food – The Hermits' Rest

My favorite local specialty

What’s the best local dish you’ve ever eaten while traveling?

Ah. I can answer this even in my exhausted travel state. Then I’ll tell you how close I came to being duped.

Bonus NM flower: Apache plume (***Fallugia paradoxa)***

I have two favorite dishes from my travels. First are the cluster oysters at Hudson’s on Hilton Head Island, South Carolina. I do love those, as anyone who has had to endure me trying to open every single oyster can attest (right, stepsisters?).

The other thing I remember is much simpler. It was an enchilada lunch in southern New Mexico, I forget exactly where. It was the perfect New Mexican style meal, with plenty of green chile goodness and the best beans and rice with it. I eat a LOT of Mexican food, so this had to be great to stand out. I hope we find that place again.

There ya go.

So, as we were driving home today, I got a message from my friend Trixie listing a bunch of items a family member needed to sell. It sounded like something she’d do. And I was excited to see a skid steer in the list, because we could use one, and the price was good.

So I messaged about it. She said other family were also interested (red flag) but that a deposit of $1,000 would hold it (red flag). I had to talk to Lee and Chris first. She stressed the urgency (red flag). I shared the photos she sent to Chris and he said it seemed like a good deal. I asked where we could come inspect it. She said they were “near here.” Where was “here?” (Red flag) Still I started to to PayPal the money to Trixie. She sent an email address that was not hers (red flag). Then I sent an image asking if it was right, because I didn’t want to pay a stranger. Silence (final flag). So I did what all those trainings at work said to do. I called her.

She was all flustered. “I’ve been hacked!” She said. So. No money went to fake Trixie and we don’t have a skid steer. But I do have my money. I sure blithely went through a lot of red flags. Am I turning into one of those gullible old people? Geez.

Don’t fall for any deal with a sense of urgency that seems to come from a friend. Call them after the first red flag.

The dogs were very happy to see us when we got home. Much licking occurred.

It’s a wild life!

Today I did my best to fulfill Lee’s goal of looking at every neighborhood in and around Ruidoso, New Mexico that might contain a residence that fulfills his dream of a summer getaway in a cool Mountain climate. Of course, it was hot today, but ten degrees cooler than home.

Since we aren’t remotely thinking of relocating, the beautiful horse properties and mountain estates we saw were just eye candy. We looked at the other end of the scale, too, such as numerous creatively updated 60s and 70s mobile homes. Mostly we looked at small cabin-like houses.

As Lee evaluated property, I took every opportunity to spot wildlife and look for birds. In fact, between listening at the hotel and looking in trees, I got five new life birds! One was a favorite, the Acorn Woodpecker. Here’s the list. I wish I’d seen that Lazuli Bunting!

My eagle eyes were on the lookout for others, such as these beauties. Poor Lee had to stop and back up.

I was excited to see deer a few times early in the travels. They have Mule Deer here, which are larger than white-tails and have large, expressive ears.

As it got later in the afternoon, I started seeing even larger deer. But, no, I figured out all for myself that they were elk. The first ones I saw here resting in the shade, and none have antlers right now, so they did look like deer.

I did get some plants, too. I’ll share them later. I should tell you our eating adventures. I had to stop with the driving and looking occasionally, because my eyes got tired. So we had an early lunch at a great place called Casitas. There was healthy food and much charm. Probably not to Lee’s taste, but I loved my fancy avocado toast and my dulce de leche latte. Mmm.

After a few more hours of going up and down mountains, being saddened at flood damage, and being jarred by potholes I requested my treat of the day, which was to visit Noisy Water Winery and cash in on my wine club membership perks. Wow, the club members’ lounge was nice, quiet, and beautiful.

I tried four different wines, one that just launched (2022 Demi goddess), one older white that had aged SO well, and the members’ exclusive, which was a rich dessert wine. Oh, and a red varietal I’d never tried, I liked it liked more than I expected. I did come home with three bottles of white wine. As I am the only wine drinker in our household, it will last a while.

The final place we stopped was a park we visited years ago with Anita. It was not great for birding, since a huge motorcycle group went back and forth while we were there. But I enjoyed the scenery and Lee even said my hair looked good. Wow!

Whew. So much mountain beauty, wildlife, and interesting homes. I’ll sleep well tonight.

