Photos

    Annual caramel making. These seem 👌and perfectly plastic. Here’s a series of photos showing sugar mixture color at ~300°F, 320°F, near 340°F, after cream & butter added, and cooling to finish. Stressful making these as one errant crystal can cause it all to crystallize.

    boling sugar mixture a gold color, almost 300Fboling sugar mixture an amber color, about 320Fboling sugar mixture a dark amber color, almost 340F.boling cream, butter, sugar mixture caramel color.coarse salt caramel cooling in a parchment lined pan

    Black Phoebe! These flycatchers are elusive in our backyard.

    Unidentified hummingbird enjoying rosemary flowers today. Maybe a Black Chin. Doesn’t seem to have the colorations of an Anna’s.

    Split Pea Soup made with a ham hock! Love the cold season 🥰

    House Sparrows frenetically bathing under the mandarin this morning.

    three house sparrows in a shallow birdbath with one sparrow waiting its turn. all under a mandarin tree with ripening oranges.

    Front yard: today and April 19. I cleaned up a lot of it today. This yard of cultivated native plants is so much more rewarding than a lawn.

    Dec 11 2020 front yard, cleaned up and died backApril 19 2020 yard, very green, overgrown, with bright orange poppies

    Pulling out grass from the cultivated native sage is exhausting. At least I’m perfumed with sage now.

    sage full of grasssage with less grass

    The Annie Cat maximizing sunlight.

    black and white cat on a perch taking in a sun beam

    Last year this was not our view into the backyard from the house. Now we regularly see White Crowns, House Sparrows, European Collared Doves, Scrub Jays, and less often Lesser Gold Finches. Thanks, bird feeder! What this means for spring/summer tree fruit harvest… 😬

    New bird in our backyard! Yellow-rumped Warbler. A pair was feasting on our cultivated California Grapes that now have raisins.

    December 2nd, 2013: at the Dresden Christmas Market.

    Partner made Naan today (along with Turkey Tikka Masala).

    cooking naan on a baking steelbatch of naanTurkey tikka masala

    Stuffing waffles. So crispy & savory.

    stuffing waffles

    Mandarins and Meyer Lemons are ripening nicely. Maybe one more month until the Mandarins are sweet enough.

    mandarin treemeyer lemon tree

    Leftovers 🎉. Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

    The makings of Thanksgiving dinner for a couple is bread for stuffing and Turkey stock for just about everything. My partner is very busy; I don’t cook! ❤️

    turkey partsturkey stock in jarshomemade sourdough loafcubed sourdough bread for stuffing

    Pecan Squares instead of Peacan Pie. And as we’re not having Thanksgiving with anyone, dessert is a day early! 😋

    Sunset during our isolation vacation at the North Coast of California.

    Fox Sparrows (?) enjoying the cultivated California Grape raisins. We’ve also perhaps identified House Finches… in addition to the many White Crown Sparrows (not photographed).

    Fox SparrowHouse Finch

    Cistus × purpureus (Purple-flowered Rock-rose)

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