Weather ~ Picture of the Day ~ Painted Bunting Bird ~ Gooey Peanut Butter Squares ~ National Chop Suey Day

  

Good 55º smokey morning. 

 

 

Yesterday we topped at 90º.

 

 

Picture of the Day...what a mailbox!

 

 

Interesting about the Painted Bunting bird......

 

The painted bunting (Passerina ciris) is a species of bird in the cardinal family, Cardinalidae. It is native to North America. The bright plumage of the male only comes in the second year of life; in the first year they can only be distinguished from the female by close inspection.

Taxonomy

The painted bunting was originally described by Carl Linnaeus in his eighteenth-century work Systema Naturae. There are two recognized subspecies of the painted bunting.

• P. c. ciris – (Linnaeus, 1758): nominate, breeds in the southeastern United States
• P. c. pallidior – Mearns, 1911: breeds in south central US and northern Mexico

The painted bunting is also called the Mexican canary, painted finch, pope, or nonpareil.

Description

The male painted bunting is often described as the most beautiful bird in North America and as such has been nicknamed nonpareil, or "without equal". Its colors, dark blue head, green back, red rump, and underparts, make it extremely easy to identify, but it can still be difficult to spot since it often skulks in foliage even when it is singing. The plumage of female and juvenile painted buntings is green and yellow-green, serving as camouflage. Once seen, the adult female is still distinctive, since it is a brighter, truer green than other similar songbirds. Adult painted buntings can measure 12–14 4.7–5.5 in. in length, span 8.3–9.1 in. across the wings and weigh 0.46–0.67 oz.

 

The juveniles have two inserted molts in their first autumn, each yielding plumage like an adult female. The first starts a few days after fledging, replacing the juvenile plumage with an auxiliary formative plumage; and the second a month or so later giving the formative plumage.

 

Painted bunting eggs are pale blue-white speckled or spotted with brown. Three to four eggs (or occasionally five) appear from March to July in cup-shaped nests usually built in brush or low trees, usually 3 to 6 feet from the ground but up to 12 feet.

 

Behavior

Painted buntings are shy, secretive and often difficult to observe with the human eye, though can be fairly approachable where habituated to bird feeders. Males sing in spring from exposed perches to advertise their territories. They also engage in visual displays including flying bouncingly like a butterfly or in an upright display, body-fluff display, bow display and wing-quiver display. These displays are used in agonistic conflicts with other males or in breeding displays for females, with females rarely engaging in displays. Occasionally, males may physically clash with each other and may even kill each other in such conflicts. When their breeding season has concluded, buntings migrate by night over short to medium distances. Western birds (Arizona and northern Mexico) molt in mid-migration, while eastern birds tend to molt before they migrate.

 

Status

The male painted bunting was once a very popular caged bird, but its capture and holding is currently illegal. Trapping for overseas sale may still occur in Central America. Populations are primarily declining due to habitat being lost to development, especially in coastal swamp thickets and woodland edges in the east and riparian habitats in migration and winter in the Southeastern United States and Mexico. They are protected by the U.S. Migratory Bird Act.

 

From Mr. Food

 

Whether you've got kids to take to after-school activities or just an afternoon of errands planned, these Gooey Peanut Butter Squares make for a great on-the-go snack. They're ooey-gooey sweet while still packing in some nutritious ingredients, like whole-grain cereal and protein-rich peanut butter. They're sure to keep everyone going!

 

 

• 1 (10-ounce) package marshmallows
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 3/4 cup peanut butter, divided
• 1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips, divided
• 6 cups toasted whole grain oat cereal (Test Kitchen used Cheerios)

 

1. Coat a 10- x 15-inch baking sheet with cooking spray.
2. In a large microwave-safe bowl, microwave marshmallows and butter 60 to 70 seconds, or until melted. Mix in 1/2 cup peanut butter and 1 cup chocolate chips, stirring until smooth. Add cereal and mix until evenly coated. Spread evenly on baking sheet and sprinkle with remaining chocolate chips, lightly pressing them into cereal mixture.
3. In a small microwave-safe bowl, microwave remaining peanut butter 5 seconds. Place in a small resealable plastic bag and snip off one corner. Drizzle peanut butter over cereal mixture.
4. Let firm up then cut into squares.

 

 

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

1958 – United States Air Force Academy opens in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

 

1966 – The Beatles perform their last concert before paying fans at Candlestick Park in San Francisco.

 

1970 – Chicano Moratorium against the Vietnam War, East Los Angeles, California. Police riot kills three people, including journalist Ruben Salazar.

 

 

2005 – Hurricane Katrina devastates much of the U.S. Gulf Coast from Louisiana to the Florida Panhandle, killing more than 1,836 and causing over $80 billion in damage

 

 

2007 – 2007 United States Air Force nuclear weapons incident: six US cruise missiles armed with nuclear warheads are flown without proper authorization from Minot Air Force Base to Barksdale Air Force Base.

 

 

 

And births this date include...

1916 – George Montgomery, American actor (d. 2000)

Jerry and I met him once at the Pomona Fair. He was into woodworking and made some beautiful furniture. Nice man. Big/tall.

 

 

1923 – Richard Attenborough, English film director (d. 8-14)

 

 

 

1938 – Elliott Gould, American actor

 

 

 

 

1940 – James Brady, American White House Press Secretary and gun control activist (d.8-14)

 

 

1958 – Michael Jackson, American pop singer (d. 2009)

 

 

 

 

 

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

xo Sue Mom Bobo

Get your chopsticks ready!  National Chop Suey Day recognizes this American Chinese culinary cuisine each year on August 29.

Chop suey, which means assorted pieces, is a dish in American Chinese cuisine. The main ingredients include meat (chicken, fish, beef, prawns or pork) and eggs. As the meat cooks over high heat, add vegetables (usually bean sprouts, cabbage, and celery). The dish is bound in a starch-thickened sauce. Typically, rice accompanies the flavorful dish.

According to food historian Alan Davidson, chop suey is “A prime example of culinary mythology.” These food myths happen with popular foods. Illustrated below, several colorful and conflicting stories tell of chop suey’s possible origin.

Chop Suey Stories....

Some believe chop suey was invented in America by Chinese Americans. However, anthropologist E.N. Anderson finds another conclusion.  According to Anderson, the word tsap seui means miscellaneous leftovers and hails from Taishan, a district of Guangdong Province.  Many early Chinese immigrants traveled from their home in Taishan to the United States.

Another account claims Chinese American cooks who were working on the transcontinental railroad invented chop suey in the 19th century.

A prime example of culinary mythology. ~ Alan Davidson on the origin of chop suey.

One tale stemming from the Quing Dynasty connects to premier Li Hongzhang’s visit in 1896. According to the story, his chef wanted to create a meal suitable for both the Chinese and American palates. Another version of the story tells that Li wandered to a local Chinese restaurant after the hotel kitchen closed. Even though the chef was embarrassed because he had nothing prepared to offer, he made a dish for Li. Comprised of leftover scraps, the chef created the new “chop suey” dish.

Still another myth tells of an 1860s Chinese restaurant cook in San Francisco. After hours, the chef was forced to serve something to the drunken miners. He had nothing fresh to offer. However, to avoid a beating, he threw leftovers in a wok, providing a makeshift meal to the miners. The miners loved the dish, asking him for the name of the dish.  To which the chef replied, “Chopped Sui.”  

Traveling to the United States in 1903, Liang Oichao, a Guangdong native, wrote that there existed a food item called chop suey. While regularly served by Chinese restaurateurs, the local Chinese people did not eat this dish.