Driving to the Coast with Pamela

My friend Pamela and I traveled to Corpus Christi today to go to a convention, because somehow we got elected delegates. It was such a pleasant drive! We went the back way, which was really pretty after all the recent rains. We stopped for lunch in LaGrange, where there was a new restaurant we happened upon.

Look at that spinach soufflé and squash! oh and some meat stuff.

The meal was delicious! I’m so glad I could find a local spot. We happened to meet some woman from there at the convention, and they said the place was brand new.

I was very happy to find our hotel, which is right on the beach but has a weird very steep driveway. Yet another construction site hotel. But where we are seems new and beautiful.

And you can see the Gulf of Mexico from our room, kind of.

We got a ride to the convention site, wandered around, and ended up meeting fascinating people who live part-time in our county! And they were with a musician I’d known from my past in the Austin area. We had a great conversation and ended up knowing many people in common. How random!

Next, a guy walked up to greet them. It was my former singing partner, Austin. Dang. He didn’t recognize me. I look different, especially with my crazy hair and weird glasses.

It was great to see Austin and his wife Connie again after a good number of years. They were kind enough to give Pamela a ride to and from a “fun” event that ended up way too crowded for our taste.

Pamela was pretty zonked after that excitement so we ordered Thai food delivered to our room. It was excellent! We were pleasantly surprised. Tomorrow’s an early day of caucuses and I don’t know what. I hope I have time to look at some birds and water.

Ooh. I almost forgot. We got new gutters today, in preparation for hooking up our rainwater collection system. The guys worked 14 hours! Lee was impressed.

Getting started. Last photo with nice red gutters.

There are no finished photos because they finished after dark.

I’m Reminded Not to Make Generalizations

You know how you sometimes say, “I can’t stand X,” or, “I hate Y?” I need to remember not to do that. Generalizations like that have a tendency to be proven wrong all too often.

I’m pretty sure I find all mushrooms interesting I think it’s an ink cap.

Example: I know I’ve said many times that I “hate” hush puppies. To me they are lumps of mush deep-fried into hot, brown rocks. Their goal is to fill you up so the restaurant doesn’t have to serve you so many shrimp. Or, so I say.

I do love this kind of puppy. Photo from Pexels.

This evening, I was reminded that not all hush puppies are the same. The ones made by the master of the pup, my fellow Master Naturalist Alan, are something else altogether.

They are golden brown, with a light but crunchy exterior that leads to an explosion of the creamy, moist flavor of green onions, corn, and magic. I had three of them tonight, and I didn’t care if it meant I ate less of the freshly fried catfish and bass.

Obviously, I made a sweeping generalization about hush puppies, and I was wrong. So remember the next time you say you hate some category of people or things, some shining example may well cause you to eat your words. Or your fried cornmeal product.

Um. I’ve also been known to disparage all fried food. Wrong again.

Funny? Weird? Fun? Today Was All That

Where to start? First, I laughed SO hard yesterday at my dear cousin, who was kind enough to call and wish me happy birthday. The problem was that she wished me a happy 67th birthday. No, I correct, I’m 68. You can’t be, she exclaimed, because I’m older than you and will be 68 in November. No, you turned 68 last November. Now, we have known each other since infancy and can’t figure out how old we are. Finally I brought up an age calculator and asked it how old I was. It said 68. My cousin wailed that she had lost a year. That was so dang funny.

Also funny. The hopeful looks on these two faces as Dusty’s morning food was being prepared. They can’t believe he eats and they don’t (we have a new fattening up Dusty campaign and he eats feed twice a day)

Now for the weird. Kathleen spent all day today cleaning the tack room as only a Kathleen who’s feeling better can clean. When she has energy, she really has it. There’s a distinct lack of mouse and rat poop in the room now.

But, she discovered weird/icky things in her deep cleaning. First, Tipper has created a litter box area under a chair, sans litter box. So, suckers that we are, we’re getting the cat a litter box. And food. And water.

The tack area also sparkles. I wanted to take the ribbons down because they remind me of Tarrin, but Kathleen said I worked hard for them and should keep them out. Okay.

But what was weird was what she found under the desk. It was someone else’s poop! Our best guess is a raccoon, which it kind of resembles. But we aren’t sure. Guesses?

