More Spring Colors

 

Some days I'm not up for much. Today was one of those days, so I kept my walk close to home - the Laguna Vista Nature Trail. There aren't nearly as many birds here as there were a month ago. A lot of those migrating visitors must have gone home. But what was lacking in the trees was made up for on the ground. There were lots of pretty flowers along the way.

I guess it's true what they say about April showers. 

A noisy brown thrasher was joyfully announcing the changes in scenery . . .

. . . while a mockingbird posed prettily.

A Visitor from the North

Today I saw a special bird. It didn't look like the typical SPI sea gull.  

It certainly wasn't a sanderling, although it seemed very much at home with them. 

It had a look all its own. I followed it for a while, and it seemed willing to accommodate me. When I got home, I google-lensed it to see what I could find out. 

It was an Icelandic sea gull, also called Glaucous sea gull! It has beautiful coloring and intricate markings. 

And an impressive wing span!

How nice! I got to see a new bird after all. 

Breakfast with the Birds

 Second day in a row that I was able to walk the beach at sunrise. Today there were a lot of seagulls that were fighting over some chicken and pork chop bones left behind after a picnic on the beach. But a lone heron decided to work for his breakfast. 

He played with that fish, poking it, prodding it, dragging it back and forth across the waves as they would roll in (must have needed more salt), until he finally swallowed it whole. 

 With a big GULP!

I wanted so much to stop at the birding center on the way home as well, but I have been having to limit myself a little so as to save some energy for things that have to be done at home. My energy is increasing, little by little. But at least I did get to see some birds at the beach, including a special one I will add as a separate post. 

Soup and Sandwiches - Kraut Style

I've been committed to eating better - at least most of the time - since my health problems have been keeping me down. My number one priority lately has been to get back to making my meals from scratch, with a focus on raw foods. My plan is to get back into 50% raw right away, with a goal of getting back to 80% raw. One way to do that is to find ways to mix raw foods in with cooked foods, in increasing amounts.

Several days ago, I looked in the fridge and decided to do something with that big head of cabbage, so I lugged out the food processor and started chopping it fine for cole slaw, when all of a sudden I thought, "I haven't made homemade sauerkraut for a really long time." So I doused the chopped-up cabbage with sea salt and started pounding it to release the juices. Then I covered it with plastic wrap and put a big, heavy bowl on top to weigh it down. And there it sat for several days, until it got that ripe tang to it. A big, ol' bowl of very finely chopped sauerkraut. Not as pretty as the thinly sliced. 

Then, with my bag of fresh sauerkraut in the fridge, I started wondering what to do with it. I ate some of it all by itself. I like homemade kraut enough to to that. Over the next few days, I made sandwiches, featuring sauerkraut. One, a simple grilled white cheddar cheese on Ezekiel bread tasted like a Reuben sandwich, without the corned beef. Not bad. And then I got an online idea to add some kraut to a tuna sandwich, also on Ezekiel bread, which, to my surprise, turned out to be very yummy. 

But the best was this sauerkraut soup, which I made with a homemade potato soup base, added some cooked bacon and, at the end, a generous amount of fresh sauerkraut. I added it after, because I didn't want to cook it in. I wanted to keep it fresh. Since I like to eat most of my food pretty close to room temperature, it wasn't a problem for me. 

The soup was delish! I mean, really delish!  

Walking at Sunrise

Very nice way to start the day! Salt water and salt air - a good combination!

I have been able to get more done in the mornings the last several days than I have been able to for quite some time. I'm determined to not let things get away from me next winter. Rebuilding health is so much harder than maintaining it. 

A Walk Along the North Beach

The early morning temps are finally staying close to 80, and the temperature of the water is warm enough for me to walk in the water, and my feet are loving it! 

The sanderlings are always so pleasant!

And the laughing gulls busy as usual. 

White Bean Chicken Chili

 I have been craving white bean chicken chili for quite a while, and I finally made it today. I have been trying to get back to making sure to have at least a little fresh, raw food with every meal, with the idea of adding more all the time until I'm back to eating mostly raw, so I added some fresh onion and avocado to my soup. The flavor of poblanos was very satisfying. As I usually do with soups, I made a big pot and had some for a few days and put some in the freezer for a rainy day. Lots of those lately. 

