Itty bitty turtles, tiny frogs and a snake.

Living on a pond, we have a lot of turtles and frogs.   Each spring, we enjoy the catch and release of many. In fact, we have to be very careful mowing the lawn in the spring as the turtles make their way through the yards to lay eggs.  Today, my husband and son found this itty bitty Western Painted Turtle on the driveway and have named him "Picasso".  We will keep him for the day, and let him continue on his way to the pond this evening.  The Western is the most vibrant of the group of painters with a brilliant orange bottom.  He'll grow to be between 6 - 8 " across.

Picasso's belly.

All tucked in, just in case!

Last year we found this baby snapping turtle.  Of course, we named him "Snappy". This is the only time in their life where they are cute.  We had a little fun with it before releasing it....  We also have adult snapping turtles living in our pond (one of the many reasons we don't swim there!).  Each year, we see at least one of the big ones in someone's driveway or crossing the street.   They are usually about 18" or so in size and are terrifying.  I've been told their beaks can snap a broom handle.  I'll trust that to be true.

Snappy in Paris.

He's definitely staring at me...

So tiny, but look at those claws!

Snappy - ready to explore! Check out his long neck and tail.

When they are no longer cute.  This guy was crossing
the street a few years ago.   His shell was at least 18" long,
but from beak to tail he was double that.  

We also have garter snakes.  I don't see these as often, thankfully, but this one slithered out of our landscaping today.  I'm not afraid of snakes, but I really dislike how they can surprise me and cross my path.

Every couple of years, when the spring is just right, we also have a huge surge of frogs.  A few years ago, there were so many that there were masses of them in the streets by the curbs - I guess they were piling up there because they couldn't climb to get back into the yards.  We raised baby mallards that year, and the kids would collect them to feed to the ducks.  They were super cute - and also apparently tasted like candy to ducklings!

Teeny tiny - masses of frogs.

I wonder what we will find tomorrow?

It's a full nest!

The nest is full.

I was able to check out the eggs a little more closely this morning and to my surprise, I found 21 eggs!  A wood duck normally lays around a dozen.
According to the Wood Duck Society, my new 'go to' reference, it is quite common for more than one hen to lay eggs in the same nest.  This is called a "dump nest" or a "compound nest".
I have seen at least one other pair of wood ducks in our pond - so I guess that's possible.  Why? Anyone's guess.  Maybe the second duck just wasn't up to the challenge of a dozen babies.  Understandable...

Wood duck eggs hatch in approximately 30 days from when the last one was laid.  I have zero idea of when that was.  My best guess is going to come from candling an egg.  Candling means to take an egg into a dark room and shine a flashlight behind it.  In this manner, you can see right into the developing egg and gauge it's progress.  We did this a few years ago when we raised the orphaned mallards. When we raised the mallards, we had an incubator - so it wasn't crucial to know the hatch date.  We just watched for it to happen.  With the wood ducks, if we don't have a guess, we will miss it. According to the Wood Duck Society, the eggs will begin to hatch one day, and the next day they will all leave the nest between 7:00 and 9:00 am.  That is a really small window of opportunity. If we can guess the progress, we MIGHT know when to start watching for hatching.

There is a lot of good information online about gauging the progress of chickens via candling and very little about ducks.  Chickens hatch in 3 weeks, ducks in four - so you can't really use that information.  I found one and only one chart online - but I have to make a big guess using it.  I think my best bet will be to try to candle another egg in about a week to make a comparison.  Skyler doesn't love it when I peek in on her (she hisses at me) and I've yet to catch her out of the box for dinner.  That means I've had to chase her out by opening the side door.  I admit, I feel kind of bad about that - so that is why I'm going to wait another week.  Give the lady some peace at home.

In the meantime, enjoy these pictures and be sure to check back!

Single wood duck egg, slightly
smaller than a chicken egg.

I took the top three eggs off so we could see
how neatly stacked all the eggs are.  Each can
be kept toasty warm by mama duck!

All 21 eggs. 

Candling the wood duck egg. No guesses yet on age. 

Isn't it beautiful?
                                                                                                                           

While we wait for baby wood ducks....

While cleaning up some leftover fall leaves, I came across these two frogs.   One is significantly bigger than the other.  Aren't they beautiful?  These are Northern Leopard Frogs.  The picture of them in my hand is with the flash so you can see the vibrant coloring. 

These guys are REALLY loud in the late afternoons and all night long this time of year. Their shrill call attracts a mate.  

Listen to their call here: Northern Leopard Frog Call

We have eggs!

We have eggs!
I don't know how many, as Skyler is burying them in the wood chips, but I can see at least eight.
The only way we could figure this out for certain is to reach in and move around her eggs while she is out of the nest - and she is very rarely out of her nest. The information I read online says that she will leave twice a day to eat, for about 30 minutes at a time.  It's tough to catch her out...

Wood ducks lay an egg a day until they reach their final count of around a dozen.  Once she is done laying, it will be about a month until they hatch.  Isn't all that down fluff pretty? Looks so cozy, too (except for the poop).  Stay tuned!

