Baristacrat Surveying His Kingdom

the iceman was looking at pelicans this morning at the pier here in beautiful Venice, Florida. Approx 82 right now and geez, I can't find a cloud.
Is it too early for a "Land Shark Lager"? Where's my sunscreen?

Wow! How on EARTH did you get that squirrel photo? I can't figure it out.

(Unless it's as it looks, and the critter was actually confined to some sort of iron maiden-type torture device. It looks like he picked a pretty dangerous hiding spot!)

Can't wait for the groundhogs to emerge!

Had a racoon in the backyard last night. Poor fella was not doing too well -- I suspect it might have rabies. It also was missing a front leg. I finally went to bed at 12:30 this morning; it was huddled up on the back lawn. It was gone when I got up, but I need to check to make sure it didn't crawl under the deck; the way the squirrels and birds are flitting around the yard on and under the bird feeders, I suspect the raccoon left the yard. Please, everyone, warn your children to avoid raccoons in this area, especially if you see them in daylight. Many, many of them have rabies.

Some creature is using my carport as a diningroom...occasionally on the pavement, there is what looks like a squirrel pancake and next to that, a big ball of fur...very Alfred Hitchcock....could this be done by hawks or one of the huge terrifying raccoon? My mother is very precise when she parks her car so I don't think its her doings.

This morning a female hawk was enjoying her breakfast of small bird in my yard. Took her time with it, and left nothing but some entrails and what looks like brains in a pile of feathers.

So where's the picture of the marsupial poking his head out from beneath Liz's porch?

I said in another post that I found a rabbit's nest in my garden yesterday. I would take photo but I don;t want to disturb them. It looked like a thatch of dog hair. When I moved it aside, I saw two little furry bodies cuddled up together. I moved it back and let them be. I feel honored that they picked my garden.

MM, I had a rabbit and her bunnies last year truly amazing.

This week, I had the pleasure of a small all brown wee owl sitting beside me on my deck, on a branch beside it...needless to say-I ran for the cam and it was gone.

The next night again he/she arrived and all I had was a pocket disposable (retrieved by my 7 yr old) and although it was like 4 ft away it looks like it is a mile away from me (too dark and no zoom power).

The "good" cam is sitting in the office waiting to be re-charged, never fails.

But still a miracle since I have only seen one that "up close" at the zoo...still missing my dad, so it's presence was amazing.

At dusk the rabbit will usually stand a bit away from the nest and you'll see the little ones feed from her and hop around for awhile. If you want to get a pic.

Yes, I've read that CStarling (Good to see you again on here, by the way!).

The mother doesn't want to draw too much attention to the nest because it'll alert predators, like your friend the owl. Fascinating things, these animals.

:) Thank you--If you need me, I'm here :)

I'm seeing birds by the pair, birds are savagely devouring my birdfeeder. MM guard your bunnies....

....Spring has sprung..!

I hope to get a beautiful snapshot of the raccoons, squirrels, and hopefully not rats enjoying the lovely untied shoprite bagged and sometimes not bagged garbage that my lovely neighbors across the way leave out for nature's little critters. I occasionally thank them by picking up the trash that often comes over to my side and thank them with a one finger salute.

I thought the squirrels were cute until they decided chew through my soffet(sp?) and nest in my eaves. Now that i've spent thousands of dollars evicting them, I'm starting to think i'd enjoy a bowl of brunswick stew. And I loved seeing bunnies around until i became a gardener and they chewed up all my lettuce. Amazing how fast I became Mr. McGregor.

....uhm!....Bruswick Stew!...isn't that the squirrel stew that's on the menu' at the White House?

Yes, Brunswick Stew is squirrel stew. It's a rural Virginia thing. I hadn't heard that it was on the menu at the white-house, but that doesn't surprise me. last week I was in central Louisiana for a few days, and there they just call it "Squirrel Stew" - much more direct. I have a recipe for it in a Cajun cook-book (fried squirrel, too), but i didn't see it on any menus.

Sleepy,
I feel the same way. A few hundred into trying to get the bastards out of my soffits and they are no longer cute. Unfortunately my neighbor doesn't understand this and insists on feeding them from her back porch.

From Spoonbread & Strawberry Wine, Recipes & Reminiscences of a (Montclair!) Family by Norma Jean & Carole Darden (1978) (Harlem Moon, Broadway Books USA) pg. 194

"Brunswick Stew"

"1 medium size rabbit 4 medium potatoes, peeled and cubed
1 squirrel 3 cups fresh chopped tomatoes
2 quarts water ? teaspoon pepper
1 ? tablespoon of salt 1 teaspoon sugar
1 large onion, chopped 2 cups fresh corn kernels
1 ? cups fresh baby lima beans 2 tablespoons flour
or 1 package frozen2 tablespoons butter
2 slices of bacon, diced

Skin and clean the rabbit and squirrel, and wash in several changes of water. Cut in serving pieces. Bring the water to a boil and add the rabbit and the squirrel. Boil for one hour. Add salt, onion, lima beans, bacon, potatoes, tomatoes, and pepper. Cover and cook slowly for another hour or until tender. Then add sugar and corn. Continue cooking for 15 minutes. Mix flour and butter to a paste and add to stew to thicken. Adjust seasoning. Cook about 15 minutes longer. Serve hot."

- The Darden Sisters, from Montclair, wrote this family history/cookbook and have two fabulous home style cooking restaurants in Harlem. Their father, Dr. Walter Darden was an important figure in the era of the Harlem Renaissance. The Dardens resided on Orange Road in Montclair.

Spoonbread's restaurants -- Miss Mamies at 110th Street near Columbia University; and Miss Maudes at 547 Lenox Avenue in Harlem
www.spoonbreadinc.com

ENJOY!!!!

....please excuse the question marks in the recipe, they are not intentional...

frank, you are very knowledgeable and i appreciate the way you share these amazing recipes and anecdotes. i haven't the stomach for squirrel and rabbit, but i am going to try that recipe with a nice big capon, and i bet it would be delicious. i'll check back and let you know how it turns out!

FrankGG for Mayor!
and not because I like the idea of eating furry critters from my yard, but because he really is a wealth of knowledge about such a wide variety of things.
Kudos to Frank!
('Roo, you are Out! Auf wiedersehen!)

Thank you Fran & Kay, you are both so kind!....I think that I prefer Popeyes chicken strips or soy burgers but a real treat is going to Spoonbreads!

I saw my first seasonal groundhog this morning! I was ecstatic.

Frank: Do you have a recipe for Moose and Squirrel?

JK! I, too, enjoy your posts.

Thank you Miss Martta....likewise!

Unfortunately, I don't have a recipe for Moose and Squirrel, but lets invent one ....

MOOSE & SQUIRREL en GELEE'
(Aspic)

- note, the recipe is the same as above except we shall substitute the diced rabbit with diced moosemeat and instead of the 2 quarts of water....we'll use 2 cans of cold Campbell's Chicken Soup and a can of dried potatoe sticks instead of the diced potatoes. (no cooking required because it's like a tartar....must be placed in the fridge for at least 3 hours before serving to become firm)

acccccck!! Please, Mayor Frank, please just stick to the beautiful arts of history and architecture ! I do believe I've now lost my appetite for the rest of the week at a minimum!

Oh Kay....I am so sorry that you have lost your appetite! I promise that I would have everything catered if I were Mayor....and that all menu' would be subject to a vote.