Ruby-crowned Kinglet pecks on our window....

Howdee all....

Here's the latest bird to peck at our window...a sweet little Ruby-crowned Kinglet. Our motor homes windows are reflective....and birds will occasionally peck at them... I think it is because they see their reflection and think it is another bird....
and other birds must think the woods continues because they see it in the window and fly into the window...we have had a few deaths...I have tried pictures of owls....tin foil...and a few other things....any suggestions?

My cat Ballie just loves the visit, but I feel bad for the birds...Is this agitating for them?

anyway....check out the sweet little ruby...

Thanksgiving at the Resort and Ballie stops snorting...

click on the menu to make it larger and read our menu,
I had the grouper, Adele had the filet and Jeff went traditional.

Howdee all,

Here's hoping you all had a great Thanksgiving. Jeff, Dell and I went to Pinehurst and ate a most delicious and beautiful meal. Check out the pictures...are those not lovely presentations?
Craigy took good care of us....I don't have any pictures of Craig...too bad he looked quite dapper in his dark suit.
After our early dinner we enjoyed walking around the resort and sitting in the rocking chairs and basking in the warm sunshine.
What a great day.

And the kicker was Ballie....
for over three weeks now he has snorted and snored...it became progressively worse the last few days...we knew he was uncomfortable and not himself. He wanted to be fed with a spoon...and didn't purr much or act like his normal whiny self. I had to resort to earplugs at night when he slept by my head. Note...the video of nuthatch...background snorts of ballie....
It seemed that something was blocking his nasal passage. We were intending to bring him to the Vet this morning. When sometime last evening he seemed to be breathing normally.
This morning he purred, meowed and whined and ate his food normally. And is now taking his morning nap with out snoring.
Either he was faking and when I mentioned the vet he decided he best stop the charade
..... or the blockage passed.
Whatever it was....Thanks...

Happy Thanksgiving from us and the brown headed nuthatch

Howdee all,

Wishing you all a fun filled, happy, peaceful, yummy, Thanksgiving...

Yesterday we all celebrated an early Thanksgiving.
Craig has to work at the restaurant today so we celebrated with him last night. Adele and Craig worked so Jeff and I picked up the dinner that Adele ordered from Fresh Markets...and we cooked it up..well heated it...added a few veggies and we had a nice traditional Thanksgiving meal. The stuffing and the cranberry sauce were my favorites. We also ended the meal with pie and our now famous Hickory nut tea.

This morning while watching the Thanksgiving Parade on tv...Ballie had a visitor..
The brownheaded nuthatch decided to knock on the door and say hello.



Today we go to Craigys restaurant at Pinehurst...for a gourmet meal...
Gobble ...Gobble

Cold day lounging, birding and hickory nut coffee

Howdee all,

Cold and windy yesterday...so the plans to rake leaves and nuts was canned.. We had good intentions, but the chills kept us inside.
So what do you do on a chilly NC day?
Looked at the birdies coming to the feeder...with binos and scope set up inside.
I am playing with an adapter that Jeff and Craig made that attaches to our scope...and allows me to take pictures with my camera thru it. I will do a post on the adapter later.

Ballie had his favorite spot for viewing the birdies.

We lounged around a bit...dell and the pups hangin out

Hickory Nut Coffee

We Made wild Hickory Nut Coffee and ate the roasted and boiled nuts...they had a nice maple flavor after roasting. We are thinking maybe we might be able to sell some of the nuts. Now we just need to get the right method for cracking them..the shell is very hard. Mother earth news had some advice. And some great news on this site..

The How, When and why of forest farming

• Health – Hickory nuts and walnuts are known to have high levels of omega-3 fatty acids – much more per serving than peanuts or cashews. They contain phytochemicals like plant sterols and flavonoids, which are beneficial to cardiovascular health, and antioxidants like Vitamin E (Kendall, 1997). Wild nuts contain levels of fat, protein and carbohydrates that are comparable to meat. Although the calorie content is high for most nuts, each calorie is accompanied by excellent nutrition. Nuts should be eaten in moderation.
• Flavor/nostalgia – Hickory nuts and walnuts have a sweet, woody and delicate flavor, distinct from storebought nuts that are bred for their ease of processing. They will impart a subtle, but distinct flavor to any recipe calling for nutmeats. Acorn flavors vary, but are mildly nutty, with a soft texture. Old-time recipes regularly called for chestnuts and hickories when these nuts were commonly gathered for winter storage and eating. Many cooks seek ingredients that replicate these old-fashioned flavors.

