Healthy Naturegirl Tips-part 1

+++In this age of quick-fix, fast food, instant gratification,microwavable,
life in the fast lane; we have hot-footed our way to obesity, laziness and all kinds of unnecessary illnesses. The only berry most people have seen lately is the black one you talk into not the "blue" or "straw" or "rasp" you savor!
+++Its time to get re-acquainted with the kitchen! I've even heard of some women using their oven as extra storage for boots and handbags! C'mon ladies! Grandma would flip.
+++There are some really easy and quick ways to "cheat" back the calorie overload and add some healthy stuff into the family diet. Maybe even with
no-one ever knowing.
+++For instance, more fiber is essential. Switch to whole wheat or whole grain pasta. If you don't think you like the texture of it just cook it longer so its softer or try different brands til you find one you like. Add (or hide) lots of chunky veggies in the sauce. Onions & garlic are a natural choice, but try zucchini, grated carrots, chopped tomatoes. The more stuff in there, the less likely anyone will notice the extra rich flavor of the whole grain.
+++You can even get real sneaky and pre-cook some extra powerful nutrient-rich super foods such as butternut squash or sweet potatoes. Boil or bake, toss them in the food processor or blender and puree. Add them in to tomato sauce, soup or gravy. Sweet potato, by the way is the single most power-packed thing in the produce aisle!
+++Speaking of gravy. ALWAYS make your own. Boil some chicken in a couple of inches of salted water til done. You can add onion flakes, garlic powder or crushed red pepper flakes if you like. Remove chicken, take off skin and any other undesirable bits. Put the stock in the fridge in a bowl til the grease solidifies and discard, leaving only the delicious gel.
+++Place about a tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil in a skillet with about a tablespoon of whole wheat flour. (No need to clog up your digestive tract with any more white flour!) Make gravy by cooking out the "paste-iness" of the flour, adding some chicken tastiness and melt in to desired thickness. You may have to add some water. This chicken broth/gel can be used to flavor just about anything from soup to rice. In fact, use it INSTEAD of water for cous-cous, rice, polenta; anywhere you want more flavor! Repeat after me... More flavor/ less fat.
+++One more thing while I'm bloviating on fat. There's good fat & bad fat.
They make good cholesterol & bad cholesterol, respectively. Extra virgin
olive oil, walnuts, salmon--good; hamburgers, doughnuts, butter--bad!
+++Here's a tip to help. (After all you can't do everything at once.) Take your butter- real butter, not the fake oil stuff, and leave it on the counter til it's really soft. Using a whisk, work in some ex. virgin olive oil. You can add as much as "equal parts" or just 1/2 as much oil as butter. Put in fridge in a small container lined with plastic wrap. You can take it out when it hardens and cut it into "bars" if you need to fool someone! Or, when its semi-soft roll into a "tube" shape. Not yellow enough for you?- add a sprinkle of turmeric, need more salt? add a pinch. Some people get really creative and add herbs or bleu cheese- yum! Keep refrigerated and don't use twice as much!
+++Ok, in review...
*Turn on the oven once in a while!(Don't forget to check for boots!)
*Trick yourself into eating more veggies.
*Treat your loved ones (that means you!) to some laid-back, slowed
down, healthy homemade gravy and real butter. You just gotta learn how to cheat! Stick with me, I'll show ya how. (More healthy cheats to come!)

Birding for Sport

Did you ever feel that satisfaction when you finally lay eyes on that illusive creature in the yard? You know, the one making that unusual new sound that you've never heard before. That squeak, that chirp, that trill. Sometimes it drives you nuts for days. (Its usually a bird, but this applies to little froggies or shy insects too.) You may see a flash of feathers... maybe a glint of bright yellow. "Is that a... no, it looks more like a... You turn your head and only see a twig with quaking leaves. You run all the way into the house to get your binoculars to better stalk your prey, and its... gone! Ugch! Its like hunting, but without the murder part at the end.
Then, there are those days. The days when all the elements in the Universe are in alignment. "Wow! I think I just saw a male Redstart! I did! I did see a male Redstart! I've been waiting my whole life to see one! It was worth the wait." Check one more off the "Life-List".
I don't know about you, but once I've "captured" them either by camera or at least in my minds eye, they go on my cupboard door "trophy" list. I only write them down if I have positively identified them. Do you keep a list of the beautiful fliers that grace your backyard? You'll be surprised how quickly they add up if you do.
We are particularly blessed here in Virginia Beach. There are 90 species
on my list! 90! That represents five years of stalking. Let's see
how many little trophys your yard holds.
Here are the rules...
~If you can see them from your yard, they're yours!
~If you know who they are.(ie, male, female or immature [species])
you bagged 'em!
~Lay binocular enhanced eyes on all of them. What looks like a sparrow could be something much more exciting! Believe me, it happens to me all the time. They ARE little masters of camouflage after all.
Of course, you will need a bird book and a pair of binoculars. Check out
Amazon for that. My first good pair was Bushnell 8x21, a good start. I use Bushnell 12x50's now. (Whatever you do, don't drop them!)
More about books & binos in a future blog.
Happy hunting!

