Birds, Bees, Fish and Butterflies. And Moths.
Mary Ellen and I are still having a hard time pulling ourselves away from the porch. Every time we look there is something new and wonderful. We have any number of Hooded Orioles, Pyrrhuloxia (Google that one; he looks like a Red Cardinal from the Barrio; spiky hair, rough around the edges, lean, mean and sporting an attitude), Cactus Wrens (who are actually building a nest in a suguaro cactus off the porch), a Gambel’s Quail complete with adorable head tuft, Black Chinned and Ruby Throated Hummingbirds, and what we think was a Great Southern White Butterfly (which is actually a gorgeous shade of lime green). There are also finches and cardinals, and an as of yet unidentified woodpecker. And lots of lizards and geckos. Mary is going for the Vulcan Mind Meld on the hummingbirds, trying to beckon them to the feeders. She’s going to work on hand feeding the finches today as well.
…I spotted a honeybee in the chocolate. I couldn’t figure out if he was stuck or just lovin’ life.
While I was making the candy I mentioned yesterday I had a surprise visitor. The process is this: you melt the butter and add the brown sugar until bubbling, then pour it over a layer of saltines on a cookie sheet. It goes into the oven for a few minutes and when it comes out chocolate chips are sprinkled over the top. They melt almost immediately and can be spread like frosting with the back of a spoon. They then need to cool before refrigerating or freezing them to harden up. I’d put them on the table to cool down, and when I went to check on their temperature before putting them in the fridge I spotted a honeybee in the chocolate. I couldn’t figure out if he was stuck or just lovin’ life. Mary and I extracted him with the flat end of a knife, but not before capsizing him into more chocolate. She gently washed him in droplets of water (bees have enough problems right now without us thinning the herd) and last we saw he was sitting on a wet paper towel in the shade continuing the cleaning process. So if he made it we’re happy. If he died from a chocolate overdose it’s not such a bad way to go. If he became a tasty morsel for a gecko or a bird, then mazel tov, good for the gecko or bird. We gave it our best shot.
About the whole food chain thing, we’re experiencing probably more than we really need to here. The geckos are in every corner of the house, which is fine. They eat bugs and keep the spiders at bay. But every morning we come out of our rooms (we have mosquito netting and Mary closes the main house doors) to find piles of moth wings on the porch. Day one I just thought some poor moth had lost a fight with a windowpane. But it was every day at most every door. So the geckos or possibly the bat that swooped into the house (and back out again) on the first night are having a feeding frenzy on these poor unsuspecting moths. They eat the tasty parts and leave the crunchy bits. And we sweep them up.
We snorkeled off the main Cabo Pulmo beach yesterday and the water was glorious. We saw parrotfish and surgeonfish, a gorgeous spotted boxfish and sergeant majors. Today we’re going to brave the bluffs and attempt the hike from Los Arbolitos over to La Serenita which has some of the best snorkeling. The big question will be whether or not to bring beer. If the wind stays calm it will be great, if the wind picks up we’ll be staying in the garden with the birds.
We dined on chorizo, poblano peppers, onions, guacamole and cheese filled corn tortillas yesterday for lunch, and marinated spicy grilled chicken with homemade coleslaw for dinner. I’m loving the Media Crema, which is supposed to be half and half but is the consistency of Crème Anglaise. I could get into all kinds of trouble with this stuff at home. The coleslaw dressing calls for half and half and the Media Crema made it lusciously creamy. And the chicken marinade was paprika, cumin, smashed garlic, sugar, salt, hot pepper and vegetable oil. I usually do it in a frying pan and finish it in the oven, but the grill was calling. The chicken breasts here looked to be pre-tenderized. Not sure how they do it but it sure works. And we had a nice Chilean Cabernet. And leftover carrot cake! Steve is pacing himself. He mentioned last night that this was the longest a carrot cake has ever lasted in our refrigerator.
Adios for now!
