FREE SAMPLE #3 DEM BONES DEM BONES

More free stuff. Eight Viactiv calcium chews. Erin and I had to taste a couple before the Al Gore presentation we caught last night. Al, we love ya, great show, but stay out of the Shoni's of the world.

I wonder what the mailbox will hold today?

FREE SAMPLE #2

The natural choice indeed. Received another free sample this weekend. The Natural Lamb lubricated condom. No, not really made of lamb anything but latex free. If anyone would like the helpful pamphlet, let me know. The condom, however, is mine.

STILL HERE

Yes, I'm still here. Life has been, well, life. Some changes have taken place. It's a difficult thing but, ultimately, a good thing. In the meantime, I'd like to get back into blogging and even the newsletter. So let me ease my way back into blogging by reporting that I have received my first FREE sample of something. Lately, to ease mental stress, I've been partaking in the Internet's offers of free samples. Everything from shampoo to tea to coffee to t-shirts. My mail carrier will soon hate me. However, the wave of free samples begins as a trickle. Yesterday I received a free Kashi cereal bar. Very tasty indeed. How healthy has yet to be determined. I did consume 4 grams of fiber and 6 grams of protein for my calories. But these types of "healthy" bars and "energy" bars are mostly calories and sugar. Like Gatorade, it's not about health, it's about marketing and sugar. Regardless, I will be documenting the free stuff as it arrives. Stay tuned.

VEGGIE UPDATE

We are enjoying the garden almost every day. Even if we just snip fresh herbs. We haven't purchased braising greens or salad greens in a long time. There is no shortage of green leafy stuff. Though still on the small side, we have eaten a few beets and carrots and they were very good. We have begun harvesting red onions. They turned out very healthy. Shallots are ready as well (see all of this in below photo). And Sunday we ate the first potatoes. The smallest container in which we grew potatoes didn't produce too many (about 16 of any size and a handful of grape-sized ones) but they were very delicious once par-boiled then roasted on the grill. Makes the outside crispy and keeps the inside soft. And we are finally eating green beans! We will have the second batch tonight for dinner. I have two lemon cucumbers! The plants have never done very well for me but I enjoy the few cukes I manage to get.

This weekend I sowed more carrots, beets, turnips and a new patch of arugula and two types of mustard green. The cooler temps should allow these greens to thrive. As we eat more stuff I'll start planting more lettuces. We ate the last batch of that last night in a great salad.

In the seed flats I sowed broccoli, cabbage, bok choi, rainbow chard and more peas.

Tonight we are going to make a Caprese Salad with our own basil and our own tomatoes. Doesn't get any better than that.

CATS

Seems like we have "adopted" a member of the Cat Mafia. We call him Droopy-Eye Cat because his right eye lid droops. He's been coming around for a couple of months. He would hang out in the alley or sit on my car and eat whatever treats had been provided. Or just sit there and stare. But recently he has taken to coming into the yard. He's pretty vocal and very affectionate. Yes, I've made the mistake of feeding him catnip and other treats and even cat food. He's fixed. Perhaps someone simply abandoned him or maybe he has a perfectly good home and just knows a sucker when he sees one. Perhaps he likes the extra attention and the other cat company. But Henry isn't exactly pleased by his appearance. And Idgie loathes him. He wants to come in the house and I shoe him away with noises and gestures. But Idgie simply sits on the other side of the cat door (which is actually just a cat hole because she refused to push the flap with her face so we removed it) and hisses and growls. That keeps him out. And just this weekend he got very friendly with S. He jumped down from the fence, walked over to where S and I were sitting on the bench and jumped onto her lap, did his turning in cirlces and settled in for a nap. Looks like he is here to stay. We don't really mind. I'll feed him (in the alley) and we'll give him attention and he can hang out in the yard as long as he behaves. I did have to chase him out the other day for giving Henry a swat. I'd like it if Henry would swat back to let Droopy-Eye know who's boss. Anyway, we'll see how long he hangs around. Could be gone tomorrow, could be here for good.

