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Healthy Oven Fries

December 29, 2010 by Leslie (LadyMin)

These very yummy oven fries are the best tasting potatoes I’ve eaten in a long time. I used Russet Potatoes but any type will work. In the picture I’m flipping them so they cook evenly.

These are so good and so easy to make I’m wondering why I never tried them before.

 

Preparation:

  • Cut several clean, unpeeled potatoes into quarter inch slices.
  • Soak in water for about half an hour.
  • Dry off potatoes.
  • Coat with a teaspoon or two of oil and seasonings (salt or spices).
  • Bake at 400°F for about 40 minutes or until crisp.
  • Flip several times so they cook evenly.

Posted in Recipes | Tagged , , | 1 Comment »

Holiday Greetings

December 25, 2010 by Leslie (LadyMin)

Posted in Holiday | Tagged , | 1 Comment »

Weekend Birding: Red-bellied Woodpecker

November 20, 2010 by Leslie (LadyMin)

The Red-bellied Woodpecker is a year round resident in my yard. This medium-sized woodpecker can be found in the eastern half of the United States. They prefer the tall woodland trees but can be enticed to backyard feeders with offerings of suet or peanuts.

This female is often in my yard. I was potting some plants to bring in for the winter when I heard a loud yelp from the walnut tree and seconds later there she was at the feeder scolding me because it was empty. She has very distinctive calls, a cha-cha-cha or rolling kwirrr sound. Once you are familiar with it the bird is easy to find.

You can tell this is a female by the lack of red feathers on the top of her head. The male has an all red cap and juvenile birds have no color on their heads. People always want to call this bird a red-headed woodpecker, but that’s a different bird. If you look real close you can see a small patch of red feathers on her belly, which is how she got her name.
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Cross-posted on Under My Apple Tree.

Posted in Birds, Wordless Wednesday | Tagged , | Leave a Comment »

White-Crowned Sparrow

November 13, 2010 by Leslie (LadyMin)

For a week or two in early autumn and early spring the White-crowned sparrow visits my suburban Chicago backyard. I look forward to his visit in spring, not so much in autumn as I know winter will soon follow.

This is a migratory native North American sparrow that spends it’s summers mainly in Canada and winters in the mid to southern United States and Mexico. Larger than the House Sparrow, it can usually be found scratching around on the ground for seeds.

I took this photo Halloween weekend, the same weekend he arrived last year. I sometimes wonder if the same birds visit every year.

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Cross-posted on Under My Apple Tree.

Posted in Birds, Wordless Wednesday | Tagged , | 1 Comment »

Wordless Wednesday: Cedar Waxwing

October 13, 2010 by Leslie (LadyMin)

Birds, birds everywhere at Cantigny Gardens last weekend. This Cedar tree was filled with about 50 Waxwings. This is a fairly common bird but you’ll only see them if you look up. They like to travel in flocks and can be seen eating berries in fruit trees or catching insects in mid-air.

More Wordless Wednesday.

Posted in Birds, Garden, Photos, Wordless Wednesday | Tagged , , | 3 Comments »

RIP Elm Trees

October 7, 2010 by Leslie (LadyMin)

My once shady yard is now filled with sunshine. My two huge elm trees caught dutch elm disease and within a matter of months were dead. They were in the back yard and couldn’t be reached by lift equipment so the tree removal crew climbed them to cut them down. Amazing how they did it so precisely without hurting my other trees, landscaping, deck or garage.

Some photos of the trees coming down. Click on image for larger size.

Climbing tree to attach ropes.

Sawing the branches.

Climbing waaaaay up in the tree.

Another large branch somes down.

Branches swing down on ropes.

The main trunk falls.


Grinding up the dead branches.


Most expensive woods chips ever!

The tree removal crew.

Woodpeckers loved the dead bark.

The birds still found the feeders.

Posted in Trees | Tagged , | Leave a Comment »

Wordless Wednesday: Begonia

September 29, 2010 by Leslie (LadyMin)

Photo taken in LadyMin’s Garden.

More Wordless Wednesday.

Posted in Garden, Wordless Wednesday | Tagged , , | Leave a Comment »

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