA it is a lovely time to see and hear the goodness of Tropical Hawaii,  These Albatross are nesting on Kauai and are wonderful to watch and just to see the greenry and hear all the lovely birdsong.  It is such a treat!!    Below are 2 links for the Live feed Cam that shows you the nesting area and a link to a blog that talks about the integration of the birds with the humans.   These are huge seabirds that spend all their days at sea, they fly thousands of miles for food.  They only come on land to nest.  There are different types of Albatrosses.  Most nest in HUGE beach colonies.  ( goggle Albatross nesting colonies for a looksy)  It is uncommon for this to be such a small colony but it is fun  all the same.

Enjoy the day!


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PMZseZWIIos



http://cams.allaboutbirds.org/channel/41/Laysan_Albatross/


 Blog about the Albatross:
http://www.albatrosskauai.com/

Friday, January 29, 2016

Fridays Fun Food






 Bacon Delights

So these were a new discovery for us this Christmas.  Every  Christmas Eve 24th we have a gathering of family and friends late afternoon before church full of appetizers, light foods , warm candle light  and lots of love.   These are very simple to make and can be done way ahead frozen then reheated and serve.  My boys particularly thought they were the bomb as they like to say but then again any thing is better with bacon. 

So you need Club Crackers or something similar- they are a light butter cracker.  
Grated Parmesan Cheese  3/4 cup
Bacon  - any type will work, about 1 pound makes one sleeve of crackers
Brown Sugar  3/4 cup

Baking sheet, (Parchment, foil or silipat mat will make cleanup easier), Cooking rack

1. Preheat oven to 250 degrees F
2. Set up your baking sheet with cooling rack and surface to collect grease.
3. get all your crackers out
4. Cut your Bacon in 1/2 so the strips are short
5. Having grated cheese in shallow dish with a small teaspoon is handy
6. Same for Brown sugar
7. Grab a cracker and put either brown sugar or cheese on it, then wrap if with the slice of bacon and place it on your cooling rack.
8. Repeat until all are done.
9. Put in the 250 degree oven for 2 hours.
10.  I then froze them in double plastic bags to use whenever I want or need to.

Yes that is a long time but with the bacon cooking slowly all the ingredients in the middle  does not cook out.  the bacon shrinks around the cracker.  It works out really well.

*** Pioneer Woman Ree Drummond has  this in her  cook book Pioneer Woman cooks for the Holidays. 

Thursday, January 28, 2016

January Winter









January is such a silent month.  Quite often the earth is blanketed in snow.  This always sets us for a  a cushion of calm.  The hustle and bustle of the Holidays is over and with snow and cold it is the perfect month to snuggle inside.  Yet with any opportunity I can get, I love to venture outside.  There is beauty to behold in the stillness, the barren.  Lots of tracks from those that carry on day to day.  One day I went for a walk on a trail I go on often but it was early in the morning about 15 degree F and the only others that had been out were the Coyotes.  It was fascinating following their tracks and imagining what they were up to . So stay in or go out but enjoy January- it is a fleeting.

Wednesday, January 27, 2016

Special Christmas gift 2015




My older son made this for me for Christmas.  The bottom picture is the pieces laid out before he welded it.  He made sure to be accurate in the number of bones represented.   I work as an Occupational Therapist  and I am also a Certified Hand Therapist.   This was very special and so appropriate for me.

I hate being away from my blog but life continues to whirr by at a fast pace.  Miss this space.