BUGS AND BERRIES

Blueberry picking is easy if you don’t mind hanging out inside a shrub. The heat, however, was already melting us at 9:30 a.m. And don’t forget that bug spray! We won’t make that mistake again. The heat and the mosquitoes drove us out after collecting only 2 lbs. We’ll be back once the heat wave breaks (today was the third day in a row at or above 95 degrees). The blueberry farm is only a 15 minute drive from our house. The berries we did harvest were very delicious and a steal at $1.50/lb.

Somewhere in this blueberry bush, mosquitoes are feasting on J.

There Were No Birthdays In Sicily!

While my mom was in town she treated me and J to a birthday dinner at La Medusa, a Sicilian eatery in Columbia City. J’s birthday was Wednesday and it just so happens that every Wednesday from May through October La Medusa offers a Market Menu. This menu brings together fresh ingredients purchased that day from the Columbia City Farmer’s Market (also every Wednesday). It’s a 3-4 course prix-fixe affair for $25. Such a deal, really. Everything is fresh and original.

Our meal began with caesar salad with authentic caesar salad dressing – including an egg and anchovies – and crumble of bread crumbs on top with a shaving of caciocavallo cheese. I was reading later about this cheese and it’s interesting to note that it’s from southern Italy and the name means “cheese on horseback.” One story indicates that it is believed by some to have originally been made from mare’s milk. “Caciocavallo is one of the pasta filata types of cheeses (like PROVOLONE and MOZZARELLA CHEESE ), which means it has been stretched and shaped by hand.” Man, oh, man, I’ve got to find this cheese.

SIDENOTE: At the Grocery Outlet (affectionately known as “The G.O.”) I found an English Cheddar made with goat’s milk and it’s amazing!. Not to mention, the price was almost criminal. The block I bought was less than $3. Check the G.O. for cheese, my friends. Just mind the dates, like you would on any cheese from any store.

The entrée was one large ravioli gently stuffed with mascarpone cheese, diced beets and slices of Walla Walla Sweets. On top was a sprinkling of chopped hazelnuts and just the juices from the beets and onions and a drizzle of olive oil. For dessert they brought out champagne flutes filled with a Callebaut chocolate mousse topped with cream and few raspberries. The flute was dusted with powdered sugar. Pretty decadent.

While we were finishing the bottle of Bucaro Montepulciano d’Abruzzo 2003 (organic to boot) and having coffee, J and I were each presented with a birthday cannolo, each stuck with a lit candle. My mom is very clever. Though we were full of food and wine, we ate those cannoli, every last crumb. Cannoli are something we never buy so it was a real treat.

Surf and Turf

Saturday through Tuesday we tooled around the Olympic Penninsula looking for hiking trails, wildlife, tide pools and wine. Found all of it.

We camped at the Salt Creek Recreation Area County Park on a bluff right above the tide pools of Tongue Point. In the mornings we mucked about the tide pools. In the afternoons we hiked in the woods. At night we huddled around the fire to capture the heat. The bluffs are a chilly place to camp.

The first morning we got up to discover that the blustery bluff was a thing of the night. Mornings were always calm and temperate. This giant bald eagle sat in this far off tree for a very long time. It was huge. We were to see more bald eagles around this tree and others when we hit the tide pools. They hung out in a group of trees on the beach and a few people told us that a nest was definitely in a tree up on the bluff.

In the afternoons we explored three different areas on foot. The ride up to Hurrican Ridge takes about 45 minutes so we never invested the time to go up there. Besides, part of the reason to go up is the view. Well, with the exception of the first day there (which wasn't a hiking day at all), the mountains weren't visible. If I look up and don't see the Olympics, there won't be much of a view looking down from the ridge. We've been there in the past so at least we know what it's like at the top.

We bought a new National Parks Pass at the Olympic Pennisula Visitor Center. We had our lunch in the shade as we discussed our trail options.

