Warm Saturday Then North Winds Blew In & Challenges

It was cloudy, a bit foggy over the water and 68F (19C) at 8 a.m. I saw Ellie leave on her walk as I was getting ready. I had decided before I got up that I was going to attempt the "long loop" this morning. I hadn't tried it yet being somewhat lazy. It's about double the loop I usually do. As I was heading north I saw Ellie quite a ways ahead of me, obviously with doing the long loop in mind as well. With her at a fast paced walk and me walking and running I did catch up with her but it took a while!

I got back, did my stretches, had breakfast and all of a sudden the wind came up from the north and it cooled down about 10 degrees.

Ellie had said when we got back from out walk that she was going to download the geocaches to her GPS. She came over later this morning and told me the geocache I looked for the other day is virtual and I could have looked forever and never found it. Ok then! There's another one nearby but apparently it needs maintenance. We decided to wait for nicer weather to go geocaching.

Early afternoon Gordon decided he wanted to go on a birding tour around the area so I went next door to see if Jim and Ellie wanted to come along. When I went over I noticed that Pyro had switched allegiance and was now snoozing in their recliners. The life of a cat!

Ibis and reddish egret

Ibis out food shopping

A pair of hooded mergansers

They got ready to come and we headed out. Because it was so windy we didn't see that many birds but there were a few around so photos were taken by everyone. We weren't gone long. I sat on the couch and read and did some computer stuff this afternoon.

I prepared some baked chicken and fried potatoes with salad for dinner.

The temperature leveled out this afternoon at around 54F (12C) so it wasn't too bad, just windy.

Pantry & Refrigerator Challenge

Fab Grandma has put out a challenge. She showed her refrigerator/freezer and pantry online and she's challenging others to do the same so here's mine!

After White Chili & Sightseeing

I woke up in the night last night with a bad bout of acid reflux. No more White Chili for me, should have gone for the Moose Nose Stew! I still felt yucky when I got up, kind of like I had a hangover (but since I didn't have any alcohol last night, that would be a stretech) but went out for my walk and met Ellie and the puppies when I was out. After breakfast I hit the mylanta and got ready to take Jim and Ellie around the area.

We spent about 2 hours out and about in the general area of the campground, Matagorda Bay, Indianola, Indianola Beach, Magnolia Beach and Indianola Cemetery. We didn't see a lot of birds probably due to the wind as it picked up today but at the Cemetery we did see a small flock of roseates and three sandhill cranes so I was glad we were able to show them something interesting.

Great egret in the marsh grass

Little blue heron hiding from the wind

Roseate spoonbills near the cemetery

Sandhill cranes near the cemetery

Shrimp boat in Matagorda Bay



This afternoon Ellie and Jim were going in to Port Lavaca to get some groceries so we stayed home. I read a bit and then had a long nap. Wish I could say I felt better!

We had temperatures around 79F (21C) today. Looks like that will be the last of the warm temperatures for the foreseeable future. Highs for the next couple of weeks look like 50s and 60s (10-18C). Bummer!

Gordon posted today, to read it, click here.

We Have Neighbours!

Neighbours


Jim and Ellie in front of the Castle

Today was just the most beautiful sunny day with a breeze and 75F (24C). I started out the morning as usual. After breakfast I made White Chili for dinner and put it in the crockpot, then it was vacuuming and dusting, doing dishes and a shower. Ellie had said they would probably arrive between 2 and 3 p.m. I was just going out after lunch to sit in my chair and read and wait for them when a white car pulled behind our truck and then I saw the Castle. It was 12:55 p.m. so they made really good time.

Here's the Castle

And their new spot - how did he do that?

Pyro snoozing in my lawnchair


They got set up, I went for a little walk with Ellie and the dogs and then Jim came with us while I showed them around the park. We chatted for a while, then Ellie went home to get some things done and I looked through my RV-Dreams cookbook that Ellie brought for me.

