A few shots to Share

Just a sharing a few shots this week.

Praying Mantis – the magical aphid eater.

Can you find him?

Camouflage master – this one was hanging out on the dry leaves.

Woo Hoo – we had rain one day. Living on a dusty dirt road, it was so great to have everything get washed off. The rain also brought some lovely clouds.

Love that this town was so determined to have a library that they fundraised and community volunteers built their own in 1994.  Murphys Volunteer Library is now a full service branch of the Calaveras County Library system. Local volunteers assist day-to-day library activities and the non-profit Murphys Volunteer Library  Inc continues to fundraise to expand and improve its available services. It’s a wonderful little library.

I’ve mentioned Mark Twain and the jumping frogs of Calaveras County – the library’s frog.

A well tended memorial garden on the library grounds.

Abundance of Anna’s

The last time I mentioned Anna’s hummingbirds, I was lamenting the end of March snowstorm and their disappearance.

Well, there is a profusion of them swarming the feeders and exuberantly gobbling up sugar at the rate of five pounds plus  per week.

Thought you might enjoy seeing their return.

 

The mobs of luminous little birds speeding from feeder to feeder, flaring their tails and clicking to one another are mesmerizing.

Jubilant Success

A surprise Flanders Poppy coming up in one of the veggie beds – was a windy day and a tad difficult to keep in focus.

   

There are a few things I’ve not had success with here in my little mountain home.  For one, I’d like decent photos of the various birds that come by. But, most are pretty skittish and take off at the whisper of sound or hint of movement. Today, I get to check another off my list.

I hadn’t really anchored the row cover on my veggies as well as I should (1 inch binder clips work, but they’re not to be had locally and I haven’t taken the 40 minute shopping drive just for them). So, I check it in the mornings and realign the bricks holding it down. I’m told my deer fence you see in progress will be finished Monday (fingers crossed).

Spotted a California Quail behind the compost bins, held my breath and ran for the camera. They shuttled off into the shrubs, unseen through the lense, while I went immobile and, quietly, shallowly breathed until they ventured out. Even raising the camera was an exercise in slow motion.

Mr. Quail stays out in the open, watching, while Mrs. Quail hides and dines in more protected areas.

My brain was screaming the command – “Get away from the hose!”  (it’s kinda ugly in a shot, you have to admit) but he simply ignored me.

 Aren’t they a cute couple? (I’d better put up some “No Hunting / No Trapping” signs).

Gardening Best Buds

My garden friends aren’t all good looking, but anything that gobbles down bugs is a-ok by me.

Caught this guy enjoying a morning in the sun while I was out filling the hummingbird feeders. He’s actually about twice the size of the ones I normally see.

Some of my daffodils are still in bloom. (This is Pheasants eye).

As are the petunias that overwintered.

Sing a song of sixpence; of birds and pies

Kinda a “here’s looking at you kid” glance (perfect shot for a bit of anthropomorphic captioning). While not what I would consider “frame-able” quality (egads that light), I’m happy to finally capture a few shots of the local chubby Western bluebird – a rather skittish gent who takes off at the slightest whisper of sound.

The sweet tooth has been demanding attention lately. Antidote? Easy as 1 2 3.

One: Crème fraîche.

Easily make your own Crème fraîche from buttermilk and heavy cream. To 1 cup heavy cream add one tablespoon buttermilk and allow to sit out for 24 hours. I like to cover the bowl with a damp piece of muslin for the overnight; then wrap it tightly with plastic. If you don’t use plastic – expect a very thick skin on top.

Once it’s as thick as you like, place it in the refrigerator – it will continue to thicken a tad. Some folks make it with yogurt, although buttermilk will deliver a more authentic crème fraîche flavor. I’ve seen recommendations that ultra pasteurized heavy cream takes longer to make. Ultra pasteurized is all that’s available in my local market without a special health food store excursion.