Heart o' The Hills Forest Trail began in the Heart o' The Hills Campground. The place was practically deserted. It was Monday, after all. We liked the way the campground was laid out and would like to camp there in the future. No showers but we can be dirty for a couple of days. The trailhead sign indicated it was 2 miles to the trail's end. Well, that never happened. The trails doesn't end and there is no indication that you have gone to the "end" of anything. We timed ourselves and walked 1.25 hours out then turned around. That's more than 2 miles one way. At the turning point, J had gone ahead to see what the trail would do. When she began to head back in the direction we came but on the opposite side of a creek we crossed, she figured we were done with this trail. It was a nice way to get the blood pumping but it wasn't terribly exciting visually. And there was little wildlife to be seen or heard besides this moth.

However, on the other two trails we explored we did meet a young male deer up close and personal. At one point we were just a few feet apart. I was waiting for my photo op when something startled him and he made a charge at me. But the second he realized I was there, in his way, he stopped cold. We stared at each other, both of our hearts beating like mad. I was sure he was going to trample me. Deer can be dangerous, especially when frightened. I hadn't frightened him, I was literally just standing there watching him. It's a rush I won't soon forget and don't wish to repeat. I got a good shot of his butt but the shots I took of him after the startling were blurry. Was it from my shaking hands or his shaking head?

We also spotted what appeared to be a ptarmigan or grouse and her little ones.



Since 1989 Tongue Point has been a county marine sanctuary. Sea life is everywhere. At high tide you would barely realize anything existed beyond the bluff. But once that tide rolls out it's a whole new world. We specifically picked July 9, 10, and 11 for the negative low tides. This gave us a chance to explore Zone V for the first time. Tongue Point is the easternmost Pacific Coast-style tide pool in the Strait of Juan de Fuca. This means that you get to see coastal tide-pool life even though you are near the eastern end of the Strait, just around the bend of Puget Sound. As a result, we got to see for the first time the following: Pacific Blood Star, sea cucumber, red sea urchin, tons of purple urchins, green sea urchin (which is more of a striped appearance, not solid green like the red and purple are solid plus the color that was apparent wasn't green), sea cucumbers (the ones we saw were bright orange),

For much of the area, you can comfortably walk on top of a carpet of mussels and various types of claims. They attach themselves to the rocks with iron-rich byssal threads. These threads incredibly strong and elastic. They "can stretch out to 160% of their length while still retaining 5 times the strength of our Achille’s tendon."

Then again, the tide pools can be slippery. Before Sunday, I had never fallen at a tide pool. However, the spill I took will not soon be forgotten and I'm contemplating a full suit of Carharts for my next tide pool adventure. You can see some of the wounds suffered here. Bruises too. I went down fast and hard but made not one peep. There were people nearby and they had kids with them. So I decided not to cry or swear but I almost fainted from the pain. Deep breathing, deep breathing, deep breathing and mentally escaping to a far-off place with dry sticky surfaces for walking.

The injuries didn’t stop me from hiking that afternoon and the following two days but the next morning at the tide pools I has a trekking pole with me and I moved like someone’s grandmother. The memory of the fall was was still fresh. At one point, to reach a place J claimed held the elusive Pacific octopus (it didn’t) I just sat my ass down on the floor of mussels and gently scooted my way down the side of this trench. Sure, I was wet and it looked as if I shat myself, but I wasn’t bruised or bleeding. I don’t mind at all getting filthy to have fun but I don’t like getting hurt.

SOMETHING INTERESTING THIS WAY COMES

Honest. There are stories and photos of our camping trip. Things are soooooooo busy right now. Be patient.

COLUMBIA CITY BEAT WALK

Friday we took Concetta to Tutta Bella in Columbia City for real Neopolitan pizza. Here is a shot of the one with roasted eggplant. Man does this place make good pizza. Excellent salads too.

