MONDAY RECIPE POST - TWO RECIPES TODAY: SALSA CON QUESO BEEF ENCHILADAS AND MEXICAN RICE

Nice and crusty after I had gotten past the taking out of the oven stage.  The timer was going off in the kitchen, but I was focused doing something in the other room and didn't hear it.  I accidentally added another 15 minutes to the cooking time.  The cheese got a might crispy on the edges, and had the taste of a raclette, but the enchiladas were delicious, and it was a happy happenstance as that burnt cheese on the edges was also delicious!  Next time though, I will probably set the time on my phone and put it right next to my ear!

A bit of a longer ramble today but I went down memory lane on this one, so please feel free to skip to the recipe part.  I do these rambles for our son as I started blogging because of him, to give him an idea of what his parents used to do back in the day, so to continue...

At one time I wasn't a big fan of Mexican Cuisine.  Only because in truth, where I grew up, we were a very plain-cooking family.  Mum was the best cook and those meals she made were outstanding.  She was also a wonderful baker.  I think she was more adventurous in trying new foods, as I learned later when she visited us here in the States.  Dad was the one she catered for, however, and he was more of a meat and potato man, bless his cotton socks, and there certainly is nothing wrong with that.

There was one Chinese Restaurant and one Indian Restaurant in the nearby town.  Things have probably changed but in those days, it seemed that most people only went out for special occasions, like birthdays in our case.  Mum and Dad went once to the Chinese restaurant with me, and I went once to the Indian restaurant with friends. Both occasions the food was enjoyed very much, maybe not by my meat and potato loving Dad, but he was always a good sport.  No, we didn't go out to eat a lot, unless it was for a cup of tea and a slice of cake, or a crumpet, on a shopping trip.  

The one time I had Mexican food in the UK, was when I traveled to London, going up on the train and staying the weekend visiting with friends. I was 20-ish, if that, and they took me to a lovely restaurant in Soho. I knew nothing of ambiance back in those days, but this place was like I had stepped into Mexico, and was a posher restaurant than I had ever been to in my 20 years.  It was an adventure!  I can only remember that I had a dish, chicken I think, with chocolate sauce on the top, my friends' recommendation.  My parents on my return, looked at me a little strangely when I told them about it.  “And it wasn’t a dessert?”  I am not sure they believed me, but years later I realized it was a mole sauce which you can read about here. They decided I needed a good cup of tea and a crumpet, which there was a never ending supply of in Mum’s pantry.  As I told my parents about my weekend in London, I said to Mum, there's nothing quite like a good cup of tea and a crumpet.  My mother was reassured.  And in her eyes, tea fixes everything.  

The next time I had this cuisine was when I came to America in 1975, but it was a few years later when I ate my first Mexican meal.  We were traveling through New Mexico on a road trip and had heard about a place that was quite famous and had a great reputation, also recommended by friends.  A lovely restaurant, but nothing fancy.  It had lots of atmosphere, however, and great food.  I said to my dear other half, that I wasn't going to leave the state before I tried an authentic Mexican meal, and our route took us near the restaurant thankfully.  

It was another fun experience.  Plus, it was hot and spicy, and Gregg pointed out halfway through, that I had a single tear falling down my cheek I hadn't noticed.  I was too busy with the feeling of my mouth being on fire and, unusually, I didn't feel as though that was a big deal.  He thought it was a hoot and I loved that meal and its heat. We still talk about it occasionally, and laugh at the memory. 

Days later, we found ourselves in another Mexican restaurant, in another town, in another state, as we drove further west, where the staff were friendly and good natured, and our waiter had us laughing all through our meal.  One comment I actually guffawed.  I told him how much I liked the artwork.  (There were also large, antique framed mirrors all over the same wall.)  Our waiter quipped, “Ah yes, but the most beautiful art is reflected in the mirrors”. I automatically turned and stared into the one eye level with our table and saw myself.  And yes, I guffawed loudly.  He feigned a look of surprise but also had a twinkle in his eyes.  My dear other half told him “Oh you’re goooood!”  We both had a fun time at that place.   Great people, great atmosphere and great food!

