Tag Archives: Summer

Summer Menu. Or What’s Cooking?

July 10, 2016 Tiny 79 Comments

I’m a fairly good cook. Not entirely self-proclaimed. Being a decent cook certainly has its plusses. Friends will happily accept dinner invitations, and nobody orders delivery just before meal time. But it also has its minuses. You see, I love eating out. Hubby might say It’s your birthday, let’s go out. Or maybe it’s Mother’s Day. Or a special meetup with out-of-town friends. That’s about it.

So what does a girl do? She develops an array of effective strategies to get out anyway. This week, for example, I have two lunch appointments in reputable restaurants. Cheers to that.

To tell you the truth, deep inside I love cooking. But I’m not into following recipes. I find it boring. Following a recipe leaves no room for creativity. It also requires all kinds of measuring devices and detailed mathematical conversion skills. And I’m a big picture person. So that’s not for me. But don’t get me wrong, I love reading recipes from all over the world. They give me ideas.

Anyway, last night I invented a new dish, suitably light for hot summer evenings. Filet de Flet à crabe. Or flounder fillets topped with a crab meat concoction (a heap of crab meat, one egg, olive oil mayonnaise, a few drops of Worcestershire sauce, lemon juice, mozzarella cheese, breadcrumbs, one poblano pepper, one shallot, black pepper and salt). To be served with spicy baked zucchini, tomatoes and if preferred, some cheese-lemon sauce on the side. After 35 minutes in 400F/200C oven – bon appetite.

Everyone will survive and accolades will follow. I know.

Tonight it might be pizza. I like the artistic freedom to throw tasty toppings on a super thin crust. After so many years in Africa, my favorite is the Kilimanjaro. BBQ-alfredo-mustard sauce and extra cheese to remind us of the yellow grass on the surrounding savannah, then small heaps of thinly sliced beef fillet for mini-mountains, topped with snow of feta cheese. A few chopped green bell peppers for bushes and some pineapple chunks for lions lurking around. And mushrooms for other animals. So yummy it requires a long after-dinner walk on the savannah….or at the salt marsh.

So that’s what’s cooking at my place.

Figuratively speaking, more things are cooking in the summer heat. Like a meetup with a bird photographer/blogging friend and his family early this week, family visits, photo hikes and overseas travel to cooler latitudes. And also on the summer menu: just relaxing. Recharging mind, body and soul.

What’s cooking at your place? Literally or figuratively.

Photography, Poems

Still ~ A Haiku

August 23, 2015 Tiny 32 Comments

Sit still and listen

Calm harmonies of Nature

Summer’s last whispers.

Photography, Poetry

Dreams ~ A Haiku

August 10, 2015 Tiny 33 Comments

On soft August nights

Summer dreams of the ocean

Toes dipped into waves.

Wordless Wednesday

Worldless Wednesday: Summer is for sailing

August 20, 2014 Tiny 24 Comments

Inspirational, Poems

Three Summer Dreams

August 1, 2014 Tiny 27 Comments

salt marsh Sand key Clearwater — Peaceful lake

Dream in all colors

of a small and peaceful lake.

You will get a break.

Dream in all colors

of palms swaying on the beach.

Bliss is within reach.

sunset sky Sand on Key beach Clearwater — Sky after sunset

Dream in all colors

of a vibrant sunset sky.

Spread your wings and fly.

Wildlife

A Wild Dance Just Because It’s Summer.

July 28, 2014 Tiny 15 Comments

This morning when I took a quick walk on the beach and in the nature reserve, I witnessed something really funny. A Reddish Egret, not a permanent resident in the salt marsh, was walking frantically back and forth in the shallow water. Fast. Like he was crazy busy. That’s what Mondays do to you, I thought.

reddish egret bird 728 — A Reddish Egret walking fast…

Then, suddenly, he went into a wild dance. Feathers stood up on his head and he flexed his wings vigorously, one at the time. Swinging like he was hearing an inner tune.

reddish Egret the wild man 728 — A wild dance (check out the eyes!)

Right after the brief dance, he turned around with lightning speed and picked up something eatable from the water. I wonder if the dance was to put the prey under his spell?