The first Friday of the month some merchants in Columbia City offer live music for only $5. Pay your money and get your hand stamped at any participating venue and then you are free to roam in and out of the others at The Columbia City Beat Walk. Hear a little modern jazz at the book store, tap your toes to 30's style three part harmony at the art gallery, and relax under the mood lighting to easy on the ear ballads.

URBAN GROWTH CONTINUES

There is always something growing in the garden. Now that summer is finally here (I think), the greenery has really taken off. The strawbale bed is a perfect home to the tomatoes. I've watered only once or twice. The nasturtiums are suitable companions. And the basil that was struggling in the pots on the deck has sprung back to life in the strawbale bed. Now, will the plants set enough fruit and will that fruit have a chance to ripen is another story. But the strawbale is making the plants big and lush and green. In this shot you can see tomatoes, nasturtiums and some basil in the foreground.
Along the side of the house some of the beans finally took hold and are climbing up the wooden trellis. What a bad start for the beans. Sowed them at least three times in some spots. Even planted starts I began in the house. Damn snails and slugs got fat on all of it. The kale in the foreground of this shot won't stop growing. We keep cutting from these two plants and it keeps coming back. One more cutting and then we will move on to the other, younger kale plants and put something new in the old kale spots. And you can spot tons of lettucestoward the end of this bed. We are still trying to eat it all. Yes, that is straw in my wheelbarrow! J went out to run errands once day. I yelled that she was obligated to bring me a treat. She returned with two bales of straw! The perfect gift. I've been mulching like a crazy woman. I also turned the compost pile and layered the contents with straw strata, as it were. The green cone veggie composter is happier too now that it has also been layered with straw.

The nasturtiums grow like crazy and need little attention.
They are doing the job of distracting the aphids from the tomatoes and they look very pretty.













In this view from the deck you can see peas, carrots, kale, chard and green onions growing in the green bed. In the yellow bed we have two kinds of onions, carrots, beets, shallots, several types of greens and I've recently added more of those struggling basil seedlings. Along the fence running in the background we have more peas, kales, endive, chard, onions, cilantro, rosemary, chives, sage, sunflowers and parsely, to name a few.

FINALLY WENT CAMPING!

We finally went camping this year. Nothing too exhaustive, just overnight at Belfair State Park in, appropriately enough, Belfair. In fact, it was by far the least active camping trip we’ve ever taken. We spent more time at the campsite than not and that is rare. But we were pooped and Belfair isn’t exactly a thriving metropolis. We did try to explore the town by going to two separate markets. The Belfair Farmer’s Market is misleading. Unless quilts and handmade soaps are now farmed. It was quite small and held not one item of produce. This all sounds harsh and that’s kinda too bad. Don’t call it a farmer’s market unless someone grew some food.

We spotted a sign for a second market, though this one did not claim to have any farmers involved. It was, however, really lame. The produce they did have was from a wholesaler, that was obvious. Unless small farms are now adding stickers to their tomatoes. The rest was very sparse. We felt like we had slipped into a parallel universe. We felt very out of place just roaming from one side of the lawn to the other. Why did we even bother to turn off the car? We could easily see what a waste of time it was.

To Belfair’s credit, we really enjoyed the wildlife we spotted at the Theler Community Center and Wetland Trails. This area makrs where the lower Hood Canal meets the Union River Estuary, where fresh and saltwater marshes meet. We walked the trails on Saturday and Sunday.
From the boardwalk you can see a bit of the Olympic Mountains.

We spotted creatures we had never seen in the past. For example, the Green Heron.


A magnificent bird that took us by surprise. It flew from one tree to another, would circle around and swoop past us then land in a tree again. Never was able to get a shot of it and never saw it in the water which is where we always see Great Blue Herons. The Green Heron is a small wading bird with striking colors, especially when in flight. I most remember the vibrant orange of its underside. I read that the feeding habits are interesting in that they use bait to attract prey. “Foraging Green Herons sometimes drop feathers, worms, insects, or other items into the water as bait to attract fish.” Very clever. I’ve posted a couple of pictures that are not mine. I found these online and in no way take credit for them.