Around 5 p.m. I went over and got Ellie & Jim and we had our White Chili for dinner with a salad and white chocolate pudding for dessert. That was my first attempt at White Chili and according to Jim it turned out well.

And that's the end of another beautiful day here on the Texas Gulf Coast!

The Story of Moose Nose Soup

Last night on the rv-dreams chat, I had asked for a recipe to feed Ellie & Jim who are arriving tomorrow. JB, another Canadian from Alberta, suggested Moose Nose Stew and so on the conversation went about not being able to buy moose nose down here and so on. Anyway, I thought it was a joke and was going along with it until I googled it today. Apparently it's a Cree dish. The recipe is below and there's also a recipe for Jellied Moose Nose, just in case anyone's interested. LOL

Don't worry Ellie and Jim, I'm not making it!

Moose Nose Soup

1 Moose Nose
Several Potatoes
Salt & Pepper
1 large Onion
Several Carrots
Garlic Salt & Celery Salt

Shoot a Moose. Skin it and save the nose. Discard the rest. Build a fire. In a large kettle, melt enough snow to give 6 to 8 quarts of water. Place the nose in the kettle with all other ingredients. Simmer for 2 or 3 hours or until tender. Serve hot. The number of servings depends on how long since your last meal!

Jellied Moose Nose

It seems the moose has a big nose which can be served up as an epicurean delight. Here’s a recipe from just game recipes.com.

1 Upper jawbone of a moose
1 Onion; sliced
1 Garlic clove
1 tbsp Mixed pickling spice
1 tsp Salt
1/2 tsp Pepper
1/4 cup Vinegar

Cut the upper jaw bone of the moose just below the eyes. Place in a large kettle of scalding water and boil for 45 minutes. Remove and chill in cold water. Pull out all the hairs - these will have been loosened by the boiling and should come out easily ( like plucking a duck). Wash thoroughly until no hairs remain.Place the nose in a kettle and cover with fresh water.Add onion, garlic, spices and vinegar. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer until the meat is tender. Let cool overnight in the liquid.When cool, take the meat out of the broth, and remove and discard the bones and the cartilage. You will have two kinds of meat, white meat from the bulb of the nose, and thin strips of dark meat from along the bones and jowls.Slice the meat thinly and alternate layers of white and dark meat in a loaf pan.

Reheat the broth to boiling, then pour the broth over the meat in the loaf pan. Let cool until jelly has set. Slice and serve cold.

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On to my day

Today was bright and sunny. It was 43F (6C) when I got up just before 8 a.m. I got my exercise in and breakfast and then got my shopping list ready to go in to town. I left about 10:30 a.m. On my way in to town there was a family of sandhill cranes in the ditch beside the road. I saw them just as I was going past and I knew if I stopped, they'd be gone but they were really close and I could have gotten a fine photo of them, I'm sure.

I got my photocopying done to send my dentist bill in to my insurance in Ontario, looked around the dollar stores and Bealls but didn't see anything I liked better than my money. I got what I needed at HEB and then went to Walmart where I picked up the rest. It's really touch and go as to who has the better prices here in Port Lavaca. HEB has better prices on a lot of things than
Walmart does.

I was home around 2:30 p.m. and took this photo of the egret, ibis and roseate that were sitting just as I turned at the bridge to come back to the park.

We reached 70F (21C). The wind came up this afternoon but it wasn't bad and the whole day was sunny.

After unloading groceries and putting them away, I sat outside for a few minutes but the wind was cooler than I thought so came inside and retired to the couch. I finished my book and had a brief nap.

Laundry and A Birding Drive

This morning started off dull, drab and dreary with sprinkles of rain but that didn't stop me from my walk. It wasn't raining very hard. After breakfast, I changed the bed and got the laundry ready and then headed to the laundry room. Around 11 a.m. the sun came out and that warmed things up a bit so I opened the door to the laundry room. Mistake! I was folding clothes when all of a sudden I heard a 'Meow' and Pyro plopped himself on my clean sheets. I carefully removed him outside and back he came so this time I put him out and closed the door. His feet were all sandy, yuk, Pyro!