Maybe Vlassic? But why? He has many acres to poop in.

Another weird thing happened at work. My colleague and I were trying out all the possible voices to use in a web-based training I’m making (so they won’t have to rely on my voice after I’m gone). We found one that sounds quite real. It’s so real that I think it’s Captain Ake from Star Fleet Academy (Holly Hunter). Of course we chose her so I can chuckle as I hear Ake talking about project management software.

Now for the fun part. My friend, Melanie invited me to share wine and a cheese board with her after work. We had fun picking out cheese from Wisconsin, “the cheese capital of the US.” Then we got a lesson in the use of cheese utensils from the shop owner, who plans to give classes. It all made us laugh.

The “interesting” wrapper of one cheese.

It was lots of fun sipping prosecco and munching on snacks. I learned a lot about the history of this county (in sum, everyone really IS related) and got to chat with a few other women who were there. It was a great way to end my extended birthday, and everyone else got barbecue for dinner, so they didn’t miss me at all!

I will now snuggle into my side of the bed just like my sleeping partner (Lee has Penney in his sleeping chair)

Rainy Day? It’s Okay!

It rained a bit today, not too much, but enough to please wildflowers. I didn’t hear as many birds as usual, but there’s always tomorrow.

The time passed pleasantly enough, because neighbor Vicki invited me to have lunch at the restaurant that replaced my old favorite, the Dutchtowne Deli. Neither of us do a lot of socializing without an agenda, so this was daring for us. And we had a good time eating huge Dutch babies with strawberry/rhubarb filling. It was just about the most delicious food I ever ate.

Then we went to the bakery and got more baked goods (for later). I think my friends and family keep that place in business. My son had already been by.

Next we went to the ZX Made in Texas shop and browsed. There I was delighted to find a can that once held Granger pipe tobacco. It reminded me so much of my dad, who always smoked a pipe with that tobacco. I got it and put it next to Dad’s bronze baseball glove and his baby picture.

I never found his pipe smoke to smell bad.

After all that the rain was starting in earnest, so we headed home, checked out Vicki’s new horse, Malone, got my mail, and still didn’t get drenched. Not bad.

He has a better disposition than certain gray horses who live at my house.

The rest of the wet day was pleasant, especially since Kathleen came back for a while bearing Valentines gifts. It’s always good to have someone to talk to!

Alfred covered me with wet dog smell when it started thundering. Poor guy.

And you know it’s a rainy day because I watched two movies, which means I wasn’t outside all day! Both Song Sung Blue and How to Train Your Dragon were good. I really enjoyed the Neil Diamond songs and sweet characters in the first one.

One of my online friends passed away today after a miserable struggle with cancer. I keep thinking about her husband and kids. They were so good to her. Hug a loved one!

Super Fail (plus birds)

Cooking is not my favorite activity but I’m usually fairly good at it. Today was probably my worst cooking failure ever. Well, maybe the time I burned hard-boiled eggs was worse.

Anyway, I wanted to make a roast, and Lee had bought me all the things to go with it. I put it in the oven with potatoes and onions to cook slowly in my covered ceramic baking dish. I added some beautiful carrots later.

When I went to see if the food was cooked, the carrots were charred and smoking. The potatoes in the baking dish were also burned.

It appeared I’d cooked it at the wrong temperature.

I took it all out of the oven and pried the carrots out of the oval glass dish they’d blackened. Then I thought I should soak the dish so it would be easier to clean. You can guess what happened.

Pow!

The second water hit it, the glass shattered. It was still too hot. Lucky for me, shards were contained in the sink and none went down the drain.

That’s all the glass after I got it out of the sink.

Well, the food was delicious, if over-cooked. It added the excitement that was missing from the Super Bowl. I’ll spare you any entertainment analysis. There’s enough of that!

Instead you can enjoy the miniature Danish protest hat I made today using fine yarn and small needles. I’m using it as an accessory on my backpack, since I think wool hat weather won’t be around much longer.

Bird News

Ah birds. Sometimes they poop on you or peck at your fingers when you’re trying to fix their water dish (Darryl Junior). But mostly they’re gently entertaining. That’s very true this time of year when they’re getting ready for migrating, nesting, and love.

