Princess Bourke apparently not impressed with my music abilities!

Everyone is a critic! Princess Bourke apparently doesn't think much of my piano playing skills - of course, she's definitely not alone in that! I better stick to my art!

Princess Bourke apparently not impressed with my music abilities!

Happy Holidays!

Here is a little animation I created for my family, wishing you a HAPPY HOLIDAY SEASON AND NEW YEAR! It was fun to illustrate our Leonberger dog, Chihuahua-Pomeranian-Papillion-One-of-a-Kinder dog, and our 2 Bourke's Parrots for the holidays! I think I'll do more of these, it's FUN!

Happy Holidays!

Up Close with a Fearless Bourke!

Our female Bourke is so fearless - and she loves technology!  Here she is exploring the video camera, deciding if it gets to stay in her dominion or not.  -And look at her beautiful coloring - like a sunset in bird form!

If you want to share this link directly on YouTube you can find it at: Close-Up video of a brave little Bourke!

Up Close with a Fearless Bourke!

New Bourke Parakeet Joins Family!

This is an amazing process, to add a new member - a new BIRD member - to our cozy family.  We wisely took a video of the first meeting of our original Bourke Parakeet and our new little fella.  It's fascinating to see how the original bird flies to the top of the new bird's cage and crouches there, peering at him very closely. 

If you want to share this on YouTube the direct link on YouTube is: Our Birdie Meets her Beau!

Having said that, our original bird protested at the thought of sharing her cage with a new roomate just yet.  Here she is, making quite sure we know which perches are HERS and NOT to be shared:

 
However, as long as our new bird stays in his own abode, all is peaceful and well.  Our Princess clearly wishes to be the solo tenant of her castle for awhile longer, but we can tell she is happy to have a neighbor!  Here is the cozy state of our new family of an adorable, clown-faced Chihuahua-Papillion-Pomeranian muttsicle, a sweatheart of a Leonberger dog who loves to chew on his toys on the couch, and our two side-by-side birds, all content to hang out together:


This is my bliss, all the happy animals together sharing quiet time while I work on the computer or on my art, with a view of the gardens - the only thing that makes it better is having my patient husband around too. 
 -And people always say my art looks so happy - THIS is why :)  I am so grateful for these moments!

Direct link to You Tube: Cozy Critters Sharing Quiet Time

New Bourke Parakeet Joins Family!

DISCOVERY: Best Tasting Tomato is NOT the Prettiest Shape or Color!

These photos say it all - the sudden bit of Summer in Fall was exactly what my tomatoes needed - and they are juicy and delicious!  You can really see the difference between the varieties I planted.  The chocolate cherry tomatoes are scrumptious, and rarely make it as far as the kitchen - I tend to eat them straight from the vine in the garden!  The least lovely tomato, the goldeny-red, roundish-most-boring-shaped ones, are actually the sweetest and my favorite to eat - I wonder if this is a metaphor for people too!  Can't judge a tomato by its cover!  I need to look at my notes to see which variety those yummie ones are, so that I plant more of them next year.

-And my most perfect tomato, artistically speaking, yet - large, plump; gorgeous color, intricate shape:

DISCOVERY: Best Tasting Tomato is NOT the Prettiest Shape or Color!

Taking a Survey!

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Taking a Survey!

New Harvest, New Recipes!

Today was a phenominal harvest, so beautiful, so bountiful, a gift!!!  One plump fig, one huge zuccini, lovely tomatoes of different varieties, one mystery melon, a juicy orange, basil - basil - and - more - basil, and....my first pomegranite!!!!  See below for a photo of today's harvest - doesn't this photo look like a still life?

-So, what recipes did I undertake with this diverse crop?  Well, here goes, and the order of preparation is important, because the remaining juice of one dish becomes the seasoning for another:

1.  Figgy Pear Perfection:  I took 3 very ripe pears from the fridge, and diced them, leaving the skin on.  I tossed these pears with a bit of brown sugar (doesn't brown sugar make everything yummie?), and a healthy dose of cinammon.  Then I diced in the figs, tossed and let it sit for a bit, then added the super juicy orange torn into tiny bits, without skin of course, and let it marinate.  Take the chunks of luscious fruit out of the bowl that it is marinating in, and transfer to fun serving ware - I like to use martini glasses or other fun stemware.  KEEP THE BOWL with the remaining fruit sauce on it - we will use the bowl with sauce to flavor the sweet potato dish below.  Here is the photo of the Figgy Pear Perfection as it marinates:

2.  Sweet Potato Puff:  Take one sweet potato, poke holes in it with a fork, and nuke it in the microwave for about 6 minutes on one side, and then 3 minutes on the other, til tender.  Scoop out the inside from the skin, and transfer the inside to thge bowl filled with the remaining sweet sauce from the Figgy Pear Perfection.  Adda little butter and heat, and WOW - this is amazingly good!  Here is the photo of the Sweet Potato Puff:

3.  Zuccini Tomato Basil Toss:  I nuked the huge zuccini from the garden, with holes poked into it, for a few minutes on each side, then chopped it up into huge fat chunks, about one inch each.  I tossed the zuccini chunks with several heirloom and other tomatoes from the garden, plus loads of fresh basil from the garden, torn by hand.  Added a healthy squeeze of lemon juice, saly, and fresh ground pepper, and then the secret ingredient - CURRY powder, to taste, and microwaved it all together - SCRUMPTIOUS!!!  Beautiful to look at too - Makes it easy to be a vegetarian!

New Harvest, New Recipes!