Time to Push

OK...yea, procrastination is a heck of a thing. So I'm going to try to post a new photo every day. This should get my creative juices flowing. I've always been into arts and crafts and I still have the supplies to go with all my hobbies...Crochet, beaded jewelry, clothespin crafts, scrap-booking, baking..I'm sure there are more than I am not thinking of. Fish Keeping, birdwatching, gardening. I just love doing things with my hands, and I love seeing things grow.

Ever see a sunset and go WOW?

This was my experience last Tuesday. I came out of the movie theater, looked West, and saw such a beautiful sunset that I just had to capture it. I got on a bus that took me to the waterfront. Ah, the wonders of nature..

The joys of baking

Its Easter time and the time honored tradition to make hot cross buns lives on. I guess this is my year for retries and I'm doing well so far.

After seeing pictures of hot cross buns from a Trinidadian blogger (Breakfast Lunch Dinner Punch), I decided to try my hand at it again. O my was I delighted when they came out just as they should, even though I prefer them a bit more yellow. The texture was wonderful and it was just sweet enough. I skipped the cross because icing isn't one of my favorite things, so maybe next time.

Hot Cross Buns

Feeling high on my success with the sweet buns, I figured "why not go for gold"? One of my failings in baking is yeast breads, which I've accepted and worked around with my bread machine. I decided to give the Trinidadian bread "Hops" a try again. Talk about a wow moment when they came out of the oven perfect! I could do the jig. They we soft inside, and a little crisp outside. Ahhhh, the smells of home.

Freshly baked Hops Bread cooling on the racks

Nothing beats hot bread with butter!

Maybe I'll go pick another recipe to try out over the weekend.

The Seeds of life

Last spring I tried to start a mini garden from a kit. I successfully got seeds to germinate, but after transplanting the seedlings, they didn't grow. I was sure I did everything right. I read the package and followed the directions. What the packet didn't say was that of all the seeds, I was only to use 2 or 3 at a time per hole. I had poured the whole packed of seeds into the hole. No wonder they didn't grow. You live and you learn.

This year I've started off with two pansy plants that I seem to be killing and a strawberry tree that seems to be thriving despite my purple thumb. I received 25 packets of seeds from an organization called Seeds of Change and set out to germinate some with my new insight into growing from seeds. I decided to start small and bought a Jiffy Windowsill Greenhouse Kit in which I planted watermelon, tomatoes and two types of flowers. I was happy to see one of the seeds for the Calendula flowers sprout today.

I'm hoping that over the next couple of weeks I'll have healthy plants to replant into large pots outdoors.

Calendula Sprout

My Trip to Trinidad

I went to spend a few days in Trinidad. Included in this trip was a group trip with the Birdwatching group of the Trinidad and Tobago Field Naturalist Club (TTFNC).

I really did enjoy the outing, which would have been so much better had it not rained all night before and all day on and off on Sunday. The birds kept to hiding in the trees for shelter. I could hear them but not see them. If I thought getting shots of birds in New York was hard, there is a whole new level to shooting in Trinidad. The birds seem to be smaller and faster than the birds in New York. Thankfully I have my video camera also, but as with the stills, the time it takes for me to hit record the birds were already out of the frame.

I got nice footage of a pair of baby Silver Beaked Tanagers who's nest was on a low tree. Both the mother and father kept returning to the tree to feed them, so when we opened the leaves to see them, they opened up their mouths expecting food. Just that shot alone was worth the trip. I've listed the birds I saw on the side bar. I'll be adding images to go with the birds soon.

I'm looking forward to traveling all over to see more birds.

American Robin Search for Food

As I watched, I wondered how the bird knew exactly where the worms were.

Outdoor Photography

I enjoy taking photographs. Take a look at some.