Sylvia Simple Shots

I found Black Terns at the John Poole Wetlands on Sunday.  They were being very protective and almost dive bombing me so there must be a nest close by.

This is a new bird for me.   I have not seen them before in my area.  Black Terns eat mostly small fish and insects. Male and female select the nest site together.

I know that we have more flattened bull rushes in this wetland compared to other years.  It makes it easier for us on the platform to see into the wetland.  That is how I saw the Sora Rail the last time I visited. 

Loved learning more about this bird and it's life and behaviour.  You can see the rain.

I made Bavarian this week and brought a few over to my sister's while we had a social distance visit. 

I have one more package of raspberries in the freezer so I will have to find a source.  The friend where I have picked in the last couple year has moved down east.  A call to my other sister may be needed.

This was a combo of raspberry and rhubarb.  I added a cherry as that was the only fresh fruit I had.  You can check out the recipe in this post.

I normally serve this with store bought chocolate wafers but I was not headed out for just that!  I found a great recipe for Chocolate Wafers which was really tasty!

This is the book that has been on my night table in recent days.  It was a nice change from those I read recently. 

Each chapter is a story of an incident from his small animal veterinary practice in England in the 1940's.  He was in practice for nearly 50 years.

Some hilarious, some moving and touching, some just plain hard work. 

Most of the stories are set in the fictional town of Darrowby.  James Herriot is a pen name for James Wight.  He wrote many books.

I have seen animals other than birds this week.  On the top is muskrat eating bull rushes.  We were all wet myself included.  I was prepared with a plastic bag for the camera and my rain jacket so I was comfortable.  

A Barn Swallow fledgling was taking refuge from the rain in a small hole in a municipal sign designed to remind dog walkers to pick up after their pets. The holes I think were meant to hold plastic bags.   On Sunday they held small birds.  There was 3 holes and birds filling 2 of them.  I felt for these little ones.  Having to sort out feeding themselves and it has rained for 4 days.  Miserable weather.

The coyote I was warned about by a fellow walker in the river valley.  She was walking a fairly large dog and the coyote had not really been intimidated by her or the dog. Great! I thought.   I walked on fully aware of my surroundings.  Just a few minutes later he came out of the bush on one side of the trail and stopped to eye me.  Thankfully he just moved on across the trail and headed down towards the golf course.  

I am due for a large grocery shopping trip so some ingredients are in short supply.  I had bought an avocado and wanted to make a salad.   Found a great recipe but the dressing was the best part.

Veggie Salad: The grain is quinoa, tomatoes, the last of the celery, red onions, and a bit of dried rye bread for crunch.

I was supposed to put dried cranberries but totally forgot!  That would have be even better.

Fortunately, the ingredients are things I always have on hand.  The recipe did 2 large bowls but I should make some ahead.  The dressing was tastier on the second bowl the next day.

I am sharing with Angie who hosts Mosaic Monday #87 and Mersad who hosts Through my Lens #247

Flickr Macro Monday challenge this week was Squared Circle.

You can check out my Flickr Photostream SMDPics to see the image I submitted.

You can check out my Instagram SMDPics100  I post a photo a day of my wanderings and being out and about.

Have a great week and be well!

Share Your Cup #240 - This Week

Veggie Salad

It's been a while since I have been making salad primarily with veggies instead of lettuce.  The ingredients are shredded cabbage done on the mandolin and grated carrots.  I love that I have this red Tupperware bowl so I no longer have to be concerned about the carrots staining the bowl.
With the main ingredients in place I add whatever other fresh veggies I have.  I have included at various times: red and/or yellow peppers, celery, red onion, and cucumber.
Other options would be small broccoli florets, bean sprouts, and nuts.

I enjoy this substantial salad.

Furniture Repairs

These chairs are from my original solid pine INGO dining set from IKEA over 20 years ago.  They had been set aside because they had become wobbly and needed gluing.  I had bought the glue but never worked out what needed to be done. 

My sister came to spend a couple of days with me which made me very happy. While she was here she decided we would look over the problem and solved it if we could.  Yes, the original front skirt had been glued and had become unglued.  With a stop at a hardware store to buy wood glue, check to see what I had from straps, we tackled the project We applied the wood glue in the right place, wiped off the excess when we strapped it tight and let it sit for 24 hours.  A solid chair to go with the more recent solid pine table.













The glider chair I bought a year ago at the thrift store developed a problem last summer. It was tilting forward and was no longer comfortable to sit in.

Once turned over we discovered that mortise and tenon joint in the base had become unglued.  We applied glue to the tenon and set it back into the mortise.  Upon further checking, we discovered an earlier repair had been made with screws to stabilize the top tenon.  So we decided to add screws to the bottom tenon which we had just glued for insurance that it would not come apart again.  With a small drill bit she made pilot holes then she put in the .75 inch screws.  I expect to be gliding on this chair into my old age.  Thank you sister T.

I had recently purchased this maple foot stool for use with the glider chair.  I brought it out, cleaned it up, and set it in it's place at the foot of the chair. I was concerned it would be too tall but it works well for me.
It has storage space in the top which will come in handy!

Welcome to my Kitchen

We had a great fellowship time this morning with the ladies who attend Welcome to my Kitchen.  We take turns hosting, providing snacks and doing devotions.

Our hostess this morning had a lovely table set with blue and white dishes, muffins, St. Patricks' day cupcakes, yogurt, cheese and fresh fruit.  It was all very yummy!

We were able to retire to the living room following our snack and spend another hours in fellowship, sharing, praying and in general have a great time.

We had 13 ladies in attendance with a tiny little girl in training.  This is the most we had so far but there was room for everyone.

Thanks Barb!!




I took this DVD from the library last week and sat down and watched it this week.  It is a story about a woman in the USA who swaps houses with a woman in Ireland.  They are both experiencing own life changing events and a summer in a different house and community helps to put perspective on their situation.  I need to read the book now because some of the events near the end of the movie need some clarification in my mind and I am sure the book will provide all the details.  Most will know that Maeve Binchy is one of my favorite authors.

Sharing with Jann at Daily Cup with Mrs. Olson who hosts Share Your Cup #240 linky party every week.