So now we are thinking people will be knocking at our door....waiting in line...now that we let the cat out of the bag. We haven't set a price yet. But we are ready to take orders.

Hickory nut coffee and recipes here.
for some strange reason the link above doesnt work
try cutting and pasting this link into browser to get to the recipes..

http://www.eattheweeds.com/www.EatTheWeeds.Com/EatTheWeeds.com/Entries/2014/5/22_Hickory_Harvest.html


-- Take about half a dozen hickory nuts which have been separated from their outer hulls but are still in their shell. (You may be able to find hulled, intact nuts lying the ground in or near a hickory tree or grove, if the squirrels have not gotten to them first.)

-- Roast them on a cookie sheet or sheet of aluminum foil in your oven at 350 degrees F. for about 10 to 15 minutes, or until you begin to smell them roasting and they start to brown.

-- Remove them from the oven and allow them to cool until they can be safely handled.

-- Split the shells open using a small hammer or meat tenderizer. The shells will open more readily if you strike along one of the natural "seams" or cracks already present in the shell.

-- Your nuts will usually split into two or more fragments, with pieces of meat still trapped inside each shell. You do not have to worry about separating the meat from the shell.

-- When you have finished splitting the nuts, gather up all the meat and shell fragments and place them in a small saucepan. Cover them with 1 to 2 cups of water and bring to a rolling boil.

-- Watch for the boiling water to take on a golden hue and give off a "nutty" odor. When this happens, turn off the heat and drain your liquid into a mug or another suitable container through a strainer.

Shop till we drop

Howdee all...
Today we did our Outing....an hour drive into Apex and Cary. We started out at Homegoods...
Adele bought a few Christmas presents...and don't ask me what cause I am not telling...tee hee..but there was a grab gift in there..

We then shopped at my newest favorite grocery store...Super Target...we left with allot of goods..

a little bookstore browsing

We went to whole foods for a late lunch and they had super samples today....yummy....
lots of chocolates...candied nuts...fruits...cheeses....wine tasting

Trader Joes...was our final stop..
We always find special goodies here...

We are now exhausted and resting....tomorrow is supposed to be a nice day...we will do some more yard work and yard birding....
see ya....

Nice day for a fire and digging holes

Howdee all.

Its been cold....I guess most of the east coast is involved in this cold front...you in Ct. and Boston are getting some real cold temps so I shouldn't complain too much...but Burrrrrrrrrrrr...

Today after a nice lunch at the Pik n Pig BBQ...we worked off some calories by raking leaves and a gazillion hickory nuts that are all over the ground here. Anyone have any ideas of what we can do with all these nuts? I am thinking of hiring some squirrels. Too many nuts...I did find some recipes online for Hickory nuts believe it or not...might try a few.

We had a nice bonfire....
and
The pups dug holes so that we could fill them with hickory nuts...thanks kali and jack...good idea.



let me explain the picture below....I am sitting in Jacks chair...and he really doesnt appreciate it...he tries every which way to get his chair back...and this particular night he crawled up on my back...hoping to force me out of his chair.....ha...he ended up slipping down behind me...and got most of his chair back...what a silly pup.


this is what we did when you were working dell...

Skywatch Friday...rainbow dreaming

Howdee all,

On the eve of another cold front here in North Carolina....I remember another cold day four years ago, January. We were staying at one of our favorite campgrounds, Catalina State Park in Tucson Arizona. We had snow and rain in the mountains and an absolutely Lovely rainbow.
We wont make it to Arizona this winter. Other places to explore. But I am Rainbow Dreaming now.

This is my second Skywatch Friday.
I have thoroughly enjoyed looking at all the beautiful photos..
So I suggest you all go right now...and check out some of them.
Skywatch Friday.

North Carolina cold...ah NUTS!

Howdee all,
Well here we are in our November spot, where we will make our Home for a bit over a month.
We are nestled nicely between two large trees. A large oak tree and a Hickory nut tree.

