Weather ~ Granddaughter Sami ~ Crows and Ravens ~ After School Pizza Puffs ~ National Croissant Day

  

Good 16º morning. Burrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

 

 

Yesterday we started at 29º and topped at 56º.

My mountain enjoying the morning sun..

 

 

Picture of the Day ...

My granddaughter Sami....

 

She was in a gymnastics competition last weekend up by Portland. She took 1st Place!

 

 

 

Interesting about Crows and Ravens.......

Crows and ravens belong in the Corvid family (which includes jays, nutcrackers and magpies) and are considered to be among the most adaptable and intelligent birds. Crows and ravens can appear to be very similar, making it a challenge for someone to tell the difference between the two birds. Both birds are completely black and both species are commonly found across North America. Tips for telling the difference between a crow and raven can be found by comparing the size of the bird, shape of the tail feathers, the smoothness of the bird’s neck, the birds’ sound and how the birds socialize.

 

Crows have a glossy, all-black plumage with a relatively long, dark bill and dark legs. In flight, the crow has a rather long, fan-shaped tail. The Juveniles are similar to adults, but they have a pale iris and a brownish overall tinge to their plumage.  Crows on average are 17-20 inches in length. When crows molt, the old feathers can appear brownish or scaly compared to the glossy new feathers. Both sexes are alike in appearance although the females are a little smaller in size. Its coal-black coloring, highly social behavior and distinct call makes the crow one of the most frequently seen and heard birds.

 

 Crows live in large, close-knit families and like social creatures; they not only hunt and forage together but also defend territories together. Crows will occupy almost any woodland, farmland, orchard or residential neighborhood as long as sufficient shelter and enough trees suitable for nesting are available.  They seem to prefer lower elevations and moist places, including creeks, streams and lake shores.

Crows reach sexual maturity around 2 years of age though most do not breed until they are at least 4 years old. After mating, both members of a breeding pair help build the nest. Young birds from the previous year sometimes help as well.  The nest is made primary of medium-sized twigs with an inner cup lined with pine needles, weeds, soft bark or animal hair.

 

Ravens

The Raven is a very large black bird with a thick neck, shaggy throat feathers, and a long, thick beak. In flight, ravens have a long, slightly wedge-shaped tail, long, broad, rather pointed wings with long thin “fingers” at the wingtip. They are about the size of hawks, growing to between 22 and 27 inches in length. The Raven is an acrobatic flier, and is often seen doing barrel rolls and somersaults in flight. 

Ravens are scavengers and will eat almost anything including carrion, small animals, birds as large as Rock Pigeons and nestling Great Blue Herons, eggs, a variety of arthropods, fish, grains, buds and berries, and most types of human food including garbage. Ravens also eat fowl and their eggs, including chickens, ducks, guineas and geese. Ravens generally have few predators-eagles, hawks, owls and human hunters. Humans are the main predators.

A female raven will lay between 3-7 eggs in the nest and incubates them for about 18 days. The male and female will both tend to their young. Young leave the nest between 5 and 7 weeks of age. They sometimes disperse or may stay in the area where they were born. Sexual maturity is reached at about 3 years of age.

 Ravens are very intelligent and are known to work in pairs to raid colonies of nesting seabirds; one bird distracts an incubating adult while the other grabs an egg or chick. They can make a wide variety of sounds ranging from low baritone croaks to high bell-like notes, and can even mimic the calls of other bird species. Their most common call is a long hoarse kraah. Ravens also have been to peck and destroy irrigation piping and drip lines resulting damage and preventing the flow of water to crops.

 

