Happy Boxing Day. Christmas is over and it's time to relax, well, for most people it would be, but in our house when I was growing up, it was time to gear up and get to cooking. I'm not doing a Smorgasbord today, so I thought I would just detail my traditional Christmas and say how lucky I was, since Christmas wasn't just one day for us, it was a three day celebration.
We always celebrated Christmas Eve with our family, had the big meal, usually Roast Duck, with vegetables, mashed potatoes, etc. To start the meal we had Risengrød, something that some of us loved, some of us liked and one of us barely tolerated. But, we always had it. Mom would hide an almond in it and whoever got the almond would get a prize. If one of the adults got the almond they'd hide it in their mouth and wait for everyone to finish eating their portion before admitting to having it. And the lucky recipient of the almond would generally receive a small box of chocolates, or a marzipan pig. For dessert, my favorite dessert to this day, a Citronfromage. Kind of a lemon pudding, but worlds beyond that. I'll post the recipe for that here next week. Then my parents did the torture thing, first we had to do the dishes and clean up the kitchen, then we all clasped hands and walked around the Christmas Tree singing carols, only after that would we be allowed to sit and wait for our presents to be handed out. Mom and Dad had that wonderful duty, they always made sure that presents were given to the youngest first, and then made sure everyone had a present to unwrap so that we could all do it in unison. I feel so blessed I have so many good memories of childhood. I can't say I was always thrilled with my presents, but there were some years that stood out especially. I remember one Christmas when my older sister gave me a baby carriage, filled with candy and under the candy, was the best present of all, a pair of cowboy boots. I couldn't have been more than 5 or so when I got that TOTALLY WOW present. Another Christmas that stands out was the year I got three Nancy Drew books, talk about being overwhelmed with joy, personally, I think I had the best Christmas of all of us that year. (By the way, I still have those books). I did get in trouble the next day because I had trouble putting my book down long enough to help out Mom, but hey, it was worth it. And to end the night, we'd always take a bowl of Risengrød topped with butter and cinnamon sugar out to the barn, with a wooden spoon in it. This was to feed the Nisseman, so that they wouldn't play tricks on us throughout the year. They had the power to make the milk sour, to dry up the dairy cows, to make the nice fat pigs lean, to cause all kinds of mischief within and without the house. And in the morning when we went out to pick up the bowl, it would be magically licked clean. And I for one would sigh a big sigh of relief that we would have a nice uneventful year. ( I still feed the Nisse on Christmas eve, no point in taking any chances).
The next day we'd sometimes go out to my older sisters, but usually we hung out at home, playing with our presents, recovering and recuperating and preparing for the next day's event which was Boxing Day.
Boxing Day, the day after Christmas, a day in which my mother hosted a late luncheon for the family and sometimes friends. We did it Danish style, and had a Smorgasbord, Danish Smørrebrød, as well as a range of other danish specialties. (I did mention that I'm Danish, didn't I?). From pickled herring on ryebread as the starter, to sillsalat (herring salad), fresh fried Dover Sole, mackeral in tomato sauce, crab, shrimp, as well as various danish cold cuts, røllepølse, ham, salami, hard cooked eggs and tomato wedges, and for dessert a fresh fruit salad and various cheeses. My mom's fruit salad was a wondrous mixture of fruits all held together with some fresh whipped cream, and topped with very thin slivers of chocolate. How we made room for dessert, I'll never know, but we did. Oh, did I mention that our lunch would stretch for 2 or 3 or 4 hours sometimes, yup. That meal was never hurried, we ate a little and visited and enjoyed each others' company. And I'm not forgetting the 'snaps', a little bit of Aquavit was enjoyed by all, but the youngest at the table. (Go here to read more about it; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akvavit ) We always had a glass with our herring and then another a little bit later on in the meal, followed by a third, never more than that. Those of us old enough to enjoy a beer would also have a beer to sip on during the meal, the youngest would have a 'pop', or soda to those who aren't Canadian. Which when I was young, was a treat in and of itself. Pop was reserved for very special occasions, Christmas being one of them.
However those days are long gone, we're all grown up and we all have families and traditions that vary from what we grew up with. I still make Christmas Eve special, but with only two of us at home, I now invite friends in who may be far from their families on Christmas, and I make my husbands' favorite meal, a Prime Rib.
6 lb. Prime Rib ready for the oven.
I'll close with a few pictures from Christmas Eve.