But, getting around to today's recipes, we don't eat this cuisine very often, but I asked Gregg if he would like a Mexican meal for a change.  (He and our son get together for some father/son time and they go to son’s favorite taco place on occasion).  

I found these recipes a few days ago and they sounded so good.

Plain Chicken was the food blog where the enchiladas came from. The Mexican Rice came from The Kitchn.  If you click on their names, the links will take you right to the original recipes. I always recommend checking them out to see the tips that are given in the making, and also the photos, and other recipes.  

Neither of these meals are very hot or spicy.  One of the blogs said they couldn't say whether it was authentic, but I wouldn't have known.  Both were excellent!

Salsa Con Queso Beef Enchiladas - serves 6

1½ cups salsa

2 lbs. ground beef

1 (1-oz) package taco seasoning 

⅔ cup water

1 (15-oz) jar salsa con queso cheese dip

8 (7-8 inch) flour tortillas

2 cups shredded Cheddar or Monterey Jack cheese

Preheat oven to 350ºF. Lightly spray a 9×13-inch pan with cooking spray. Pour salsa into the bottom of the pan. Set aside.

Cook ground beef in a large skillet over medium-high heat until meat is browned, stirring until crumbled; drain fat and return to skillet. 

Add taco seasoning and water to the skillet. Simmer for 5 minutes, until liquid is absorbed.

Stir salsa con queso cheese dip into the taco meat. Remove skillet from heat.

Spread the meat mixture down the center of each tortilla. 

Roll up tortillas, place, seam side down, into the prepared pan.

Sprinkle tortillas with shredded cheese.

Bake uncovered for 20 to 25 minutes, until warm and the cheese has melted.

Notes given were:

Ground turkey or ground pork can be substituted for the beef. 

You can add veggies to the beef mixture. Onion, bell pepper, corn, black beans or black olives.

For an extra kick, add a can of Rotel diced tomatoes and green chiles to the taco meat.

A recipe link for Homemade Taco Seasoning was given, made with chili powder, garlic powder, onion powder, red pepper flakes, oregano, paprika, cumin, salt, and pepper.  

https://www.plainchicken.com/homemade-taco-seasoning/

Used was a jar of Tostitos Salsa con Queso, which the host found in the chip aisle.

Also used was La Banderita Low-Carb flour tortillas for the enchiladas. You can use any tortilla that you prefer. Flour or corn tortillas both work fine.

The host's favorite store-bought salsas are Mateo’s, Kyliot’s, Chi-Chi’s, and Trader Joe’s.

Can beef enchiladas be made in advance? Yes. Assemble the enchiladas and cover the pan with plastic wrap. Refrigerate until ready to bake.

Can beef enchiladas be frozen? Yes. Assemble the enchiladas and cool completely. Cover the pan with plastic wrap and foil. Place in the freezer for up to 3 months.  When ready to bake, thaw and bake as directed.

Restaurant-Style Mexican Rice - serves 6 to 8

1 (28-ounce) can whole peeled tomatoes

1 medium onion, peeled and coarsely chopped

2 cups low-sodium chicken broth

1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

1/3 cup neutral cooking oil, such as canola or safflower (or rendered lard)

2 cups long-grain white rice

1 to 2 medium jalapeño or serrano chile peppers, seeded and minced

4 to 5 cloves 

garlic, finely chopped

1/4 cup finely chopped fresh cilantro

Juice of 2 medium limes, plus more wedges for serving

 

Place the tomatoes and their juices and onion in a blender or food processor and purée until smooth. 

Transfer 2 cups of the tomato mixture to a medium saucepan. (Reserve any excess tomato mixture for another use, such as Tomato Sauce.) 

Stir in the chicken broth, salt, and cumin and bring to a boil over medium heat. Meanwhile, toast the rice.

Heat the oil in a Dutch oven over medium heat until shimmering. 

Add the rice and sauté, stirring frequently, until lightly toasted and golden, about 5 minutes. 