I have not seen anything like that before. I was laughing, LOL’ing in fact, if you know what I mean.

I had to do an extra 1/2 mile swing to see if Papa Osprey was still hanging around on his favorite palm trunk.

papa osprey 719 — Papa Osprey on his palm trunk seat

And there he was! Handsome as always. It’s nice to see he didn’t move very far. He didn’t talk today, just nodded a greeting. I guess it was getting too hot.

I hope your week has started well. Maybe with a wild dance just because it’s summer?

Poems

Essence of Summer

July 26, 2014 Tiny 15 Comments

I saw the birds fly high

I heard the fish jump up

Calling for people to join them

Right at the edge of water.

To light a portable grill

Set up a picnic table

Open a bottle of Moschofilero

Taste the essence of summer.

Just Life, Wildlife

Summer on the Beach. Water Fun and Guard Duty.

July 20, 2014 Tiny 22 Comments

It was a fairly stormy week. On so many levels. Sun and the blue skies returned just in time for the weekend. It was soothing to sit on the sand and listen to the ocean waves rolling in.

Sand Key Beach Clearwater Florida — Brilliant summer day on our beach

When it’s sunny it’s hot. Lots of people were having fun in the water and on the water too. Birds were taking frequent baths.

Fun on the water Sand Key Clearwater — Fun on the water

This “new-guy-on-the-block” osprey had just been taking a cooling bath and sat under nature’s hair dryer next to the bay. He was shaking his wings and airing his feathers. And keeping an eye on me in between.

osprey drying himself Sand Key Clearwater — Hi Tiny, it was a good swim!

I also spotted papa osprey again! He had taken over the coveted curved “seat” on a dead palm tree. He had been swimming too, but was already almost dry. Still preening his feathers when I arrived. He discovered me soon enough and said his hello 🙂 Lovely as always.

male osprey Sand key Park Clearwater — Papa Osprey on a nice “seat” up in the palm tree

In the nature reserve, the ducks were having a family reunion. On the water, of course. They were taking turns in soaking their heads in the water. Or maybe it was a diving competition?

Mallards in the salt marsh of Sand Key Park Clearater — Mallard family reunion

One mallard was not playing. He had guard duty. The spoonbill was sleeping. Too much sun makes you sleepy.

mallard and roseate spoonbill clearwater — On guard duty…

I think it’ll soon be the time to put Bumble on guard duty too and call it a day.

Have a wonderful week ahead. ♥ Tiny

Travel, Wildlife

Summer on the Beach. Ospreys and Old Friends.

July 14, 2014 Tiny 28 Comments

I hope your weekend was great. For us it was a weekend of sun and blue skies. And a few sudden thunderstorms as can be expected mid July in Florida.

sand key beach clearwater — Summer beach

Lots of outdoors time for me. Sweaty and refreshing at the same time. The essence of summer.

Clearwater intra-coastal — Bay-side where the ospreys and pelicans like to fish…and people like to get on the water

I enjoyed the beach and the warm Gulf waters, walked in the nature reserve and visited the bay-side too. That’s where I discovered papa osprey! He was perched on a lamp post at the edge of the park, with a strategic view of his fishing waters on the bay across the street.

When I walked past the lamp post, he turned around to look at me. As if saying so Tiny, here we meet again. He was talking a lot and staring intently into the nature reserve to his right. Following his line of sight I soon discovered another osprey on a palm trunk close-by.

Beautiful adult osprey at the edge of the park

His breast was white with no markings so he’s likely a male. He greeted me politely and didn’t seem alarmed.

When I reached the beach on the bay-side, I saw that papa osprey was still watching me . It was wonderful to see him again. I hope to see him more often on my walks now that I have discovered his holdout.

Heading back home, I walked through the nature reserve. Most birds were hiding in the shadows, but I saw some of my old friends, like this Roseate Spoonbill. He always amazes me with his theatrics.

roseate spoonbill adult — Roseate spoonbill

small blue heron immature — Small Blue Heron juvenile

This juvenile Small Blue Heron was present too, but I saw the Great Blue Heron (the “Mayor”) on the bayside. He was following a fisherman’s luck very closely 🙂