This is after I'd carved it, as you can see, lovely and rare.
Yorkshire Pudding in the oven, they all rose this year, giggle.
Can't have Prime Rib without Yorkshire Pudding.
Managed to get a couple of shots of the food after.
As you can see, we had some hungry people who joined us.
The Dessert Table
For more recipes please check out http://sidsseapalmcooking.blogspot.com/
Special occasions call for special dishes, ones that are made once or twice a year. Obviously, this time of year is when people drag out the cookie pans, dust off the cookbooks, and start a baking frenzy. And I have to include myself in with them.
I make Fransk Vafler once or twice a year, or for very special occasions. The process of making them is very easy, just a little time consuming. And boy are they good. Almost too good, not too sweet, rich and yet light at the same time.
The basic recipe is butter, flour and a little light cream. Really simple, rich and good.
Start by cutting cold butter into flour, until the mixture resembles a coarse cornmeal or small peas.
Bowl of flour with grated frozen butter.
Then add the half and half, and form into a ball. It will feel a little loose, but just keep on patting it together. This dough is very tender from the butter and should not be overworked. I tried a new technique this year and grated the butter into the flour and formed the ball with the half and half. I'm not real fond of that one and the next batch of cookies I made, I cut the butter in the old fashioned way.
After forming the ball, flatten it out a little and place in the refrigerator to rest. After a couple of hours or even the next day, divide the dough into quarters, and take it out of the fridge and start rolling it out. I've discovered that I can pat the dough down a little more and then using my rolling pin just get it nice and even and thin.
Cut out rounds.
I use a small juice glass for this, but use whatever you have. Dipping the cutter into some flour helps the dough release, and you can then place them in a pan of sugar. Pressing the cut rounds lightly into the sugar and then transferring them, sugar side up, to a parchment covered cookie sheet.
Cookie rounds in the sugar
Ready for the oven
Bake the cookies for 12-15 minutes, until puffed and lightly golden in color.
See how they puff up, that is the action of the butter in the dough.
When cooled, put a smear of butter cream frosting on each cookie and make a sandwich. (of course if you're anything like me, you've already sampled one or two of the cookies after they came out of the oven. )
Then just place them on a plate, with a few homemade caramels in the center and place them out for your guests, or just yourself.
Whoops, it is Christmas, so you might want to purty up the presentation a little with some mini candy canes. Now go pour yourself a cup of tea, grab a book and snuggle down on the sofa and enjoy a respite from the season.
Merry Christmas, og, Glaedlig Jul
Here's the full recipe:
French Waffles (Fransk Vafler in Danish)
1 pound cold butter, cut into chunks
4 cups flour (or one pound weighed out)
12 soup spoonfuls of light cream (yes, soup spoons, not tablespoons, but the big soup spoons, this is a very
old recipe). (7 tablespoons)
Granulated sugar to top cookies
Butter Cream frosting
Cut butter into flour until it resembles corn meal, then add the cream and stir together. Dough will be extremely soft. Shape into a flattened ball, wrap in plastic wrap and place in refrigerator for at least 2 hours to firm up. Cut dough into sections, and roll out ¼ of the dough at a time, replacing the remainder in the fridge. (I take out each piece of dough about 10 minutes before I roll it out. This gives it time to warm just a smidge and makes it a little easier to roll out). Cut out rounds, then place in sugar and coat one side of cookie with sugar. I either pat the cookie into the sugar or place about 6 or 8 cookies on some sugar sprinkled on a sheet of paper and take the rolling pin and do a quick roll over. This elongates the cookie a little. Place on cookie sheet, sugar side up. Bake for about 12 minutes at 350 degrees or until color changes on cookie, I like them a tad browner, so I bake them a couple minutes longer. This is the kind of cookie that needs to be watched as some cookies are ready before others on the same pan. Just take those off and put them on a rack to cool while keeping an eye on the rest of the cookies while they bake.
After baking all the cookies they can be put together with butter icing.
My recipe
2 cups confectioners sugar (plus a little more if needed. You be the judge. )
½ cup butter
Cream well together
Then add 1-2 teaspoons of good vanilla, or sherry or your favourite liquer.
Personally, I prefer a good glug of Kahlua in it, it adds a nice flavour and lightens
the butter cream a little .