Watching wood ducks - up close.

One of the things I love most about living where we do, is the constant barrage of nature.

Turtles, frogs, turkeys, fox, coyotes, deer, birds of all sorts and lots and lots of ducks (I really don't enjoy the geese....). We have nature in the city. We live near a nature center, golf course and on a pond - which means an abundance of nearby habitat.

In the past, our family raised some orphaned mallards* (that was an experience!), closely observed a house finch family *(adorable) and are now just beginning to learn about wood ducks - thanks in part to a neighbor who suggested that we needed to get a wood duck box. Ok - let's do it.Wood Ducks are (according to Wikipedia) "a medium-sized perching duck. [They are] about three-quarters of the length of an adult mallard. Their breeding habitat is wooded swamps, shallow lakes, marshes or ponds, and creeks in eastern North America, the west coast of the United States and western Mexico. They usually nest in cavities in trees close to water, although they will take advantage of nesting boxes in wetland locations if available."

Male wood duck (credit Wikipedia)

Female wood duck (credit Wikipedia)

I ordered my wood duck nesting box on Etsy, and my husband installed it near our shoreline using a post and some cement to keep it in place. The box came with cedar shavings for nesting material and we added a cone baffle to keep out squirrels and raccoons (in the south, snakes can be a problem). Predators are a big issue for wood ducks so it's good to take the proper precautions to insure the safety of the ducks. Boxes can be mounted on trees and fence posts as well - but they are less safe for the birds.

My box came with a door on the side to clean and observe. I used it to peek inside the other day and was surprised to find a hen already nesting inside! We scared each other quite a bit and she flew out in a huff. I think for a while, we'll try to observe her more stealthly, using my phone camera and the entrance hole, rather than opening up the side.

Wood duck nesting box, ordered on www.etsy.com

Skyler

I've been reading up on wood ducks, and apparently they lay around a dozen eggs, one per day. After they have all been laid, they will begin to hatch in a month. My daughter has named the hen "Skyler". I'm going to peek in on Skyler every few days to see if anything changes.... 

                                             
Check back and watch and learn with us!

*Note: Click on the links above to follow us in past years as we learned about mallards and house finches!

It's Soup Swap time again!

Last year's soup swap was so fun, I decided to try it again.

Like last time, the soup swap was an add-on to our monthly Bunco - those who wanted to participate just came a little early.  Some of the same cooks as last year and some new ones as well!

What is a soup swap?  It's just like a cookie exchange, but with less guilt.  ;-)
And really, so practical.  Cookies are fantastic - but they are an indulgence.  Soup - well, that is just dinner that someone else cooked for me.  Who doesn't like that?

This year there were eight of us participating, so that means we each took home seven different types of  frozen, homemade soup.  Each take-home container is one-quart.  Now, I know one of these quarts isn't enough to feed a family - but it will feed my husband and I whilst the kiddos have canned chicken noodle (their preference anyway).  Or, it will feed just me 2-3 times for lunch.  I like that option, too.
A third option for a family is to serve up two of the varieties at the same time.
Anyway you serve it up, mama's happy.

To add to the fun, there is a prize ($10 gift card) awarded to the "best dressed" soup. Lots of contenders this year!  Several beautiful soups and even one batch (Chili) decorated by lovely little Maisie (Mine said "It's been a bit chili lately…).  If you look closely at the pictures, you'll see Kristin's soup has make-up on the top.   Why? (We all wanted to know.)  Apparently, in the front of her mom's old Betty Crocker or Pillsbury cookbook, there were several pages dedicated to the proper way to look beautiful and be prepared for your husband's homecoming from work and dinner being served.  Ah-ha-ha! Not quite the way in goes in my house, but the story was fantastic.

In the end, the prize went to Camille's Chicken Tortilla Soups all decorated up for a fiesta.

No, that isn't canned soup you see peeking out of the bag.
That is the optional diced green chilies that Camille provided.

This year, our group made:
- Wild Rice Soup
- Traditional Chili
- Vegetarian Chili
- Chicken Pot Pie Soup
- Chicken Tortilla Soup
- Tomato Basil
- Butternut Squash with Coconut Curry
- Hearty Vegetable

We have already eaten one of the soups (delish!) and I'm sure I'll be thawing another for later this week.
What a treat to have on hand.  Thank you to my amazing Bunco friends!

If you want more details on how to pull of a Soup Swap of your own, I put all the directions in my post from last year.  Just click here: Soup Swap!

Healthy muffins for a quick breakfast or snack (Dairy Free!) - Part 2

Pumpkins, oh how I love thee!

I love you in pie, in smoothies, in soups, in pancakes and in muffins. I cannot go wrong with pumpkin.  I wish we could (intentionally) grow pumpkins, but they just take up way too much space.  So each year I buy a few pie pumpkins and roast them myself.  Its very easy.

For the second year, a pumpkin has planted itself right outside
our front door.  Can you see the vine and blossoms running
along side the railing? It has at least one pumpkin on it. 

My squirrel-planted pumpkin, grown in the landscaping.
Beautiful, right?