Mine do seem to stay thin for quite a while before gelling (but I do keep the house pretty cool overnight, which is when I usually make it). You can leave it out for an additional 8 to 24 hours if needed. The nifty bacteria in the buttermilk are what keeps it from going bad. Some recipes have you warm the cream first – this isn’t necessary unless you’re in a rush. You can also whip it if, once done, you’d like it a tad lighter.

Two: Place a pie crust in your baking dish. Mix a pack of frozen peaches (16 oz) with 1 tablespoon of sugar, 1 tablespoon of flour, and an optional dash of cinnamon. Place in crust, fold back pie crust edges and sprinkle a little white sugar over the top. I generally let the peaches defrost about half way. The resulting tart has a very fresh peach flavor with still firm peaches in its filling.

Three: Bake about 45 minutes (start checking at 40) at 375 degrees.

Enjoy!  

The Birds Are Coming!

Awhile back I was walking with someone who wanted to get some pictures of kitsch. We noticed the sky around us becoming more and more laced with birds. But not just any birds, Turkey vultures, carrion eater’s. weee ohhhhh weeeeeee  (think Dark Shadows Theme – my mom found it when it was in reruns and became addicted, hmn wonder if I’d bought the music- I’d have more easily dropped into homework mode in later years …).

Here you can see a couple of the roofs of the double-wides and all those little black specks that you can make out are vultures. It was creepy. Very creepy. Scary creepy. Their wingspan is about 6 feet – these are large birds. My walking companion confessed that at first she thought they were following us. Every time she turned around, there would be a bunch and their numbers continued to increase as our walk wore on. Then, we started to conjecture that some member of the senior home park was deceased, but yet undiscovered. We aren’t birders and truly didn’t have a clue (uninformed would be the word). Living in the mountains you do see turkey vultures in the area if someone has hit a deer, squirrel, raccoon or whatever. You see three, maybe five max.

Being ever the curious type, I Googled turkey vultures when I returned. Turns out, turkey vultures migrate (ooohhhh). Kern River Preserve (down south, near Bakersfield California) even has a Turkey Vulture Migration Festival in September – Saturday, September 24, 2011 – so grab your cameras and join the fun! J (Hey, what can I say, it’s Bakersfield folks). They report an average of 25,000 have been counted flying over a single point of their observation path from Sept to 3rd week in October. The birds “begin to gather in large flocks in August”; large? How about monstrous? I don’t know if they were more inland than usual, as folks who’ve lived here a lot longer than I were coming out of their homes and staring up at the sky totally dumbfounded. If you find this fascinating, they start heading south by September, with their numbers reaching a crescendo at the end of September.

It resembles a hawk in the air although Kern River tells us Turkey Vultures are more closely related to storks than true vultures.

The shots from underneath showing the silver on the wingspan always remind me of the Native American Thunderbird myths. These birds, with their 6 foot wingspan, are puny compared to the reputed size of the Thunderbirds.

Appears they like to spend the night. Perhaps we should start our own turkey vulture migration festival. I can just picture it. You see, folks like to dress up for festivals and events here. 

The antennae shot is more the “ugly” look most of us think of when we think turkey vulture – gorgeous in the air, but not even close when on the ground.

 Click here to read a few of Thunderbird myths.

Zintastico!

“Honey I’m Hoooome”

Okay, so I never saw Jack Nicholson in The Shining, not a fan of horror movies, but some movie phrases we all know. You may have noticed I’ve been a little absent lately and as I sit down to write this “honey, I’m home” has been dancing through my mind. I’ve had a great little break with out-of-state visitors, in-state visitors, demands of spring and, well yes work (but that’s a good thing).