Add the jalapeños and cook until softened, about 2 minutes, lowering the heat as needed. 

Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds more.

Pour the boiling tomato mixture over the rice and stir to combine. 

Reduce the heat to low. 

Cover and cook until the liquid is absorbed and the rice is tender, about 15 minutes. 

Remove from the heat and gently fluff the rice with the fork. 

Cover again and set aside to steam for 10 minutes. 

Add the cilantro and lime juice and fluff again to combine. 

Taste and season with more salt as needed. Serve with lime wedges.

The following are the addresses for the above recipes.  At the bottom is a homemade version of their taco seasoning in case you would like to make your own.

https://www.plainchicken.com/salsa-con-queso-beef-enchiladas/

https://www.thekitchn.com/recipe-mexican-rice-recipes-from-the-kitchn-198867

https://www.plainchicken.com/homemade-taco-seasoning/

Two great recipes and one great meal.  Also a mixed salad is a nice addition.

I would get as much preparation done ahead of time and refrigerate where necessary, pre-chopping veggies and measuring the amounts needed.  The rice dish could be made the previous day for instance and refrigerated.  This seems the type of dish where the flavors would develop even more with the extra time.

I added a spoonful of sour cream.

I wouldn't change anything else, for us it was perfect.

A FEW RAMBLES ABOUT THIS AND THAT, WITH OUR FAVORITE BAHN MI PLACE FOR LUNCH

This is just an around-and-about type of post, a bit of this and that.  I twisted my knee a few weeks back, going down these steps at Mason Neck Park, told at the time by my dear other half that he didn't think it was a good idea, and was I sure I could go down those steps at which I replied, "Of course I can!" 

Well, I'm listening to my dear other half next time.  That's another reason, on top of the heat and humidity and the thunderstorms, I haven't been on any walks.  My knee has been pitching a fit off and on and in the meantime, I am being driven around in the car for any outings. 

We usually go out for lunch at least one day a week, nothing fancy.  One day Gregg said he would like a Bahn Mi. Quite a jaunt even in the car but very much worth the trip.  We go to a Vietnamese Sandwich Shop called BÁNH MÌ D.C. SANDWICH.  (Sorry for the bold capitals but I wanted to leave those neat little accents to show you, and I couldn't get the font to change in my usual manner, so I did a cut and paste.  No one accuses me of not being detailed, it's in my genes.)  

This is somewhere we have visited many times since we have lived here (since 1990), and I have mentioned it before.  There are no tables inside where you sit to eat, and so we usually have a car picnic in the parking lot. It's a treat and is very popular and well-known with the locals, and not so locals.  I take my own water and Gregg buys a can of coke.  We always take our trash home.  

I remember a question from Ann from Ann's Snap Edit Scrap, which I wanted to answer today.  Ann asked me the last time I posted about it, what was it like.  I took a photo of our sandwich for a show-and-tell. Nothing fancy but oh so good.  

We always order a Meatball Bahn Mi.  Ours is made from a pork mixture, and it is not like the Italian meatballs many of us have made or seen in recipe books.  It is a different texture and taste. I would recommend this to anyone who enjoys Asian food.  It has delicately pickled and grated carrots and daikon radish, cilantro with the stalks left on them, a sliver of cucumber and a few slices of sliced hot chili peppers if you can stand the heat (you can always ask for them to be left off). And all this is placed in a lovely fresh French baguette.

 If you look at their link it will give you several choices on their menu, and they don't just sell sandwiches.  We have also bought a bag of French baguettes to take home with us on occasion, and a few other items like spring rolls.  

The following photos are ones I took coming and going.

A fire hydrant taken at a stop light...

and an old school used to be here, traveled by many, many times since we moved here.  It was mostly demolished but I am glad to say the central part of the building was kept.

There will be shops I'm sure, and new apartments or condominiums.  Posters were attached to the chain-link fencing advertising things in the area.

Always attracted to pretty clouds for photo ops.

We keep saying that we are going to pop in here for a sandwich followed by a scoop of ice cream for dessert, but we are always heading somewhere else and only pass by.  One of these days!

