Scavenging

The SCS challenge this week was a scavenger hunt - the objects to find were a leaf, a stone, a shell, a feather and a bottle or a can. Well - not living by a beach a shell proved problematical. I believe that it's been a bad year for slugs and snails - a good year for gardeners. (On the same note I also heard that there are fewer insects, which is why many bird feeders have seen more juvenile activity than would be usual).

It was also hard to find a stone of any interest - I nearly had to "scavenge" one from the windowsill.

Leaves afloat - note the seaweed too!

A robin's feather I found in the back porch

Snail on the wall

Not local  - I spotted this beside the tram tracks near work

Message in a bottle

It's WAY too early for the rowan trees to be turning.

I found the robin feather around the time that Scarface got his scar, so I assumed it was after a fight between him and No-tail. Sadly I haven't seen Scarface for the last week or more. Mrs Robin is feeding her brood, though. They've fledged - she's flying off in all directions with her food for them instead of always in the same direction across the garden and over the wall, and I can hear that funny little kissing noise coming from the hedge when she's feeding them. Now she is certainly managing to find insects. She had a whole beakful of something too small to identify when I got home from work today. It still didn't stop her from flying straight to the back door the instant I opened it, and trying to fit a couple of mealworms in as well.

Take Flight

Archibald MacLeish "Ars Poetica"

A poem should be palpable and mute
As a globed fruit,

Dumb
As old medallions to the thumb,

Silent as the sleeve-worn stone
Of casement ledges where the moss has grown --

A poem should be wordless
As the flight of birds.

            *     

A poem should be motionless in time
As the moon climbs,

Leaving, as the moon releases
Twig by twig the night-entangled trees,

Leaving, as the moon behind the winter leaves,
Memory by memory the mind --

A poem should be motionless in time
As the moon climbs.

            *       

A poem should be equal to
Not true.

For all the history of grief
An empty doorway and a maple leaf.

For love
The leaning grasses and two lights above the sea --

A poem should not mean
But be. 

 

 

  

 

Life in the Country

Town bird's country cousin - I know which I'd rather be!

Plus an older picture of a chick, showing just how big those feet are!!

Life as a city bird...

Taking a walk on the wild side!! I often see a moorhen or two at Heuston Station when the tide is low.

Taking Off

(This is the post I thought I made during the week, but it went AWOL. I think what happened is I originally posted it accidentally when I was copying the video link, so I quickly saved it as draft. But I think when I then posted it, it posted for the day I'd done it accidentally...another lesson learned. I could see a lot of fish in the river yesterday too, but they were on the far side to where I was walking, and as I was going to get the free paper and then to a little Polish shop for fresh yeast (they were out of it), I didn't have time to cross over and walk back).

Normally I see the cormorant either diving and swimming, or they appear in flight barrelling up the river. A rare treat to watch it taking off twice in the last few days. I spotted some big mullet in the river last week too.

Peace in the Park

These ducks were just gently drifting in the morning sunshine - they rather reminded me of all the locals swimming in Astros last year - just gently floating in the water and gossiping away.

Back Yard Burglar

No-Tail's tail has grown again, but it's still quite easy to tell him apart from Scarface. He's still trying to muscle in on the territory - when he's around I hear a good bit of territorial chirping. But he's not one to come close to the house, whereas Scarface and partner are both happy to come up to the door, and even a bit further. I'm pretty sure they have another brood - I saw one of them deposit a faecal sac on a branch the other day, and they're flying off with food again, which wasn't the case for a while after the last little ones were fledged.

Casing the joint

Peanuts??

Nah, this looks better!

This IS better!!

Back to the nest with the booty

Not sure what happened to the post I thought I made yesterday, I'll just try posting it again tomorrow...

The robin formerly known as No-Tail, in the early morning sun. I'm not sure if he's fatter just because he's only feeding himself, or if he's puffed up for territorial display - or both.