The second day, reheating the soup made it thicker and more "chili-like," and the flavor of the chilis was even more pronounced. Very yummy. Not as much raw as I'm aiming for, but at least it's homemade and clean eating. 

Apple Pie Kind of Day

 

 

Cake is all right - sometimes it's downright good. And cookies are yummy anytime.

But pie is my passion. 

Because I had a hard time with my health this past winter, I stupidly allowed myself to get away from cooking everything by scratch, which only made my health even worse. I hadn't made pie in a long time - and it's been a really, really long time since I made apple pie. In fact, it's been long enough that I didn't remember the pie crust recipe by heart, and ended up doubling the milk, but it still came out pretty good. It took me most of the day to make it, as I had to rest in between making the crust, peeling the apples, making the filling, and putting it together. But it was worth it to have something homemade again. 

And even better topped with Texas's own Blue Bell vanilla ice cream!

I ate a goodly share, shared a little with a neighbor, and put the rest in the freezer. 

Yum!

The Return of the Black Skimmers

When I left early this morning, I was pretty sure it was going to be - once again - one of those super-cloudy mornings that would feature no spectacular sunrise, just a gradual diminishing of darkness. I almost talked myself out of going, but I keep telling myself that, even without a glorious sunrise, it is still well worth the effort to go and walk along the beach. The sound of the waves, the pleasure of being able to get some exercise with my feet in the sand, the seagulls and other waders, the occasional heron, and whatever else might happen to show up. And I was so glad I went!

I was so enthralled with the black skimmers that I first became acquainted with at the SPI Birding Center a few months back, but I was beginning to wonder if I would ever see them again. Well, today was the day! 

Only this time I got to see them, not over the bay, but over the ocean waves, and it made my day. I love watching them fly back and forth over the water with all the grace and synchrony of a perfectly matching figure-skating duo. 

I hope they will be back soon!

Pelican and Fisherman

I knew it was going to be one of those sunrises that would not bring a great variance of color - just the sun finally making it past the thick cloud layer, bringing the light with it. But I've learned that that has it's own kind of beauty, and that there is still always something to enjoy. 

Today, the waves on the beach side of the jetty were really pounding. 
Here, a lone pelican is one of the first of the morning,

surveying the rocks for a charitable fisherman, 

willing to share his throw-aways. 

And he found one. 

But there were more pleasant sights to come . . . 

SPI Nature Center Finds

Since my health I has been dragging lately, I probably should have stopped after making a quick trip around the Laguna Vista Walking Trail, but I had an errand to run in Port Isabel, so I couldn't resist crossing the bridge and driving up the island to the SPI Birding and Nature Center. 

And what is that stirring up the mirky waters of the Laguna Madre? 

It's a giant blue crab!

Not so "giant" as you might think. 

Giant blue crabs are known to be get up to nearly 11 inches. 

I would say that this one was probably about 7-9 inches. 

A little spooky looking, don't you think?

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And nearby was this rather young heron - an immature green heron, I think. 

Possibly the one I photographed a while back? 

Definitely bigger now.

I immediately wanted to name him "Heron Young," a play on the name of one of my favorite old member of the Grand Old Opry, Faron Young. Boy, I am really giving away my age! But in my defense, my parents raised me on the reruns. I was not around when he started. 

By comparison, here is a mature, tri-colored heron, standing around the bend. 

Another day at SPI Birding and Nature Center.

A Very Brief Outing

 
I was so exhausted after migration fallout week - so much so that I had to take a really long rest. But I have to say that it was worth it to see all the new birds. Today and yesterday I got out for the first time in a about a week. The migration influx is tapering off quite a bit, but there were still some pretty birds to be seen and captured. I think this is an oriole of some sort, but it's a little different from the ones I've seen thus far. Someone told me it may be a young female Baltimore oriole. 

I've seen birds that look very pudgy sitting on a branch suddenly stretch out and look really thin.

Wouldn't it be great if we could be like that?!? 

This one was a bright yellow - very pretty! 

Looking toward the setting sun - time for me to go home. 

Getting Out for a Bit

It was a little difficult to get around the walking trail today without getting my shoes wet! 

We had quite a rain yesterday, which should make for a great day for birding on the island, but I am still so worn out from all the birding I did last week, that all I can manage for now is the little walking trail near my home. 

Certain four-legged creatures don't seem to have much trouble getting around. 

I wish I had his energy.