The first sign of bird love season is the arrival of the Purple Martins. I’d been hoping the ones who were here last year would return, and sure enough, the first scouts arrived last week. After Merlin Bird ID heard them three days in a row, I looked up blog posts by my friend Donna, who always wrote about them for the Master Naturalist group. Yep, hers usually arrive a bit before Valentine’s Day. I’m so happy we have repeat visitors and that our woodpeckers have made nice homes for them.

Another sign is the male songbirds start singing their melodic mating calls. So far I’ve noticed the Carolina Chickadees, Cardinals, and Mockingbirds are trilling away. Oh boy, I can do without the long, extended Mockingbird sonatas.

I’m expressing myself now. No more chirp chirp.

The Mockingbirds are also doing something unusual, and that’s gathering in groups and chasing each other around, complete with scolding and shouting calls. I wonder if they’re pairing off, dividing up territory, or what?

You can’t see them, but the birds were chasing each other through these trees.

I’m used to seeing large groups of Cardinals, especially after fledging time, but not Mockingbirds. I’ll have to investigate!

Challenging day at work tomorrow, so I’m off to sleep. Thanks for hanging in there with me.

Things That Didn’t Upset Me Today

Ok! Let’s see what didn’t upset me today.

I looked up from my phone this morning in the birding station and realized I was surrounded by meadowlarks. Here are just a few.

I cut my nails way short (for me) but they still look festive with snowflakes on them.

I had a good, calm lesson on Apache. Neither Tarrin nor I were feeling well, but we made progress, and, as always, it was a joy to spend time with my horse buddy. When we got home, he shook himself as I was unlocking the gate, and a big cloud of dust flew out from him. He only looked sparkly clean.

Apache and I both wish we looked this good. At least I look kind of like me and he looks kind of like him.

I made some progress on my crocheting. The blanket is getting a cluster border. It’s probably going to be at least three town. It will be good thing to have it slightly larger. Certainly it will be cheerful.

I made a delicious frittata for dinner using Connie’s eggs, leftover broccoli, cheese, garlic and a little milk. Both Lee and I loved it.

And that’s what got me through the day.

Maybe Next Time I’ll See the Eagle

It was extra chilly this morning, so I couldn’t sit out and watch birds as long as I wanted to. The wind was really strong and I was not having a good time so I left my phone outside to listen to birds while I came inside and painted a rock yellow. That’s my idea of a good time.

This guy was so chilly it didn’t hop away. Ponderous spur-throat grasshopper.

When I went back outside to check on my phone, I heard a very loud noise that sounded like an extra loud Red-tailed Hawk. When I got to the phone, I looked down at my Merlin record to find out that I had actually missed seeing a Bald Eagle flying over our house. It was heard again later in the morning, so I guess there really was a non-Mexican eagle around, which is rather rare for here.

AI interpretation of a Bald Eagle flying over our house. We seem to have many corgi mix dogs.

Later in the morning, I took all my new glasses back to the glasses place and said I can’t see out of them. So they are having all three pairs remade, so maybe I can see the eagle next time it flies by. It was very disappointing that no matter how hard I tried, I really couldn’t see very well out of the new prescription. I couldn’t read street signs and in the evenings everything was very, very blurry. My guess is that an error was made somewhere in the process.

Looking at glasses I didn’t get to take home.

The two biggest excitements of the rest of the day we’re having lunch with Pamela and only Pamela (because there were no other friends to hang out with today) and then going to the bakery and getting day old sticky buns. I do love the sticky buns. I believe I’ve mentioned how much I like Shirley Mae’s bakery before.

Back at home I finished painting the rock. It’s going to be a Thanksgiving rock for my one piece of table decor. I can’t make my life any more interesting than it is. Sigh. One more day of no work down.

The AI thingy did a much better rendition of my rock.

Excitement starts tomorrow because it’s Thanksgiving and I get to cook oyster dressing. And that’s enough of a blog for today.

Corned Beef Hash

Which food, when you eat it, instantly transports you to childhood?

My mom made it in the electric frying pan she cooked everything in. She made little wells in the canned hash and put eggs in them. Two for each of us. I ate it like it was ambrosia.

This is the exact recipe. Even uses canned hash.

I make that dish for myself sometimes. Not often. But I think of my little nuclear family and all the cheap meals we thought were special.

Mom did some good things.