More photos are here.

Also spotted were, we think, a couple varieties of grebes. Even with excellant binoculars and a wonderfully illustrated guide book to Washington’s birds, we couldn’t say for sure if these were grebes. We did our best. Sometimes the bird was just too damn far away.

We did happen upon a Great Blue Heron as he was patiently stalking something tasty. Out of the corner of my eye I spotted this fellow through the greenery and snagged this shot. A second one was spotted striking a pose down in the mud flats.

A bald eagle flew overhead for good measure. Redwinged blackbirds are the Bird Of The Month at the wetlands. They were everywhere and have the coolest call. Its sounds electric. Plenty of swallows in several varieties.

And dragonflies for days. We saw an incredibly beautiful red one. I tried in vain to focus on him for several minutes. The macro feature on my digital camera seems to have it out for me. It refused to focus on the insect, even thought it was in the center of the cross-hairs and a quite reasonable distance from the camera. It managed to focused on everything else but not what I really wanted. I could never narrow down the kind of dragonfly it was but I’m betting it’s a Meadowhawk because of the brilliant red color. I checked several photos from the wonderful collection at the Slater Museum of Natural History at the University of Puget Sound. The photos of male Meadowhawks are predominantly red, have the thicker body instead of the long, narrow body, and I also kept in mind the color and number of wings. Then again, with over 7,500 species, I could be wrong.

Here are two red-winged blackbird ladies fighting over a tasty dragonsfly. Pretty sure we spotted the ring-necked plover and a few spotted (solitary) sandpipers too. Again, the photos are not mine.

WEEKEND CAT BLOGGING #55

Henry does spend every available waking moment outside (as long as someone is home). This doesn't mean, however, that he is outdoorsy or athletic. Apparent in this photo is the obvious result of his lack of physical exertion. But he is a nature lover through and through.

You can see all the Weekend Cat Blogging at Eat Stuff.

URBAN GROWTH CONTINUES

It was a pretty busy weekend, as usual. Friday night I cleaned up some food items from the refrigerator and wound up with two delicious dips. A black bean, chipotle dip and a hummus-esque dip seasoned with a six-pepper spice blend. Both dips included a healthy dose of carmelized onions and mushrooms (the items from the refrigerator). Mmmmmmmmmm.

As usual, there was plenty of work in the garden. Strawberries have been arriving steadily but not in any great quantities. You can see a few of them here. You can also see all the plant starts that by now have, for the most part, been planted.

Most of the garlic has been harvested. It's currently curing in the mud room. One day I'll learn how to braid them. For now, they simply hang in a bunch. The bulbs are better than last year. There's about a dozen bulbs still cooking. The stalks are still green and standing so we wait on those.
With the new found space I've planted some of the spicy cooking greens and some mache. Just nibbling them from the flats I can tell they will be a very delicious addition to a salad or stir fry. Speaking of stir-fry, I've got another two handful of scapes. These came from garlic, onion and leeks and smell wonderful. Friday night some of them were chopped up with a couple zucchini in a little olive oil, salt and pepper. Sauteed it all until the zucchini was golden brown and man, oh, man. Very simple and very delicious.

Pulled some green onions and we threw those right onto the grill with our salmon on Sunday. A little bit of char on there makes it all the better. And in the pea department, we gathered enough to make a super summer pasta dish - Past with Peas and Lemon as featured on Cucina Bodanza.
Collected a big batch of kale and mizuna to cook up on Sunday. Prepared a few heads of lettuce to use throughout the week. The garden is really turning out the green as of late.

Dr. Atkins Be Damned!

Last night I attended a 3-hour bread making class offered through Discover U, a local organization offering adult continuing education classes ranging from exercise to book publishing. We’ve taken classes through Discover U and other like organizations and they are always fun. The Rustic Bread Making class was presented by the owner & chief baker at the Essential Baking Co., George DiPasquale.