And then a bit of a surprise.  This building used to be a drug store (called a chemist over the pond).  We can take it literally now, it really is a drug store.  It is the first one I have seen in our county.

There is much building going on.  If it's not road construction...

 it's new homes.

And of course, a quick stop at the drive-thru.  A vanilla no-foam latte, hot please.

We don't usually buy anything on their menu but have done in the past when road tripping in other areas.

That's about it for our runaround today. Thanks for stopping by, and may your day be a great one.

OLD-FASHIONED LETTERS - GOING, GOING, GONE?

This is a lovely illustration I picked up on pixabay.com and I replaced a few of its original photos with my own.  On the left is a wedding photo of my Mom’s parents   Next to it is a family group with my Dad sitting front left.  His mother is on the right of that group with his father behind her.  The others were an aunt and uncle and cousins.  On the right of this illustration is my Mom and Dad, taken in the early 40’s.  I also placed the camellia in a space that I could not work with on the left, also from pixabay.  It was an easy fix.

Old-Fashioned Letters

by Edgar Albert Guest

Old-fashioned letters! How good they were!

And nobody writes them now;

Never at all comes in the scrawl

On the written pages which told us all

The news of town and the folks we knew,

And what they had done or were going to do.

It seems we've forgotten how

To spend an hour with our pen in hand

To write in the language we understand.

Old-fashioned letters we used to get

And ponder each fond line o'er;

The glad words rolled like running gold,

As smoothly their tales of joy they told,

And our hearts beat fast with a keen delight

As we read the news they were pleased to write

And gathered the love they bore.

But few of the letters that come to-day

Are penned to us in the old-time way.

Old-fashioned letters that told us all

The tales of the far away;

Where they'd been and the folks they'd seen;

And better than any fine magazine

Was the writing too, for it bore the style

Of a simple heart and a sunny smile,

And was pure as the breath of May.

Some of them oft were damp with tears,

But those were the letters that lived for years.

Old-fashioned letters! How good they were!

And, oh, how we watched the mails;

But nobody writes of the quaint delights

Of the sunny days and the merry nights

Or tells us the things that we yearn to know-

That art passed out with the long ago,

And lost are the simple tales;

Yet we all would happier be, I think,

If we'd spend more time with our pen and ink.

This poem was a memory jogger for me, of my Father's handwritten letters.  I still have them kept in a draw.  His writing was that old-world scroll. To put it succinctly, he had a beautiful penmanship, and I have never seen anything like it since.  My artistic side saw its great worth.  My Mother also had a lovely handwriting, small, neat letters, but hers was in a regular style and not like the scrolling Italic written by my father.  Dad was born in 1916, and when he went to school, every letter learned was beautifully curved and formed.  It reminds me now of those written by Monks.  

Okay, that was a little bit of humor.  Dad would have appreciated it.  

Dad was a letter writer when he had the time.  I remember he sent a written thank you to someone I knew, and they showed it to me and well, criticized and made fun of it as they couldn't understand its cursive.  I was used to it I suppose and read it without missing a beat, as I still do when I get his old letters out of the drawer.  I was shocked they thought he had terrible handwriting, that it was funny, but I definitely was not amused.  My younger mind said how dare they criticize my Dad!  I was truly appauled.  I found it rude and unkind, turning his kindness into something laughable.  I was also homesick for my family (this was after I got married) which didn't help at all.  But, years later I had an ah-ha moment.

Handwriting even then was definitely evolving, or perhaps I should say, devolving.  I am not sure if it is the case now, but it was no longer being taught extensively in school anymore.  If you disagree please let me know.  Do you think handwriting is a dying art?  Today it seems like it is all keyboarding and computers.

So, this poem was definitely a memory jogger.  I feel so fortunate that I have my Dad's old letters.  I kept my Mother's too.  I always had a strong connection to my parents, even though there were many miles between us.  Their letters keep that connection going and, as I get older, I think of them more and more.

One more memory, of the first day Dad went to school.  No doubt he would have been shown his letters even at five years’ old.  This is a story he told me many, many years ago in my early teens, and he would have a good laugh during the retelling of it.  He was the youngest, having an older brother and sister by several years.  