BASIS OF COMPARISON	CROWS	RAVENS
Habitat	Crows will occupy almost any woodland, farmland, orchard or residential neighborhood as long as sufficient shelter and enough trees suitable for nesting are available.	Grasslands, beaches, forests, islands, sagebrush, deserts, mountains, tundra, ice floes and agriculture fields.
Size	A crow is about the size of a dove, with a body length of about 19 inches and weighs about 0.57 kg.	A raven is about the size of a hawk, measuring about 24-27 inches in length and weighs about 1.13 kg.
Bills	Crows have weaker bills that are smaller and mostly flat.	Ravens have black, larger, thicker, curved and more powerful beaks.
Feathers	The feathers of crows are less shiny and may have lighter markings.	The feathers of ravens are generally shiny with a wet sheen.
Throat Feathers	The crow has a smooth throat with relatively short feathers.	Ravens have shaggy feathers around the throat and above the beak.
Wings	Crows have straight wings that have very little blending along either the leading or trailing edge.	Raven’s wings are longer with a more visible crook at the wrist and the primary feathers are more splayed, showing more ‘’finger’’ space between them.
Tail	Crows have shorter tails with only a very slight curve showing when the tail is fanned in flight.	Ravens have longer tails and the feathers in the center of the tail are significantly longer, creating a distinctly pointed wedge, diamond or V-shaped.
In-Flight	In flight, crows are more energetic with frequent flaps.	In flight crows occasionally somersault and are more likely to soar and glide with only shallow, infrequent flaps.
In Flight Sound	In flight, the wings of crows are typically silent.	In flight wings of ravens may make a distinct swishing sound.
Sheen	In the right light conditions, the crow’s sheen appear greenish.	In the right light conditions, the Raven’s sheen is blue or purple.
Lifespan	Crows have a lifespan of up to 8 years.	Ravens have a lifespan of about 30 years.
Nature	Crows are gregarious birds that will travel in family flocks and use communal roosts, creating large groups of raucous birds.	Ravens are much more solitary or are found frequently in pairs, but very rarely in larger groups.
Diet	Crows only eat carrion on occasion, and their diet includes many other food items, including insects, mollusks, seeds, fruit, nuts, mice, eggs, nestlings of other birds and fish.	Ravens are scavengers and will eat almost anything including carrion, small animals, birds as large as Pigeons, eggs, a variety of arthropods, fish, grains, buds and berries, and most types of human food including garbage.
Call	Crows makes a typical ‘’caw-caw’’ call.	Common ravens have a much coarse, rattling call that that sounds like a long, slow croaking ‘’grooonk’’ tone.

 

 

From Mr. Food

 

With just a few convenient items from our market refrigerated case, we have the shortcut to some warm and welcoming After School Pizza Puffs. The kids are sure to do their homework with a smile when you serve these up!

• 1 (12-ounce) package refrigerated biscuits (10 biscuits)
• 1/2 cup pizza sauce, divided
• 1/3 cup refrigerated cooked crumbled sausage
• 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
• Grated Parmesan cheese, for sprinkling
• Cooking spray

 

 

1. Preheat oven to 375º. Coat a baking sheet with cooking spray. 
    
2. Separate biscuit dough into 10 pieces. Make an indentation in the center of each biscuit with your thumb. Spoon a teaspoon of sauce into each indentation. Top evenly with crumbled sausage and mozzarella cheese and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.
    
3. Pull dough over filling and pinch together firmly so that filling is completely enclosed. Place seam side down on prepared baking sheet. Lightly spray tops with cooking spray and sprinkle with more Parmesan cheese.
    
4. Bake 10 to 12 minutes, or until golden. Serve warm with remaining pizza sauce.

 

 

 

Historically this date..........

1835 – In the first assassination attempt against a President of the United States, Richard Lawrence attempts to shoot president Andrew Jackson, but fails and is subdued by a crowd, including several congressmen.

 

1847 – Yerba Buena, California is renamed San Francisco.

 

And births this year include....

1882 – Franklin D. Roosevelt, American politician, 44th Governor of New York, and 32nd President of the United States (d. 1945)

 

1914 – John Ireland, Canadian actor (d. 1992)

 

1914 – David Wayne, American actor (d. 1995)

 

1922 – Dick Martin, American comedian (d. 2008)

 

 

1925 – Dorothy Malone, American actress (d.2018)

 

1930 – Gene Hackman, American actor

 

1937 – Vanessa Redgrave, English actress

 

 

1941 – Dick Cheney, American politician, 7th White House Chief of Staff, Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Wyoming, 17th United States Secretary of Defense and 46th Vice President of the United States

 

 

 

All I know. Nuff said. Have a good Monday. Ciao.

xo Sue Mom Bobo

In the United States, National Croissant Day recognizes a flaky pastry enjoyed at every meal.  Croissants are a buttery, crescent-shaped rolls that are crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. 

The key to a perfect croissant is laminating the dough. Laminating the dough is a process by which butter is folded into the mixture creating multiple thin layers of butter and dough. The result is a mouth-watering flaky crust and airy body.

Legend surrounds this pastry, as is often the case with a popular, worldly treat. What is known, is that crescent-shaped breads have been found around the world for ages. One of these was the Kipferl which originated in Austria as far back as the 13th century. This nonlaminated bread is more like a roll.

Credit for the croissant we know today is given to an Austrian military officer, August Zang. In 1939 he opened a Viennese bakery in Paris introducing France to Viennese baking techniques.

HOW TO OBSERVE

Stop by the bakery for a fresh, warm croissant. Be sure to give your baker a shout out, too! Of course, you can always try baking your own. We’ve even provided a recipe to try.

Croissants recipe.

 

NATIONAL CROISSANT DAY HISTORY

The earliest we’ve found the observance being celebrated is in 2006. National Day Calendar continues researching the origins of this buttery food holiday.