Did I say Nuts...Yikes....It has been a banner year here for nuts...and if anyone would like.. I think we could spare a few...
Jeff had to go out and get some cardboard to protect the top of Homey from attacks...
It sure does wake you up when one of those nuts falls from several feet above us onto our roof..
I think Jeff and I will be busy raking up some nuts and leaves...

I am going to try and cook up one of these tubers from Adele's sweet potatoes vine.
Aren't they pretty?

We put up our bird feeders..put down the door matt...hooked up the satellite...
and we are settled in.

Nuts....its cold too....

Cliffs of Neuse State Park

Howdee all,
Today Homey was in service...getting stuff like generator service...and a few other odds and ends done... So Jeff and I looked for a park nearby and found Cliffs of Neuse state park...
The park has steep cliffs bordering the Neuse river...the path we took led us for a bit by the river ...then wandered into the forest.

crunchy brown carpet

baby maples holding onto their color
bald cypress

little knees

Woodland treasures

cliffs of neuse state park

Skywatch Friday a foggy Assateague morning

Howdee all...

This is my first time doing Skywatch Friday.
If you havent seen what Skywatch Friday is about..click on the link above.

Jeff and I are birding here on Assateague....So I type this morning looking out the windows of Our Homey(the name I gave to our fulltime Home on wheels)
Its a foggy, still morning...
The birdies just came out and I am watching the yellow rumps and other little brown birds ..ha ha (sparrows) foraging on the ground and the distant views of the wild ponies.
Jeff has gone out for his early morning bird while I sip my tea and post a few pictures I just took from the stair step of my Homey..
So here they are...a foggy Assateague morning..

Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge featuring Snow Geese

Howdee all,

Jeff and I went to Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge a few days ago....
Wow
Snow geese show...
I took some video...and yes the normal Dawn shaking and wind noise because of my little cheap point and shoot...but...hopefully you will enjoy the snow geese show...
Wish you were there....

Assateague National Wildlife refuge..and another quiz...

Howdee all,

It was a cold morning here in assateague and I didn't want to get out of bed....we have no electrical hookups for the Homey here and rely on our generator...so no heat used unless it is necessary. At night we keep the temp around fifty...so in the am its chilly...
This morning when we turned the heat on it seemed like it took forever to warm up...so i just hung out in bed and read my birdie blogs.
Jeff went out birding in the am...when he got home we ate lunch ..
We decided to go for an exercise walk up to the state park and back along the beach...
Its so nice to have the beach to yourself...no one there this time of year....We love off season...
We did a little birding...saw a red throated loon...a lifer for us...Jeff did most of the looking up..
as i was having fun looking down to see what treasures i could find in the sand....

Which brings me to the quiz....
What plastic item was most seen this beach...leftover from beach goers ....
and a bonus question is what is the second most plastic item seen on the beach???
Good luck...

below is where we are camped at the refugee...
there are only two others in our section of the campground...we have a lovely site on the bay side...with views of the water...rather than the ocean side with views of the dunes...
we are also visited by some of the wild horses..

Prime Hook National Wildlife Refuge

Howdee all,
Had a nice day at Prime Hook Wildlife Refugee...Still more great places to discover here on the Delaware coast...I think we may come back here for some spring birding.
We were there early am to see the snow geese take off for the day..they come back at night. The snow geese winter here after migrating from the Arctic.
It is also duck hunting season here......and the last of the mosquito's...
Despite the gunshot sounds and the bites...we had a nice day birding...

Bombay Hook National Wildlife Refuge

Howdee all,

Jeff and I birded Bombay Hook the other day....Wow...We didn't realize the coast of Delaware had all these wonderful natural areas...guess we need to travel more....tee hee...
We have been in the area almost a week now, staying in Cape Henlopan state park.
The weather hasn't been to cooperative...we are birding between the raindrops.
I took this morning off to do some house cleaning, blogging and hang out with my little fur boy. Jeff is out Birding...trying to find the Nelsons Sharp tailed sparrow and the Saltmarsh sharp tailed sparrow.

Even though its a bit rainy and drizzly it still such a beautiful time of year...the colors are still turning here and it feels wonderfully autumn.