He didn't say much about the day itself, because after only an hour or two, my Nanny, heard wailing all the way from several streets over.  As it got closer the wails got more urgent and she saw Dad hurriedly climb over the garden gate, and with big heaving sobs he ran into her arms. She picked him up and with yet more big heaving sobs, he vehemently told her he didn't like school and was never going back.  He did and went on to be an excellent student, and also an all-round sportsman.

I don't remember my first day and I have no memory of my dear Mom or Sister telling me about theirs.  But I will always have the memory of Dad and thinking about that sobbing little boy climbing over the garden gate.  It always brings a smile.  I would ask him to tell it again many times over the years, and laughter always followed.  I wish I had thought to ask what his second day was like!

IT’S THAT TIME OF YEAR AGAIN…

 

I have to say, if anyone took a photo of me like this, I wouldn’t be too happy.  It did, however, tickle my funny bone.  Frankly, I can see myself here.  I have been known to fall asleep on the sofa while sitting up and reading.  No warning!  No rereading words, no drifting, just waking up having slunk down almost horizontal, just like this dear lady.

The photo looks like it was taken in the 50s(?), and I found it endearing.  Bless her heart, she must have needed her sleeps.    

I was given my first camera on my 13th birthday.  Mum and Dad’s gift to me. That evening I took a photo of my Dad snoozing on the sofa. It wasn’t done out of mischievousness, but the start of me wanting to capture interesting moments in time.

Do you remember your first camera?  I would love to read about it in the comment section.    

It was my birthday last Friday.  Another year older, 72 years and counting.   And nope, I have never been a party animal...

but I had a wonderful time celebrating with family.  Good company, flowers, gifts, and Thai Food.  

They make me feel special all the time, but that day was sweet! 

To anyone out there who is celebrating today, Happy Birthday!

(The above photo was taken at my nephew's wedding last year, at a photo booth set-up at the reception. The lady told us to get silly and even made a few suggestions.  This is about as silly as we got, and oh how we had fun!  What a great idea to have one of these at a wedding reception.)

BITS AND BOBS DAY

Bits and Bobs: plural noun

Things or objects of different kinds, as in:

"These are just a few bits and bobs I am sending today."

or:

"No one knows exactly what happened.  All we have is a few bits and bobs of information so far."

Bits and Bobs also is English slang for a collection of small items too numerous or varied to name individually. It originated from carpenters' tool kits containing parts for a drill, with bits used for making holes while bobs are routing or screwdriving drill attachments.

And now we know!

It's an expression I remember being used a lot growing up, but I haven't heard it in a very long time.  Do any of you out there use it?  The language is evolving so I am told.

Anyhow, here are my 'bits and bobs'.

Last month my Dear Other Half was in our local coffee house.  He is very much like me in that if there is anything that catches his attention and, if it is okay to do so, will take a photo with his cell phone.  Above you can see what he took while waiting in line, a prettily decorated information chalk board.  The chalked flowers appealed to me, and I picked one to make the ‘painting’ at the top of this page using my ArtCard app.  At the same time, I wondered who put all that together.  I liked their artwork very much.  And because it's good to have a smile, here you go.

 

We had to buy a new clothes washer.  Our old one threw its hands up and said "Enough already, I'm retiring".  I don't like change, I saw all the lights and dials on the new one, and said out loud for the umpteenth time, "I really don't like change", with emphasis.  DOH said, "What's so hard?"  "It looks too complicated" said I. "Why does there have to be so many buttons and flashing lights?  It's like looking at the instrument panel in a cockpit."  Well, not quite but you know what I mean.  DOH pressed two buttons, "That's it, it does it all for you!"  I said, as I peered into the chasm, "I don't like change."  After 46 years of married life, I think he knows that by now.  I did get used to my new cockpit and, not surprisingly, it only took a couple of days.  Now I'm saying, "It would be really nice to get the same brand of dryer, then they would match.”  (Our new washer is three inches taller than the old one.  My symmetrical brain was trying to get used to that too).   I could swear I heard Dryer gasp, or maybe that was Gregg.  Just kidding Gregg! Anyhow, Dryer threw up its hands and said, "Well, you're going to have to wait a while for that one, I'm sticking around for a long time."  "I hope you do", said I.  Does anyone else talk to their appliances?

