A New Visitor!

Sosixmonthswentbylikethatandthen...
I put out some black sunflower seeds today, and everybody stopped by to check out the feeder. (I guess they were tired of the strictly-safflower-seed diet I had them on. But safflower is the only seed the squirrels will leave alone. And, it's good for them.) So the blue jays and the black-capped chickadees investigated, the mourning doves and juncos joined the party on ground-level, and the finches and sparrows indignantly flew around, chattering about how this was their turf. So funny. Then, this guy showed up:

 

                                                                                          
We've had downy woodpeckers around since I starting using suet a couple years ago, but this is the first red-bellied woodpecker I've noticed. So big and colorful!



 

The First Great Googa Mooga

It's a terrible name for a festival, but it was a beautiful day in Prospect Park. Tickets to this shindig were free but limited, and we were lucky a friend at work had offered us two tickets for Sunday. The first day of the festival, Saturday, was apparently plagued with long lines, food shortages, and many angry tweets were broadcast, so we were a little apprehensive. However, the four of us showed up bright and early on Sunday, and were able to eat and drink without experiencing the logistical problems and enormous crowds of the day before. By the time we sauntered out of the park, later in the afternoon, lines were lengthening and menu items were being "x-ed" off chalkboards, but by that point people seemed happy just to be hanging out in the breezy sunshine, listening to Fitz and the Tantrums play on the main stage. (No, I've never heard of them either, but they were rather good. And they're opening for Dave Matthews next month, so there!)

Thanks to our early arrival, there were lots of shady spots to spread to a blanket and establish a base of operations. Grazing in the grass is, in fact, a gas, and we dug it:

There were something like 75 food and drink establishments represented at the fair, but despite this attractive display:

...this was not a vegetarian-friendly festival, as evidenced by the whole pig being roasted in the large metal replica, seen below.

Hamageddon. Yes. The items we chowed down on included pesto-tomato rice balls from Arancini Brothers:

a BLT made with a slab of grilled thick-cut bacon from Landhaus:

pulled-pork sandwiches:

peppered grilled cheese, and "flights" of bacon (seven varieties from seven locations, on a plate.) There were also wine and beer pavilions wherein to slake the thirst that results from such a high sodium intake:

I was hoping there'd be more free-sampling, but no. The only swag to be had was from the ubiquitous representatives of Orbit chewing gum, who were offering moist washcloths and packs of gum:

The copy was clever, and now, for the rest of this summer, when someone asks me, "Got any gum?" my answer will be "Oh, yeah."

So keep an eye out next year for ticket registration; if the producers didn't wear out their welcome, it may be back. We enjoyed the day and, with any luck, we'll get to bring a few more friends next time.

A parting shot, on our way out, of the Soldiers' and Sailors' Memorial Arch:

Crafty Acrobats

Their cuteness is the only thing that keeps me from wanting to keeeel them! They are a pox and a scourge, I tell you! For six months, this feeder was one of two I could safely put any kind of seed in without having it nommed-in-no-time by these gorram grey bandits. Now it, too, has fallen to the furry ones, and shall from here on forward be filled exclusively with safflower seed, which is the ONLY thing the squirrels ignore. I don't know why this is, they are elsewise omnivorous: rock-stale bagels, cast-off Doritos, and browning limes are consumed with equal ardor. (I don't begrudge the grubby little vermin any seed that falls on the ground, and the DH always scoops out his rolls and bagels, so they get the nice fresh insides of those, as well as fresh apple cores and whole, wrinkly apples we didn't finish.) Nice fresh safflower seed? They couldn't care less about it, and thank heavens for that! Now I just need to get the local garden centers and pet stores to stock plain safflower as well as those squirrel-friendly mixes. Otherwise, I'll be buying plain safflower online, and that means 50-lb. bags. Oh dear.

Soup For You!

Oh, how I wanted to come back here with an interesting, thoughtful, fun-fact-filled post! But I never wrote one. Nevertheless, February is almost gone and I'll be darned if I'm going to leave another month-long gap in the archives. So, I present this as a noteworthy event: I have made a pot of soup from a recipe found in a magazine! Why is that a big deal? Well...
Close family members know of my secret compulsion: I spend a significant amount of time reading cookbooks and collecting recipes. It's only embarassing because I rarely, if ever, actually cook. So this is a red-letter morning, here! I saw a recipe in the newspaper yesterday, and today, I made it! It came out yummy, and I can already think of three ways to tweak the recipe to make it  even better. (The challenge will be following through.)
But this is enough for today! It's a minor domestic miracle, I tell ya.

Indoor Pursuits

Happy New Year.
And a beautiful day it was: warm and sunny and most unlike the season. While I'm happy about the weather, I blame it for the stupid, stupid sore throat I've got, which has caused me to miss the Muppet exhibit in Astoria yesterday, and cancel tonight's plans for tacos and margaritas in Long Beach. Stupid, stupid illness.
That's enough whinging and sighing, now. What can we do while we're stuck indoors?
One thing would be to watch the birds on the window feeder:

Okay, so that wasn't the most exciting clip. I did get a couple of still shots that weren't too bad, except for the window reflection:

Once in a while they'll try the purple berries of the Callicarpa, but I gather those are somewhat bitter, and are a food of last resort.

And then, lunch was over and they flew away. 
What now? I could wander over to my desk and start thinking about making Valentines:

Or I could get distracted by a computer file of old family portraits:

Those old studio portraits of family members long gone are a bit melancholy, especially when they're accompanied by plaintive inquiries like, "Do you know who this is?" (Sigh. Whatsamatter, didn't they have pencils in the first half of the twentieth century? They couldn't write a name on the back?)
But one thing I've always found charming is the studios' exquisite logos. Aren't they evocative?
Let's take a look at a few:

Okay, that's enough puttering about. Better go take a nap and get well; the first workday of 2012 starts tomorrow.

Boxing Day, And The Feasting Continues

Here's one creature in our household's orbit who's happy to put on a little weight before winter sets in. This chickadee is checking out the suet feeder that's now in the Norway pine. It's a challenge for my avian friends to find the suet feeder each morning, as I need to change its location every day or two to foil the squirrels, who would otherwise nom it empty in no time.

The sparrows and starlings also enjoy their fattysnax. Peck away, friends! And then tomorrow, look for it in the blue spruce in the backyard! Sshh! Don't tell Rocky, let him look for it.

Squeezed To Meet You!

Okay, I think we can see these are not your average, lazily-smothering-the-old-tree-type vines; these are some strangulatin' vegetable-constrictors that mean business. Having gotten hold of a strong young sapling, they are Taking. It. Down yessirree.
You'll understand why I made sure to keep moving, and not stand for too long in one spot, when I walked around the Knollwood ruins in Muttontown Preserve with my brother yesterday. The English ivy was so vigorous, so extensive... I swear it was grabbing my shoelaces...