He basically discounted all the traditional methods we probably have learned from our grandmothers and mothers regarding bread making. Sure, there are as many bread making methods as there are bread eaters and many mothers and grandmothers would argue to the grave over some of the methods employed by contemporary professional bakers versus their own. But this guy makes damn good bread. He wants the product to be the best and he believes these methods make the best product. He wasn’t directly dissing the traditional methods, but he is a firm believer in the methods he employs. I was all ears and eyes. I took copious notes. I’ll try all the methods and see for myself. If these ideas make better bread, why not use them? On the other hand, the homemade breads and bread products I grew up eating were delicious. Perhaps it all boils down to a matter of taste.

Because baking is far more scientific than regular cooking, there is the dreaded math involved. I cook by feel and I rarely bake. When I do bake it has to be simple. Even if the math simply means measuring ingredients I get itchy. I dread math and I dislike measuring but I like to make bread so I put up with it. Breads are easy but they are very time consuming. And the introduction of “baker's percentage” into my cooking world isn’t encouraging but I am going to do my best to understand it. Once I do, I think things will be easier and I will enjoy the process of using these formulas more than I dread the prospect of using them.

So I have to start thinking of recipes as formulas and measuring ingredients in terms of weight rather than volume. I need to think of the ingredients as percentages in relation to the main ingredient – flour. The baker's percentage is not a true percent because the total ingredients do not necessarily add up to 100%. In the baker's percentage the 100% is the weight of the flour in the formula. The remaining ingredients are calculated in proportion to the weight of flour. Here comes the math: Weight of ingredient divided by weight of total flour times 100 = ingredient %.

There is a very good discussion of baker’s percentage (baker’s math or baker’s formulas) with examples on this flour company’s site and on this cooking site.

How does one accomplish all this weight measuring at home? With a sensitive scale. Perhaps a birthday present idea, huh? If you do not have a sensitive scale at home, I found this conversion chart.

Another good birthday present idea might be a Kitchen Aid. Although he admits that kneading bread by hand results in better dough and a better bread, he realizes that the 1,000 strokes it takes to properly knead dough is a killer on the arms. Buy the best one you can afford. That expense will have to wait a while. Besides, I have no place to store it or use it. I’ll consider future bread making as part of my exercise routine.

I also learned about the biga. Biga (BEE-gah) is an Italian “starter” or “pre-ferment.” A biga adds extra flavor and complexity to bread. Unlike sour dough starters, the biga is made fresh each time it’s used. It’s the biga that makes ciabatta a ciabatta. Many Italian artisan breads use biga and that is why they taste so damn good. Flavor, textrure, moisture. Biga should ferment at least 4-6 hours, ideally 8-12 hours and not more than 24 hours.

He also discouraged us from using caked yeasts. I’ve never used them so that’s not a problem. He advised that they are unstable and are difficult to keep fresh, even in a professional baking environment - let alone a grocery store or home refrigerator. Active dry yeast needs to be hydrated by adding water. Essentially, the hydration acts to wash off the dead yeast cells from the live yeast cells. But, unlike what you usually read in a recipe, active dry yeast doesn’t need sugar and doesn’t need to proof. He recommends using instant yeast (rapid rise, quick rise) that comes in the 3-packet variety you find in the grocery store. It doesn’t need to be refrigerated unless it has been opened. Instant yeast is what most professional bakers use, including his company.You can use less of it and it mixes right into the dry ingredients. I’ll have to look into buying instant yeast in bigger quantities. That 3-pack can get expensive for its size.

To convert fresh yeast amounts into active dry yeast amounts, multiply the fresh yeast amount by .4 (so use about a ¼ of the fresh amount). To convert fresh yeast to instant dry, multiply the fresh yeast by .33 (so use about a 1/3 of the fresh amount). To convert instant into active dry, use ¼ less. Whew.

