Wednesday, July 4, 2012

Happy 4th of July!


 
We are getting ready to leave – today I’m taking care of tanks and doing the laundry.  Tomorrow morning we are leaving, heading north toward Delores, CO where there are many camping spots. We're going to leave early, do a little shopping in the closest town, then head to a couple of places that I’ve found through blogs and Forest Service websites that look good.

I have various wrap-up photos that I want to post – lots of different subjects.  Since I haven't posted much, they are piling up. 

I’ve taken a lot of bird photos, these are the best, and I think I’ve got the correct names:

 Black-headed Grosbeak

 Isn't he beautiful?


These Whitebreasted Nuthatches, there were a lot of them, caught my attention because they were running up and down the trees in front of The Palms, singing away, pecking at the bark of the trees.  They were very busy.  In reading about them, I learned they were pecking at the bugs and larva in the crevices of the bark.  They were fun to watch, and very pretty little birds.



 
This first little Thrush was minding his own business when the second one came along and started dive-bombing him, then they were flying at each other. 


It looks like he has something in his beak?

My little Katie, as I’ve said before, doesn’t usually have a lot of expression on her face, but this is her “just back from a walk and now I get a treat” face:

 Just look at that big smile!

The way she is laying here makes me think of a deer – and she is at least part Deer Chihuahua:


 This is an interesting plant – I thought it was pretty. 


Squirrel that came through our campsite:


Butterfly (moth?) on flowers.  There are a lot of black butterflies and white butterflies here. 


And finally, I’ve been making my own croutons; I can’t believe how good they are.  Whenever I make a salad, I eat the croutons before I’m done making the salad.  Then I thought, instead of cutting the bread into little squares, why not cut each slice into quarters?  So the other day that’s what I did.  They are such great snacking crackers, and twice now I’ve made them into a dinner.  I put each square on the plate, slathered it with mayo, and added sliced tomatoes and ripe avocados.   OMG, they were sooooo good.  This is a photo, I didn’t make it pretty or cut the tomatoes and avocados evenly, it was already made when I thought about taking a picture.  I got the crouton recipe from the Internet, tried a few and settled on this one – so easy and super delicious!

 Crouton toast treats with watermelon balls - so good. Notice the bite, I couldn't wait.

From me and Katie, Happy 4th of July everyone!  :)

15 comments:

  1. Your photos are so good! The one of Katie "smiling" sure shows her personality.

    Nice to see all the bird photos too.

    Susan
    http://travelbug-susan.blogspot.com

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  2. Love the pictures of Katie. She is so cute. Hope it's cooler up a little further north for you then we're having here in MT.

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  3. Your photos are lovely, as always. The one of Katie 'smiling' is priceless! Hope you are not in the areas with the wildfires.

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  4. Yummo!! Katie is sure a cutie!! So dainty the way she was sitting.

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  5. Yum! Those croutons sound wonderful, and the combination with the tomato, mayo etc. makes my mouth water! (Want to bring some over to NY?)

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  6. Dinner looks awesome and how can you say Katie dosn't have a lot of expression? That dog talks to the camera.

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  7. dogs do smile!!!..nice looking foodie plate!!!..happy 4th of July to you and Katie!!

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  8. Dolores and the area Northeast of there is beautiful. I have not been to the grocery store in Dolores, but there is Safeway, City Market and Walmart in Cortez, these grocery stores are west of the turnoff for Dolores - but not very far, then you can go back to the road for Dolores. There is a public lands office in Dolores where you can get maps and talk to the rangers. Have a good time and safe trip. Hopefully we can meet up in the winter somewhere.

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  9. Love birds and your photos really capture them. Love the smile on Katie. My little guy always sits with his paws tucked like that. He has those thin long legs, he reminds me of a little fawn. BTW: I am getting another Italian Greyhound, Saturday from the IG Rescue in New Orleans . He is 4 yrs old an a seal color with white tips on feet and tail. His name is Vito. I can hardly wait. Just found out tonight.

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  10. I made croutons this morning for a spinach salad. I could have eaten them in no time and had none left for the salad! You can't buy croutons that good anywhere.

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  11. travel safe..love the pics of Katie..what cutie putie she is

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  12. Photos, great as always.
    My zoom is only 10x. What is yours? I usually can't get close enough for a decent pic.
    Say Hi to Katie from Angel.

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  13. Nice bird pics. We have Nuthatches here too, and they are fun to watch scurrying up the trees.

    Have to try your crouton recipe, yum!

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  14. love Katie's smile! hahaa and jeeeez that crouton toast and watermelon balls and avocado looks good.

    tomato, avocado and mayonnaise?

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