Saturday Critters #511

I was a little surprised to see this Great Egret out in the open at Lake Como.

Fishing at the water's edge this stately, pure white, heron like bird really stands out against the landscape.

Using its dagger like bill to capture prey, 

which includes fish and the occasional aquatic mammal or bird.

Sexes are similar, 

the bill is yellow and the legs are dark black.

It stood in an almost a frozen state as I approached for pictures, 

getting to within 20 feet of this bird, perhaps even closer.

You can see here a little better how "out in the open" it was!

Sharing today's images with Eileen at 

Viewing Nature With Eileen 

for Saturday Critters

Making Pesto

 I have never made pesto, never, not ever and unfortunately it did not go as planned...

I followed this recipe, which I found to be delightful.

It is a great recipe,

with some suggestions for substitutions and the reasons you may want to substitute one item for another.

Those suggestions were included with the recipe.

My Basil looked beautiful...

I washed it good and laid it on a towel to dry.

I think this is probably going to be my last crop, depending on outdoor temperatures.

I used walnuts,

 I think you have to be insanely rich to use pine nuts,

although they are delicious and I used freshly grated parmesan cheese,

not romano cheese.

I do not own a food processor so I used my blender.

I drizzled olive oil slowly into the blender.

It finished up this dark green color...this is straight from the blender,

it was not smooth and creamy.

I thought maybe the blender was a little too rough on the basil,

or perhaps it was the type of basil I used.

We each had one bowl over pasta.

I topped it with freshly grated parmesan cheese amd a few pieces of walnuts.

It tasted ok, we ate it, but it was not "delicious" like I was hoping.

Any thoughts or suggestions from those who have made pesto?

The Carousel At Pier Village

 Riding carousels at The Jersey Shore is chesseled in my memory as I grew up here.

It is the only ride I ever enjoyed...

I don't enjoy anything scary, or thrilling, I just enjoy riding around in circles with colorful animals.

Carousels have a long history here...doing a little research I learned that

since as early as 1909, there has always been a carousel at the pier in Long Branch, NJ.

The pier and carousel were destroyed by a storm in 1944, then only two remained at the Jersey Shore.

In 1970 new interest developed in the carousels of yesteryear 

 and this hand carved carousel was unveiled in 1999 at the rebuilt pier at Pier Village.

As you can see from the photographs, not only can you ride a horse but also sea themed animals,

like a dolphin, a fish, a pelican, a sea horse and more.

The Carousel at Pier Village

The carousel is housed in a covered pavilion and encased in glass

 functioning for all seasons with heat in the winter.

It is open year round.

The Gladiola Greenhouse

 On our recent trip to Holland Ridge Farms, the fields were filled with gorgeous Gladiola.

These fields are "u-pick fields", anything you see and love, you are encouraged to pick.

Any season, any flower.

Clippers and buckets are provided, people pick really large bouquets.

These adorable shacks in the middle of the fields are great for taking pictures.

The Gladiola Greenhouse

If you missed any of the other entries from the trip to this farm they can be found here and here.

Tropical Storm Ophelia

 Ophelia has been swirling around the east coast for days.

It has been raining since Saturday and is expected to rain all day today.

We have been dealing with strong winds, heavy rain, and flooding.

They are reporting beach erosion on the news. 

I have not gone out, although I would have enjoyed a peak at the ocean.

I have enjoyed my inside time, as I made sure I had plenty of yarn and other projects to work on.

I prepared the ever important Fall Bucket List,

you can print your own here.

Saturday was the perfect day to make this 

Pot Roast

and it was amazing!

I also made Pesto, I think it was a flop...more on that another day!

I started to do a little Christmas Shopping.

Books for the little ones from Amazon.

I like buying books from Amazon because they are always in excellent condition.

On every occasion, I write a note on the inside cover.

I completed several Jigsaw Puzzles on my computer, they are so fun, here is a picture of my favorite.

My Kansas City Chiefs played the Chicago Bears at a great time on Sunday, 4:20 and they won...

41 - 10

it was a lopsided game but I still had my jersey on, #15, and enjoyed watching it!

I finished 2 more pumpkins,

The leaves I knitted a few years ago.