Enjoy
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I will admit this right up front, I love to look at Food Porn, all those luscious pictures that wonderful people post on sites like Foodgawker http://foodgawker.com/ and Tastespotting http://www.tastespotting.com/ . Love to read the recipes with exotic ingredients that make simple, everyday foods POP. Ache to try stuff like Creme Brulee with star anise, or maybe some scallops with Brown Butter. But, the reality is, I don't cook like that. I make some very basic foods, and don't really venture into the exotic, unless it's for potlucks, or covered dish affairs. Then I can get away with trying new dishes, without having to commit an entire meal to it. And since I'm a lot more adventurous than my other half, at least in trying new foods, well, let's just say that for the Mon-Friday cooking, I stick with a very limited menu. And, that's really not all that bad.
I make stuff like Taco's, Chile Verde, Salisbury Steak, Spaghetti, Patty Melts, roasts and steaks on a very regular schedule. With the occasional foray into casseroles, like the family favorite, Enchilada Casserole, or maybe a Tex Mex casserole or even Lasagna. I can do all those dishes without having to think about recipes or timing or... I've been making them for so many years that there is no mystery, no challenge, no surprises. And I'm sure there are many others out there who also do the mainstays and only venture into exotic dishes on special occasions.
And all of that doesn't mean I don't like to cook with gusto or verve or to try new stuff, cause I do. When I make Spaghetti, I'll serve it up for my spouse, just the way he likes it, but for myself, that's a whole nother chapter. I'll experiment, toss the cooked spaghetti in a pan with some EVOO and chopped garlic and a sprinkling of freshly grated Romano or Parmesan cheese and some fresh black pepper. Totally divine. If I have shrimp, I'll toss them in the oil for a minute, add a little butter and spritz of white wine or vermouth and then add the spaghetti. Or maybe just add in a little asparagus or fresh veggies. It amazes me how versatile a simple noodle dish can get.
So, if you get caught in the rut, are sick to death of cooking the same old thing, try just changing up what you are eating. It really doesn't take that much more effort and best of all helps you out of the rut.
Here are a couple of pictures of my fruitcake, wrapped in cheesecloth, dunked in bourbon and ready to sit and wait for Christmas.
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We survived another Thanksgiving, lol. Actually we were lucky enough to be invited over to a friends house, and had a wonderful dinner over there. We couldn't accept every invitation but were very appreciative of those we got.
Along the way, I took this picture. Viv and Dotti made these centerpieces for the Thanksgiving dinner at CO. Aren't they lovely? Simple, inexpensive and eco-friendly. The base is lettuce, a nice butter lettuce from the looks, a pillar candle in the middle, a few cut mums and astralagus, a few mini peppers and grapes, equals perfection. You can recycle the peppers and use them later as well as the grapes. Plus, if you have a wide shallow bowl, nothing says you can't float the flowers in that and enjoy them as well. And the lettuce, well, got any ducks or chickens or other livestock handy, they'll be glad to munch those up.
I made a couple of recipes from the Pioneerwoman website this year and brought them to a friends house.
The second recipe was her green bean recipe, this will knock your socks off. If you are looking for something a little more than the standard green been casserole with mushroom soup and onions on top, you need to try this. I only made one pound of green beans, but over half the dish was eaten, and there were only six of us eating on it. This picture is all that was left. I forgot to take pictures of it bubbling away in the oven, or just after it was taken out. I did dot the breadcrumbs with a little butter, and I think it helped with the richness of the dish. But when you think of all the other food served, we did the beans justice.
Here's the link to the Green Bean Casserole from the Pioneerwoman website. http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2010/11/green-bean-casserole/
All I have to say is this, anytime you can put bacon, onions, butter, cheese and green beans together in such a sublime concoction, well, YUM. I will make this again, but I may add some sauteed mushrooms to it the next time, and will probably cook it just a tad longer. The beans were still a little al dente, if beans can be that way.
And if you look at the pictures below, the green beans are right there in the middle of the table. And to the lower left, the cranberries in all their glory.
A good time was had by all and we were stuffed by the time we got up. Didn't leave much room for dessert, but we still managed to do justice to the pumpkin cheesecake and the sweet potato pie.
I hope you and yours also had a good Thanksgiving and had as good a spread as we did.
Now to get back to the Christmas baking...
For more recipes please check out http://sidsseapalmcooking.blogspot.com/
My fruitcake is done, and is being fed on a regular basis as I speak, well, today's the day it gets anointed with a little bit more bourbon, and then it will be re-wrapped and left to rest a week or more. Okay, so it's getting an extra shot today, as I'll not be able to feed it next week, but it should all even out.