Murphy’s California is a great little destination. . Newsome Harlow winery hosted their fourth annual Zintastico fest and it was fantastico. Zintastico is their party for wine club members with yummy appetizers and tasting of their new single-vineyard zinfandel releases plus samples of their futures. Luckily, my bud Kim is a member and we hit the patio party on opening day – the one with the best weather for their planned patio dining. Wine in one hand, appetizer in another – no place for a camera so I didn’t tote it along (check their web or Facebook for better pictures, that’s Christine and Barbara below, pic taken awhile ago). Now, you may find this odd, but a person who drinks white wine only at a zin tasting? Going to an event where oenophiles might look down their nose at your lack of sophisticated taste or appreciation for the reds? Eh, I was curious to taste their appetizers as Newsome has also opened a new kitchen adjourning their tasting room and the folks are generally a friendly bunch, no prevalence of looking down ones nose to judge. Plus, I expected accommodations for designated drivers so I’d certainly not die of thirst. Fortunately, they had a few whites open – and I now have a new favorite. Dry Muscat Blanc, mmmmm. Heavenly. They paired it with rock shrimp cakes with cilantro and chipotle candied oranges. Fish is ever popular on dinners I make for guests, and this is a really nice wine to pair with it. I’ll also give an official nod of approval to their Sauvignon Blanc.

Cheeses from Cowgirl Creamery, a California organic artisan cheese producer, were featured. I fell for their imported Manchego.  Other pairings that you Zin fans may want to be aware of were their Big John’s Vineyard with organic strawberry soup and a fried smoked mozzarella ravioli with crème fraiche. Do I need to add that from my perspective this was lovely with the above whites? Shake Ridge Ranch was paired with quail eggs with smoked salmon and basil-feta aioli over pumpernickel crostini; the Donner Party (yes, these are wines) was paired with a wild mushroom and roasted lamb tartlet, chimichurri and soft goat cheese; and Frank Herbert Vineyard was paired with s’mores crepes – graham flour crêpes sandwiched with dark milk chocolate and homemade rice marshmallow cream. If you have a chance to stop by The Kitchen at Newsome Harlow and they have either the shrimp cakes or the s’mores crepes on the menu that day – try them. I’d skipped both the lamb (don’t do red meats) and quail eggs, although I understand they were yummy as well.

The courtyard was packed with people wine and food. They have comfy couches, warmers and lots of seating – it’s always a great place to stop by. She’s firing up the fire pit within a table in this shot.

Another nifty thing for techno geeks – the label on the back of their bottles has a barcode you can scan with your smartphone to get info and a list of what pairs well with it. Twisted Oak  (I’ll write about them soon) also offers scanable info on their labels. 

If you enjoy crowds and wine tasting activities – Passport Weekend is a big deal, June 25th and 26^th – culinary creations, barrel samplings, special discounts, fine art, live music, drawings, scenic venues and more. If you prefer quieter weekends – well, come on up any other weekend  for relaxed visiting.

Sunny Sundays in the Sierras

So, what do you do on Sundays in your neck of the woods? Here in the Sierra foothills we taste wines with friends, enjoy our fabulous restaurants and shops, stroll our historic gold rush era towns or partake of any number of hikes and outdoor activities.  Sharing a few glimpses from my sunny (yea!) meandering travels for Sundays in my City.

I’d promised to continue to post the frogs that adorn Calaveras County in honor of Mark Twain’s “The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County“. Here’s Angel’s Camp fire department.

 

While out at Ironstone Vineyards capturing shots of daffodil varieties, I also caught a few of the grounds and gardens. We’re having a blessedly sunny crisp and clear weekend – so perfect for wandering their manicured paths.

Planning your weekends away? Sunday, May 22 is our Calaveras Country Fair & Frog Jumps (you can enter with a locally captured – and at the end of day released – supplied frog). If you like dressing up –  don Victorian costumes and join Columbia’s Easter parade and if you’ve never seen a Fireman’s Muster – well, it’s a fun event of contests and activities not to be missed. Columbia’s is April 30^th and May 1^st. I’d never seen one before moving out here and they are totally a kick! If you’ve not seen one, scroll down the page here to see some great photos.