Now for the squirrels.  The acrobats have been at it again.  We have a new family in town.  Not babies any more but growing youngsters and eating everything in sight.  It's hard work for them as you can see!

I decided it was time to stop putting the birdseed out, after seeing said youngsters running all over the garden digging up acorns and other delights.  There is enough for them to eat now.  We also had the raccoon.  Yes, I stopped putting the birdseed out, but there were still a few suet cakes left.  After those are gone, I won't be buying any more.  This has been the most popular suet cake I have ever put out there, and they have been disappearing overnight.  

The past week and each morning, pfttt!  All gone, and the suet was tightly encased in their cage.  But where there's a will, there's a way and even though the latch was never undone, nimble fingers worked their magic.  I had a good idea who the culprit was, and I didn't really need my trail cam to figure it out.  From the first to the fourth frame in the collage above, you can see the suet cake slowly disappearing.  If you look at the last frame, you might be able to see a smaller animal (enlarge for a clearer view).  The Flying Fox Squirrels are back and they only come out at night.  Not only Flying Foxes but regular Foxes too.

This is a screen shot from the video above.  I had heard a noise and looked from behind the curtains thinking I would see a raccoon.  We only see them rarely. You can hear me breathing hard after holding my breath for a few seconds.  I try to console the Fox after startling it by saying, "That's okay babe"...

but after staring at each other briefly, and after I accidentally bounced my phone off the window again, he hurriedly left down the steps.  I had an instant realization that this would be the last night of putting birdseed and suet cakes out.  

A few nights previously, there was what I think the same raccoon.  A ghostly shape appeared below it bottom left (courtesy of trail cam).  It was the fox but it soon disappeared and the raccoon relaxed after huffing a few times. There is the glow in the eyes of the fox, photo below. The raccoon was definitely on high alert as its ears flattened a tad.  It took me longer to know what was going on as I left my trail cam out a couple of extra days and there were over 800 takes on it, half photos, half videos.  Many produce nothing interesting as sometimes a rustling leaf can set these things off.  It takes time as there are too many to wade through in one sitting.  I put all the uninteresting frames away, but every now and again you get a gem, and I feel like I have been given a special gift.  I will have plenty to share throughout the summer.  

With the thought of the bears being active also (as I have mentioned in previous posts), though I have heard of no visitations on the next-door app like last year, yet, I do not want to encourage, in case I look out the window and find one of those bears staring back at me. Most importantly of course, there are a lot of dogs and cats in this neighborhood and we need to look out for our neighborhood pets.  So...time to get on your bike little raccoon!  I will be thinking of you and wishing you well, foxy also.

Ending note on this particular subject: I consider our local wildlife a true gift.  They were here way, way before this neighborhood was built.  When we were first married and drove through the area on our way to Skyline Drive, 40 plus years ago, (we lived in Alexandria for a couple of years) there was nothing here.  Now we are coexisting.  

Next day I walked around the garden and looked at the new plants in front of the house.  We had a little landscaping done. I gave the gentleman a basic guideline of what I liked.  It wasn't a big space but I told him favorite colors and I saw a diagram in a magazine I showed him as a guideline.  Gregg prefers I do all the deciding where the garden is concerned.  Basically, I told the gentleman, go for it.  I trust him 100 percent as we have known him for several years now, and he has also done our neighbor's garden and it looks lovely.  As for what he did here, I really loved the red ones, which came as a bit of a surprise, but definitely a happy surprise. 

It is a Siberian lily (botanical name Lilium pensylvanicum), also known as a Candlestick lily.  It is native to Siberia, Mongolia, Korea, northeastern China and Hokkaido in Japan. The Latin name is misleading due to an error caused by the botanist, John Bellenden Ker.  It is actually native to a cold climate and requires frost during the winter.  Furthermore, it is found in the wild in Siberia, so it is called Siberian lily.