I was thinking about making cookies next, but realized I really don't eat a lot of cookies, and everyone else bakes a whole bunch every Christmas. And since I do live in a confined area, I really don't have room for all the cookies I used to make every year. So, this year, I'm doing candy. Some tried and true recipes, and will also try a couple more that look good.
My favorite go-to, tried and true candy recipe is Microwave Caramels. Honestly it takes more time to set it up and clean it up than it takes to make this. And the end result, pure and simple deliciousness.
Microwave Caramels
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup light Karo syrup (I used dark since that's what I had on hand)
1/2 cup Eagle brand milk (sweetened condensed milk) *
In a large glass 2 quart container melt butter.
Add the sugar, Karo syrup and milk.
Cook two minutes on high and stir. Cook two more minutes on high and stir.
As you can see, it gets really bubbly and hot. Please be careful removing it from the microwave at this point, as you can get some severe burns if you spill it. Stir it down well, and return to the microwave.
If you want your caramels to be soft, cook an additional minute. For harder caramels, cook for an additional two minutes. ( When I make these, I do cook an additional minute or two, I like my caramels a little harder and find they are too soft for my taste otherwise.)
This year I tried something a little different. I toasted some Pecans, added them to the bottom of the buttered dish, and poured the slightly cooled caramel over top. After taste-testing a few, I've decided to do this again and again, I have too, I just ate half the pan.
Pour into a buttered small glass dish and let them set up. (I poured them into a buttered rectangle-shaped pan and then cut them in squares)
After they have cooled, you cut them into little squares or rectangles or ... and take them out of the pan.
At this point I wrap them in little squares of parchment paper.
I like doing it like this as it makes it look festive, and most important, keeps the caramel from oozing together back into a big lump. I keep these in a bag in my fridge until it's time to give them away.
Unfortunately for me, they are also within reach and I feel the need to sample one or two every day to make sure they are still edible. hmmmm So it means I make at least two batches, or more each year.
* You can get two batches out of one can of sweetened condensed milk.
Enjoy and have fun with your cooking experiences as well.
For more recipes please check out http://sidsseapalmcooking.blogspot.com/
Oh that much maligned symbol of the Christmas season, butt of jokes, harbinger of doom when someone is presented with a commercial or dry fruitcake. But for me, the start of the holiday season is when I bake my fruitcake so that it has time to ripen. And even though, by my internal clock, I'm a little late, at least I'm done before Thanksgiving, which is a plus.
Last year, in the interests of expediency I elected to bake my fruitcake in the crockpot. Well, either I'm not as good at using as crockpot as I thought I was or it was a stupendously bad idea, or I just didn't do the math. Either way, I ended up with something that wasn't even edible, even with the addition of a bottle of rum. And this was after cutting off the outside where it had been really burnt.
So after the Christmas season, I bought up my preserved fruit, the 'neon green' cherries, the 'smack you in the face red' cherries, and the mixture of cherries and pineapple. They were on clearance and at less than half price, and with a sell by date of 2011, how could I miss.
I put them to use today. I'm new to this business of taking pictures while I'm creating something in the kitchen, so these pictures were taken on the fly. At least they will show you some of the process and hopefully the finished, (almost finished product).
Mixed fruit and nuts in bowl, with some of the batter on top.
I always start my fruitcake by roasting whatever nuts I'm going to use a day or so beforehand, I've found that the richness of the roasted nuts adds a nice nuance to the finished fruitcake. Today I used a mixture of pecans and walnuts, but in the past I've used walnuts and almonds and had a lovely result.
I forgot to take a picture of the fruitcakes before they went into the oven, so had to hurry up and take this just after they'd been in a few minutes. As you can see the heat of the oven has already started to melt the butter in the batter, and it is glistening.
Fruitcake in the oven
One thing to remember, baking fruitcakes is a long slow process, you bake them in a low, slow oven. I baked these for almost 3 1/2 hours at 275-300 deg. My oven isn't calibrated very well. But then again, I am baking everything I post here in an RV gas oven and I have to make allowances all the time. One of which is to have an insulated baking pan underneath anything I bake, otherwise the bottom gets burnt and the top is raw.
After baking, this was how many I got.
Here are the finished fruitcakes. I had a regular loaf pan, a casserole dish, and a small (very small) loaf pan.