To My Childhood Friend Chirp

It was the early '60s. Life was very different than it is today. One of my earliest and best memories is of a little bird I named "Chirp".  I named him that because that is what he said. Loudly! Repeatedly! Emphatically! Begining very early in the pre-dawn hours!
   It all started when a vicious storm swept him out of his nest. He was a little bit of a thing. He looked like his beak was too big for his head. Big feet, a plump ball of chirping wet feathers. Being the Naturegirl that I was (even at five), I insisted that we go out & rescue him. Mom & Dad knew I wouldn't shut up until they helped me save him. I'm sure they thought he would go right back home after the storm. Well' that's not what happened.
     He was up dark & early the next morning as my Dad was getting ready for work. They were only a little surprised when I wanted to go outside & turn over the slates in the path to find worms for you know who. From observation, I knew what Mama Robins fed their young and I knew where to find them!  Sure enough, that quieted him down... for a few minutes! Since his parents were nowhere in sight, I took it upon myself to be a bird Mom making many trips out to the slate path. 
    As long as I was willing my parents let me do my thing -like I said it was a different time then. I think they might have been distracted by a new baby or something like that, but I was much too busy "teaching" Chirp to fly to notice. I would sit in the dry bathtub with him on my finger. As I raised and dropped my hand, he began to flap to steady himself. Somehow in my tiny brain I just knew he was practicing for flight and strengthening his little wing muscles. After a couple of days of this he took off on a short flappy cruise and I knew he was ready to go outside. I guess I thought that Chirp and I would grow old together, or maybe I wasn't really able to think past my nose at such a young age, but Mother Nature had another plan.
    I carefully and lovingly carried my little friend outside into the sunlight. As expected he took off and flew his first outside free voyage. I guess all that flight training payed off! However, he was suddenly out of sight! Uh-oh!  And then... suddenly I witnessed something incredible -and frightening!  Out of the blue, and out of every shrub and tree came a flock of every kind of bird I had ever seen! And they were all headed for little me! I had no idea  that Chirp had made so many friends in the week or so he spent in his nest! There arose such a clatter... there was chirping and peeping and whistling and lots of dive-bombing! And then there was screaming and running for cover and tears. (I think Alfred Hitchcock was hiding in the bushes somewhere.)
    That was the last time I saw Chirp that summer.
     As the Summer temperatures cooled and the flowers began to slow, I often thought fondly of my little feathered friend. That experience changed my short life, but it was about to get even more amazing...
     One early fall day I was playing in the yard, lost in my imagination, standing by the clothesline.   In an instant there was a flapping commotion on my head and shoulder! I of course shrieked and ran. Biggest regret of my life, even to this day. As I shot across the lawn to the back door, I looked over my shoulder to see what had shocked me so.  There above me as if in slow motion was my friend Chirp flying away with a mate
who had been waiting nervously on the wire. I could almost hear her say, "I told you those humans were skitzo!"
     I learned three very important life lessons that Summer. First; that birds that flock together don't necessarily have to be of the same feather. That was teamwork. That was unspoken communication between species against a common enemy (unfortunately me).  And they won!
     Second; the next time a bird, or anything for that matter, tries to land on me I'm keeping my big mouth shut! Seriously, this has taught me to be much more gentle and graceful around all creatures great and small.
It has made me pause momentarily before I step on my pets or frighten the birds in my backyard  by bolting outside with seed.
      Last; and most importantly, I am hooked. Hooked on all things feathery & furry. I'm hooked on clouds & weather. Hooked on bugs, butterflies & botany, even on snakes & sealife. I may have had it in my DNA all along, but I credit Chirp with turning me into "Naturegirl".

Well, I finally did it...

I've been toying with the idea of blogging for awhile now. I have lots to say. Who cares?  Do my experiences matter to anyone besides me? What about opinions? You know what they say about opinions!
    I've seen lots of wildlife in my own backyard and it thrills me to pieces! There must be other nature-lovers out there; maybe some who live in cities and could live vicariously thru my eyes. 
    Here in Coastal Virginia, we are in the Atlantic Flyway. That means we have an extra helping of wonderful migrant birds stopping by Spring and Fall.  We have been blessed with the presence of over 90 species of feathered flyers flitting and fluttering through since we started counting in '05. In Birds & Blooms Magazine, I once read an article about a Northern/ Midwestern woman who had an astounding 40-something species in her yard and it got me thinking. "We must have that many too!" Boy was I surprised! And, continue to be delighted and amazed at the wonders of wildlife watching!
    Well, now that I've finally begun, my purpose here is to chronical happenings, photos and the general Joy
of just Living here in my little piece of Heaven.