It is also my garden friend as it is super easy to take care of and recognizes me as a brown thumb. It tells me it is resistant to pests and diseases, but needs consistently moist soil during its growing period.  It doesn't, however, need moisture during its dormancy.   

I have a few other coneflowers that are doing quite well, but these are new arrivals.  Some of the plants, the leaves and petals are getting chewed on by insects.  Can any of you out there give me a 'green' solution?  I try to stay away from pesticides and am reading up on all that, but having some first-hand information of something that is tried and true, is always gratefully received.

Our family is well and I am hoping yours is too.  Thanks for dropping by and my wish is for your day to be a great one.

SQUIRREL TALK...SHE WANTS TO KNOW YOU KNOW...

I am being my usual cheeky self and eating my way through all the birdseed, though the starlings are giving me a run for my money.  There aren't as many grackles as there used to be though.  I am thankful for small mercies!  

Mrs. doesn't mind as she knows I have babies to feed.  There are young ones coming around now.  They haven't quite figured out how to jump up to the hanging feeder yet.  They are still very small.  I am not going to teach them until they get a bit bigger and stronger.  

When that happens you will be hearing the laughter coming from inside.  Mr. and Mrs. love our antics.  I hear them saying that all the time, especially when we slide from the top to the bottom of the pole like it is greased.  I did that the other day but that didn't stop me.  If you don't succeed the first time as the old saying goes.  I took a running jump, grabbed onto the basket, swung on the end like a trapeze artist (I looked marvelous though I say it myself), triple-flipped over and somersaulted to the rail as I tipped all the seed on the ground.  Easier to get to that way, and the other birds like it too as it scatters everywhere and is easier for them to eat off the ground.  I am practicing kindness in helping my fellow birdseed eaters.  I didn't mind Mrs. laughing at me.  Just keep putting the birdseed out here I say and keep me fed, and they do.

As nice as they are, they gave me a fright the other day.  I looked inside the house and saw big eyes staring at me.  I thought it was an owl!  Mrs. said not to worry as now they both have what she calls binoculars, to try and identify the birds they haven't seen before.  They did look scary, at least the Mr. did! 

No, not that big for Mrs!

Not that big either, itsy bitsy ones that Mrs. can take with her to look for birds when they go to the park.  Well, you get the idea.  Mr. has a pair that is about as big as that first photo.  He bought them years ago before they got married and gets them out when Mrs. says she wishes she had a pair of binoculars, to which he always says, we already have a pair and gives her the old ones.  Mrs. again tells him she can't use them, they make her wrists ache.  Mr. knows she loves to look at us all out here, so he bought her a tiny pair last week.  She loves them and loves Mr. for being so thoughtful.  I am getting used to the big eyes (Mr.'s), now that I know it's not a big owl and Mrs. whose big eyes aren't quite as big.

I stayed away for a day as three big strong men came with saws and shovels.  They made a lot of noise trimming the trees and bushes around the house, and my family and I stayed up in our nest until they left.  

Mrs. said they did a great job.  She and the Mr. need help in the garden and they were very happy that the men also planted flowers in the front of the house when asked.  It looks very nice but Mr. came inside a few hours later and told Mrs. that squirrels had already been digging in the mulch to get at their buried acorns...it wasn't me I told her.  Mrs. wasn't too happy but she just rolled her eyes and shook her head, and smiled.  We have a lot of acorns buried around here, but I won't tell her about mine.  Mr. was happy they didn't have to water the plants as it rained last night and our little holes were gone this morning.  It all looked nice and smooth, just like the day before.  Mr. and Mrs. were happy their plants looked better for the extra rain.  And it's raining again right now, and will be for the rest of the week off and on.

I have been a chatty little thing today haven't I?  I'd better go now.  I hear my babies calling for me.  Take good care of yourselves out there, and don't be swinging on any birdfeeders like a trapeze artist, unless you are a trapeze artist!