I did take the small loaf pan out about an hour or so into the baking process. I use the very scientific method of poking a toothpick into the dish, and pulling it out. If it comes out clean, then the dish is done, if there are any crumbs, then I keep baking.
Close up of the loaf pan.
As you can see on the last picture, there is a slight cracking in the top, which was my signal this one was also done.
I did cheat and taste the smallest loaf, and it was yummy, and that was before I started the marinating process.
Here is the recipe;
Sid's Fruit Cake
8 oz brown sugar
¾ lb butter
2 oz brandy (I only had a couple of ounces of brandy or I would have added more)
3 oz marzipan (this was a last minute idea and addition to the recipe, and adds a nice nuance)
6 eggs
12 oz flour + 1 tsp. Baking powder sifted together with
1 tsp. (approx) ground cardamon ( I decided to try Cardamon this year as I had a bunch on hand)
½ tsp ginger
½ tsp salt
Put all the nuts, fruit and mixed peel in a large bowl.
Toss all together with a couple tablespoons of flour.
This helps to keep the fruit and nuts from sinking to the
bottom of the pan.
8 oz pecans (toasted)
8 oz walnuts (toasted)
5 oz chopped pecans
8 oz candied red cherries
8 oz candied green cherries
8 oz mixed cherries, pineapples
8 oz candied mixed peel
6 oz craisins
8 oz dates
8 oz golden raisins
Cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy, add the brandy and the marzipan, beating well.
then add the eggs,one at a time, beating well after each egg.
Add half the flour mix, mix well, then add the second half.
Pour batter over nuts and fruit and mix together.
Place in greased and parchment paper lined pans and bake in a 275-300 deg. Oven for 3-4 hours
until a toothpick inserted in pan comes out clean. Start checking for done-ness at the 2 1/2 hour mark.
After taking them out of the oven, pour a couple ounces of bourbon over the top to start the marinating process. I like to let them cool a little but do want to pour the alcohol over them while they are still warm.
Wrap them well in cheesecloth and then again in aluminum foil. After that, place them in a cool, dark place and just 'feed' them every week with another ounce or so of bourbon once a week. Not only does this add flavour, but it also helps to preserve them. And in the unlikely event you have some fruitcake left over after Christmas, you can continue to 'feed' them every month or so until you've eaten them all up.
* I usually add currants as well, but didn't have any.
This recipe made one loaf pan, a 2 qt. Casserole and a small loaf pan.
For more recipes please check out http://sidsseapalmcooking.blogspot.com/
It's just gorgeous out today and I've been outside enjoying the sun and the slight cool breeze. Took a walk down the beach with the dogs, and they had a blast. There were herons out there, enjoying the low tide and looking for a meal.
I'm glad for the nice weather today, the past few days have been cool, and while I've enjoyed it, I like being able to put my shorts back on and soak up the sun.
The bananas are going great, we now have three babies, which is exciting.
Orinoco Banana
Steve's Three Story Plantain
Maybe next year we'll actually have bananas as well and some Plantains as well. The Meyers Lemon Tree is doing very well also. It has four nice sized lemons on it, and they are starting to turn color, so hopefully, it won't be too long before I can pick them.
I guess you can take the girl off the farm but you can't take the farm out of the girl, cause I had to plant stuff this year. Even if most of it was grown in pots, I had to have my veggies. I had a nice bunch of tomatoes, some Green peppers, Anaheim peppers, Jalapeno peppers, as well as Parsley, Basil and Chives. The basil took off and I had so many plants I was giving them away, but it was nice to be able to go out and pick what I needed. The chives have done so well, I don't think I've ever had such success. All in all a very satisfying season.
I made my version of Beef Bourignon for a Halloween party this past weekend. I call it "Eyeball Stew" and finish it off with some pearl onions added at the end for the eyeballs. But the basic recipe is a staple stew in our house and one I make whenever I need some stew.
Start by cooking some bacon until almost crisp, and then when it's cooked put it in the crock pot or large stew pot with an onion cut into quarters and then eights.
Cut some beef into nice neat cubes, or buy some stew meat whichever one is easier for you. Then brown them in a pan, with some of the leftover bacon grease or with a little olive oil. I also cut up some mushrooms while the meat is browning, it saves time.