You can buy high quality, delicious canned pumpkin.  No one will ever fault you for that.  But for me, this time of year, I love roasting pumpkins at home.  And because this beauty grew in my landscaping, I knew I just had to.  If you want to give it a try, it is the same procedure as roasting any squash.  If you don't, skip down and try the recipe anyway, with the canned pumpkin.
Note when buying canned pumpkin - some is canned with the seasonings.  If this is the case, omit the pumpkin pie spice from the recipe below. 

Roasting Pumpkins:

- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

- Find and wash a 2-3 lb. pie pumpkin.  Giant carving pumpkins are not tasty. 

- Slice it in half, from the stem to the bottom.

- Remove the seeds and scrape the stringy pulp out. You can save the seeds for roasting - just make sure to clean off all the pulp and set them aside to dry.

- Place the pumpkin halves cut-side down in a 9x13 or similar sized pan.  Fill with 1" of water.

- Place your pumpkin in the oven for 45-55 minutes or until it is fork-tender (very soft).

- Remove from the oven and allow it to cool until you can handle it with your hands.

- The skin of the pumpkin should be very pliable.  You can either peel it off with your fingers or easily scrape the pumpkin out of the shell.  Put it all in the blender with just enough water to blend it (maybe 1/4 cup).  At the time of this photo, I was using a Magic Bullet - so I had to do this in a few takes.  A full sized blender is quicker.  

- Place the purreed pumpkin in baggies (removing all the air) in 1 cup quantities.  Label and freeze flat for later use.  Or of course you can use the pumpkin right away.  See recipe below.

Halved, one half with
seeds removed, one to go.

Roasted.

                                   

Skins - after peeling.

After the pumpkin has cooled, I used a
Magic Bullet, but any method to puree
will work.  Be sure to add a little water
to get a smooth consistency. 

Extra pumpkin bagged and ready to freeze.
Make sure to freeze flat (for easy storage)
and remove all the air before sealing.

One of my FAVORITE recipes.  A great breakfast treat, but passes as a wonderful snack as well:

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins

(yield - approx. 18 muffins)

2 cups flour*

1/2 cup sugar

3 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

3/4 cup milk or non-dairy substitute (I use almond milk)

1/3 cup oil (I like coconut oil - use in liquid state)

1 egg, beaten

1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice (cinnamon nutmeg blend will do as well).

1 cup pureed pumpkin

1 cup chocolate chocolate chips**

1. Pre-heat oven to 400 F. I recommend avoiding muffin papers.  You don't need them and they make a  mess.  Just grease your muffin pan.*** 

2.  In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together all of the dry ingredients.  (Note: This is a good time to make up one or two extra batches, since you have all the ingredients out.  Just put the dry ingredients into storage baggies and label.  Put the additional ingredients needed and directions on a sticky note and place inside, or write it on the outside of the bag with a permanent marker.  Now you have your own mix ready to go for another time with way less work!)

3.  In a small bowl, whisk together all of the remaining wet ingredients.  Hand mix (gently) into the dry ingredients.  Don't over mix.  Just until the entire batch is wet and not lumpy.

4. Fill muffin cups 2/3 full.  Bake for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick (or skewer) comes out clean.  

Cool 5-10 minutes before trying to remove from pan.  Delicious served warm with butter.

I normally leave half the batch out for eating and freeze the other half to take out later.  Again, a large baggie works great - just remember to remove all the air! 

Notes:
* I use my own flour blend of 50% all purpose flour and 50% whole wheat pastry flour.  Whole wheat pastry flour has all the nutritional benefits or regular whole wheat flour, but it is ground more finely and it much more "usable" in baking.  I haven't switched over to 100% whole wheat because it is just too difficult to bake with. The result is very "heavy".  This way, I get the best of both worlds. 
** My daughter is allergic to dairy, so I use high quality chocolate chips that are dairy free.  The Enjoy Life brand also makes dairy free chips.  Both are commonly found in big chain grocery stores. 
*** I really love my Pampered Chef stoneware muffin pan.  You'll see me using it in recipes a lot.  I'm sure there are competitors who sell this as well, if you are interested.  The qualities of the stoneware allow me to bake without muffin liners, which I love.  

Baked to perfection in my Pampered Chef stoneware baking pan.

Ready to eat and oh, so sweet!  Can't wait for breakfast!

Freezing half the batch for later.

Roasting pumpkin seeds is easy.  After you have cleaned out your pie pumpkins or even your carving pumpkins you will have plenty for snacking.  Clean them well to get rid of all the "pumpkin slime".

Pat them dry or allow them to air dry.  There are many many recipes to be found online for seed seasoning.  This year we used one I found on AllRecipes.com.  Here it is:

Mix together:

2 cups clean, dry pumpkin seeds

1 1/2 tbs. melted butter (I used coconut oil)

1 1/2 tsp. worcestershire

1 1/4 tsp. salt

Bake on sheet pan (with sides!) for 90 minutes at 250 F, stirring every 15-20 minutes.  Seeds should be dry when you are done - if not, bake a little longer. 

Enjoy!