I finished the laundry somewhere around 1 p.m., and had some lunch. The sun kept going in and out of the clouds.

Yesterday I felt like I was getting a cold so I went to bed around 7:30 last night and slept pretty much for 12 hours. I felt better today but had a slight headache probably from taking cold medication.

It warmed up enough this afternoon and the sun stayed out long enough that I could sit out in my lawnchair and read for a while. Sure is nice to see the sun!

Around 4 p.m. we set out for a drive around the area. Here are some photos I took.


Man made sand dunes


Belted Kingfisher
Mockingbird

Osprey

White Morph Reddish Egret

View from the overlook across from Matagorda Bay

Our high today was only 63F (17C) but once the sun came out it was a lovely day.

I'm a Blonde Again and Dentist

Quite a difference today. It was only 46F (8C) and cloudy when I got up at about 7:45 a.m. It remained cloudy throughout the day and didn't gain much in temperature.

After my usual morning, I decided to colour my hair so I'm now sort of blonde again. I think it's ash blonde. Other than that I spent the morning on the internet and reading.

I had made an appointment to get my teeth cleaned when I was in town last week and today was the day. We went in early as I had a return to do at Walmart and you never know how long that will take. Today I walked right in, no waiting. I did however have to wait at the dentist. Apparently they were trying to contact my insurance company in Canada even though I had marked on the form that I would pay and submit myself. The girl didn't read it. Duh! Why did I fill out the form? Oh well, they did a good job and my periodontist will be happy that I got my teeth cleaned and it's not often a place like that goes out of their way to accommodate a patient.

Shrimp boat in Port Lavaca

Marina in Port Lavaca



These snow geese were all aflurry when we stopped to take photos



Our high today only reached 48F (9C). Sure hope it warms up tomorrow!

Getting Stuff Done and A Photo Jaunt

I awakened to pea soup fog. It was so thick you could cut it with a knife. But I went for my walk/run anyway, did my exercises, had breakfast, washed up and got onto today's project. The fog eventually went away.

The bugs were still on the nose of the RV from our trip south. I had thought we'd be at Goose Island or somewhere where we could wash it but when we stayed here, they say you can't wash your rig.

So, this morning I got out our Phab that I bought this summer at our dealer's to give it a try and it works like a charm. Full strength out of the bottle, spray it on the bugs and wipe them off. Great stuff! I'd highly recommend it. Here's a photo of the bottle. It used to be pink, now it's purple. Don't know why they changed the colour.


After that I washed windows, then found I didn't do a very good job on them. Oh well! I was hot and sweaty by then so had a shower and sat outside and read my book. While I was outside I called my sister to see what's going on in her life. We talked for about 45 minutes, everyone there is fine - just cold and really sick of the bus strike.

Gordon came out and suggested we do a bit of driving around so we drove around the area and took some photos, then back to my lawn chair. When we got back he had gone to take photos of the sandhill cranes down the road as they were out close to the road when we came by and he ran into the owner, Delmer who offered to take him out in the boat. They weren't out long when the sky turned dark so they came back. Looks like we might be in for a storm tonight. We're going to have some cooler temperatures tomorrow.

Sandhill cranes seem closer with my new camera


As do the roseates


And the cormorants

This is such a pretty house

Sunshine on Matagorda Bay



Thunderhead over Matagorda Bay


Gordon and Delmer go out on the lake




We had a really nice day with temperatures around 75F (24C) and very little wind. The last couple of nights have been pretty warm for sleeping, of course, I haven't taken the electric blanket off the bed 'cause I'd just get it off and have to put it back on and it's a good thing I didn't take it off as the temperature has dropped about 20 degrees in the last hour or so.

The trials and tribulations of full time RVing!