Make sure you don't crowd the pan as you want a nice sear on the meat. As you can see the pan is nice and hot, and the meat is browning nicely. You can add the mushrooms to the pan after searing the meat and let them brown a bit, it adds a nice layer of flavor to the finished stew.
I like to layer the beef, mushrooms, bacon and onion in the crockpot. By the way, I've recently discovered Crock pot liners and have to say they are one of the biggest time savers when you've cooked meat in the crock pot. It saves time in clean up. Keep cooking the meat and layer them with the mushrooms in the pot until all the meat is browned.
Doesn't that look yummy? Well it does if you're a meat eater. Finish this off by adding some fresh thyme, about 3-4 sprigs, or 1 tbsp. dried thyme. The recipe calls for some beef broth to be poured over the meat and left to simmer for 2-3 hours until the meat is tender. I use a packet of Au Jus gravy mix, mixed with about 4 cups of water, and just pour this over the meat mixture. I don't add salt as the Au Jus is salty enough for my taste, but you can add some freshly ground pepper at this point. When the meat is tender, thicken the sauce with a little flour and water mixture or some cornstarch and water. Serve this with rice, mashed potatoes or noodles. And the vegetable of your choice. Leftovers freeze beautifully, in fact I usually make enough for two meals, and freeze it.
Recipe
3-4 slices bacon, cut into thirds
2 lbs. Stew meat, cut into cubes
8 oz. Fresh Mushrooms
1 onion, cut into quarters, then eights
3-4 sprigs fresh thyme
1 pkg. Au Jus mix or
4 cups beef broth
8 oz. fresh pearl onions, peeled, and a cross cut into the stem end. (this keeps it intact as it is cooking).
Fresh ground pepper to taste
Cook the bacon until almost crisp, remove from pan and take away all but a tablespoon or so of the fat, reserve the rest to use for browning the meat.
Brown the meat in pan, until all of it has been browned using the reserved bacon grease until it's gone or use some olive oil, the bacon grease adds some flavor. Add the meat to the crock pot as you brown each pan full of meat.
Cook the mushrooms in the leftover pan grease, and add to the crock pot, with the meat and chopped onion.
Add some water to the pan when you've finished browning all the meat to get the fond off the bottom of the pan. There's a lot of flavor in those little browned bits and you don't want to lose any of that yummy goodness. Pour over the meat and add the Au Jus mix or the beef broth. Place the thyme on top of the pot, and leave to simmer until the meat is done. Add the pearl onions the last half hour of cooking. They really don't take a long time to cook. When the meat is tender, thicken the broth with a mixture of flour and water or cornstarch and water. Serve with rice, mashed potatoes or noodles. And don't forget your favorite vegetable as an additional side.
It rained yesterday, the first rain we've had here in a while, or at least it seems that way. I think we got all of .20 inches at our place. However we were visiting a friend where it really was raining. I took the following picture of the trees in the rain. It looked mystical.
You could almost picture the pixies and fairies dancing around. I'm sure the wildlife wasn't too happy, but hey, can't please everyone.
Dawn yesterday was one of those quiet ones, it came on very soft and shy. And yesterday was absolutely spectacular, nice and warm. I think I love fall the best, cool nights, warm days. Now if we could only find a solution for the no-see-ums and gnats, grrrrrr. I'm tired of scratching every time I walk outside.
There was something else I finally was able to capture yesterday, a mullet flying through the air. The Mullet were jumping in a wild and frenzied free for all, and I finally caught one in the air. It made my day, lol.
The splash at the right, was a bird diving for a fish. I was actually trying to capture that one when the fish jumped.
Got up just in time to watch the sun come up and saw this Heron sitting in the water. It's a rare day when I don't see Herons, Eagles, Cormorants, Terns, Egrets or Gulls. There is just something magical about this whole area.
Went to visit a friend and saw this little guy. He likes to hang out with my friend and eat peanuts with her. He/she is pretty shy and extremely cautious around the hawks and eagles, as he's pretty easy to spot and would make a nice meal. There are several at this park and are a natural mutation. Personally, I think he's pretty darn cute.
There really are all kinds of critters roaming around down here. This one is a silver Arigope spider, and I love how futuristic and metallic looking it is.
And of course, my personal favorite, this Blue Heron who appears to be dancing. She'd actually been posing very nicely for us when a child ran up behind her and startled her just as I snapped her picture. One of my all time lucky shots.
I try to keep my camera with me most of the time, cause when I don't, I always see something I wish I'd taken a shot of.