He spoke about the whole process of letting dough ferment, or proof (rise). He indicated that these recipes in which you are instructed to let the dough double in size, punch it down and let it double again is overkill. You’re over-fermenting the dough and will wind up with yeasty tasting bread. He suggests a ¾ proof 1 ½ times. As for punching down bread, never do this. You’re busting up all the hard work you’ve put into developing the gluten strands. Formulas that have utilized a pre-ferment (such as a biga) do not need to be “punched down.” Formulas that do not utlize a pre-ferment can simply be left to ¾ proof and then “knocked back” before continuing the proofing process. Press out the dough a bit, not too much, then fold in at each edge. Flip it over seam-side down and let it continue to proof.

I also learned how to score bread so as not to compromise the shape and cause too much of the crumb to be exposed to the heat of the oven. I learned to make a damn fine braid too. I wasn’t going to take home any of my played-with dough. Then I figured that my dough really hadn’t been handled by anyone but me anyway. I wanted to see the braid after it was baked. This loaf had a few walnuts thrown in from our practice with adding inclusions. Inclusions, by the way, are always added last, once the dough has been mixed and autolysed (rested). Inclusions being your added fats, like nuts, oils, herbs, olives, meats, chesses, etc. So I baked the loaf when I got home and it tastes fine.

I’ve got more notes on the topic. Plus the hand-outs we received on tools of the trade and some recipes. There were plenty of samples of four different breads and wine too. It was money well spent, especially if I can re-create the results at home. He said there is no reason why we can’t make those rustic, artisan loaves at home. Better get a spray bottle and a peel.

I'M STILL HERE

I've been pretty busy but I do have stuff to talk about and a few pictures to show. Hang tight.

Today I Saw...

...a chopper right over our house. It looked a little big for a news chopper. I could tell it was red but couldn't see if it was a Coast Guard chopper, as it was directly above me. And usually the news choppers circle. This one just hovered, did not move at all until it left. But choppers are not uncommon around here when news breaks. Not too long before I heard the helicopter I heard the sirens and such. Something is always going on in this neighborhood. I turned on the TV and checked all the channels for a while but no one was talking about whatever whent down.

Weekend Cat Blogging #52

This marks the first anniversary of Weekend Cat Blogging over at Eat Stuff. Henry doesn't know from anniversaries but he knows he loves the strawbale bed, even when it's completely wet. After I put in all the tomato plants it rained. Didn't stop him. Why he thinks that prcikly, wet, dirty straw is comfortable I'll never know. And he's drawn to the nasturtiums, just like an aphid.



Hello? Is this on?

Today I Saw...

and heard a Northern Flicker. The Northern Flickers are the most common suburban and rural woodpecker on the Pacfic Northwest coast. Because their beaks are unable to penetrate hard woods, they spend a great of their time on the ground looking for dead or rotting logs and eating bugs. They can stretch their tongues out two inches past the tip of their beaks. The tip of the tongue is sticky and barbed - perfect for capturing bugs. Their call is described in our bird guide as a "piercing single pee-YEW!" And that is exactly what made me look up. But when I looked up the first thing I saw was a hummingbird sitting on the very top branch of a tree. I knew that noise didn't come out the hummingbird. I kept looking up but, like the guide book describes, the Flicker was on the ground - in front of Chandan's stairs picking bugs left and right. I grabbed the camera and held it steady for a long time as I shot. The sun was beating on me and I was dripping with sweat when it was all over. I had to hang out, leaning on the deck railing for several minutes in order to get the shots you see below (which were the best of a dozen). A small price for some pretty decent shots of this quirky woodpecker. By the way, this is an adult male.

Check out Yes!

My cousin, Ed, has written an article for Yes! magazine. You can read it here. We are very happy to learn of the progress Cleveland is making in the area of sustainability. The information regarding the Great Lakes Brewing Company working to create a zero-waste business is exciting enough. But the Cleveland EcoVillage makes my hometown positively GREEN. Thanks for the article, Ed!