Coots in the Park

As promised, coot videos. Not one, even, but two.
It was fascinating watching the coot reorganising the nest. At first I wondered if it was for another clutch of eggs, because the chicks currently on the lake must be at least a month old now, more like 6 weeks. But when you see the chicks walking around the nest in the second video, there certainly couldn't have been any eggs in there. I don't know if the chicks go on living there for a while as a safe place - I haven't been able to find much information. And looking at the lengths of the stems, she must dive quite far down towards the base of the lily to nip them off.
Anyway - after the first video ended the coot swam over to the little island in the centre of the lake, and after rooting around a bit she came out with an old leaf in her mouth, and started swimming to where the young ones were. I didn't quite see if she passed the leaf to another adult as in a baton relay, I almost think that is what I saw, but maybe the two just crossed paths. Whatever, the leaf got given to one of the young ones who seemed to sort of nibble at it and then drop it. And then, as in the second clip, he swims back to the nest collecting his own contributory twig along the way.
Lovely as the bird sounds are, there was almost nothing but wind noise on the first video, so I've replaced it with music - learning all the time!

Lakes - and birds

Yesterday was a day that threatened rain, so I put off going out, but then decided to risk it.
First picture is the lake in Farmleigh. I used to always walk counter-clockwise around it, but then one day I needed the sun behind me for a photo (to be taken ten minutes walk from the car, or maybe it was five), so I went clockwise, and I've gone clockwise almost ever since. But yesterday I bucked the habit, so my first views were from a different angle to the one I usually photograph.

Young coots, and a mallard drake. Well -I think they're both young coots. I find it confusing that they look quite like moorhen chicks, but since the second one, which looks more like a moorhen, was being fed by a coot I'm fairly sure of my ID.

Then I went to Quarry Lake in the park, hoping to find the Little Grebe again. I spent so much time watching some coots that the rain clouds had moved right in - but I still did get to see the Little Grebe and also some mallard chicks. Just two - I've hardly seen any this year, just the one bunch down on the canal and these two, none at all in Farmleigh. Little is the operative word for that grebe - and I was about 5 minutes away from the house when I realised that although I'd remembered spare batteries for both cameras this time, I'd forgotten not only the spotting scope but my mobile as well. I didn't make it back to the car before the rain.

Videos of the coot to follow tomorrow...

Summer in the Kitchen

 
It's certainly not summer outside this week. I had a pot of basil that I bought a couple of weeks ago for tomato soup, and it needed using up so I decided to make a big pot of ratatouille for dinner tonight. I thought C didn't like it and that I would be eating the rest of it myself, but it appears his taste has changed since the last time I gave it to him - a good discovery.

The more traditional version is cooked with more olive oil, but I like this version from Anna Thomas's  From Anna's Kitchen. She uses less oil and a fresh tomato sauce for extra cooking liquid - even more summery goodness.

Ratatouille:
I used two small aubergines / eggplants, two courgettes / zucchini, 2 onions, 1 each red and green bell peppers, 4 large tomatoes for the sauce and two at the end, plus some basil, parsley, garlic and a spoonful of balsamic vinegar.
The aubergines, courgettes, onions and peppers were all cut into 1/2" dice. The tomatoes were cut a bit larger

The tomato sauce was simply 4 tomatoes skinned and coarsely chopped, and simmered for about half an hour in a little oil with a crushed clove of garlic and some chopped basil till it was reduced.

While I made the sauce I degorged (is that how you spell it in English?) the aubergines; in a plastic colander I sprinkled them lightly with salt and left them for half an hour. Originally this was to remove some of the bitterness and excess liquid. A bit like scalding milk being a hangover from when it was needful, I think that most modern varieties are a lot less bitter then their early predecessors, and personally I don't bother doing it with the courgettes. I do, however, think it helps make the aubergines a bit less absorbent, so I usually do it with them. After this rinse them and pat dry with kitchen towel.

Heat 1 tblsp olive oil in a large pan. Add the chopped onion and a clove or two of crushed garlic, and fry gently for about 7 minutes, till soft. Add the courgettes and aubergines and continue to fry gently, stirring well, for another 7 minutes or so. Add the peppers and the tomato sauce, along with some salt and pepper. Cover and simmer for about twenty minutes. Add the tomatoes, chopped basil and parsley and a tablespoon of balsamic vinegar. Taste and adjust the seasoning if necessary. Cook for another 5 minutes and serve.
We had with pasta tonight - I like it with crusty bread, and I like it almost as much cold.
Funny, it's a real Provencal dish, but I don't believe I had it when I was staying in Provence on a teenage exchange visit.