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.

Weather ~ Picture of the Day ~ Interesting About WD-40 ~ National Red Wine Day

  

Good 53º super smokey morning. 

 

 

Yesterday the smoke stayed awful all day............

We topped at 96º.

 

 

Picture of the Day.....crazy mailbox!

 

 

I posted this before, but it's good information...........

Interesting about WD-40

 

 

I have always loved WD-40 for so many things. Especially keeping critters out from under the hood of your car once you spray the engine with it. And, it kept that bear out of my big can of cracked corn! Now here are a few more uses...

1. Removes dried gum from fabrics... like if it was stuck to the bottom of your shoe and then you walked on the carpet. So easy to remove from the carpet and your shoe, by just spraying it on the gum. Within a few seconds it pulls off easily! It also works if a kid gets gum in their hair.

 

2. Prevents squirrels from eating all the bird seed. They climb the bird feeders like ninjas and eat the birdseed before the birds get a chance! Spray the tops of the bird feeder with WD-40 before you ffill it so it doesn't contaminate the seed. The squirrels will slip right off!

 

3. If you run out of toilet bowl cleaner, don't worry. The solvents in the WD-40 dissolve hard water deposits, lime, and other gunk. Just spray the toilet bowl with the WD-40 and let it sit a few seconds and scrub it away with the toilet brush!

 

4. It takes sticky paper price stickers off easily from a gift vase,  coffee mug, , or anything that you would have a hard time scraping the sticker off. Also taking the label off candle jars or any glass you want to reuse is maddening. Spray the sticker with WD-40 and let it sit for a bit. The sticker after a few minutes will have absorbed the spray and you can remove it in one piece!

 

Sources credit different people with inventing WD-40 formula in 1953 as part of the Rocket Chemical Company (later renamed to WD-40 Company), in San Diego, California; the formula was kept as a trade secret and was never patented.

 

According to Iris Engstrand, a historian of San Diego and California history at the University of San Diego, Iver Norman Lawson invented the formula, while the WD-40 company website and other books and newspapers credit Norman B. Larsen. According to Engstrand, "(Iver Norman) Lawson was acknowledged at the time, but his name later became confused with company president Norman B. Larsen." "WD-40" is abbreviated from the term "Water Displacement, 40th formula", suggesting it was the result of the 40th attempt to create the product. The spray, composed of various hydrocarbons, was originally designed to be used by Convair to protect the outer skin of the Atlas missile from rust and corrosion. This outer skin also functioned as the outer wall of the missile's paper-thin fuel balloon tanks, which were so fragile that, when empty, they had to be kept inflated with nitrogen to prevent them from collapsing. WD-40 was later found to have many household uses and was made available to consumers in San Diego in 1958.

 

In Engstrand's account, it was Iver Norman Lawson who came up with the water-displacing mixture after working at home and turned it over to the Rocket Chemical Company for the sum of $500 (equivalent to $5,100 in 2021). It was Norman Larsen, president of the company, who had the idea of packaging it in aerosol cans and marketed it in this way.

 

It was written up as a new consumer product in 1961. By 1965 it was being used by airlines including Delta and United; United, for example, was using it on fixed and movable joints of their DC-8 and Boeing 720s in maintenance and overhaul. At that time, airlines were using a variant called WD-60 to clean turbines, removing light rust from control lines, and when handling or storing metal parts. By 1969 WD-40 was being marketed to farmers and mechanics in England. In 1973, WD-40 Company, Inc., went public with its first stock offering. Its NASDAQ stock symbol is (Nasdaq: WDFC).

 

 

 

Yesterday breakfast was a smoothie.... 1 banana, 1 cup blueberries, 1 orange, 1 c soy milk... MMMMM mmmmmm GOOD!

 

 

Soy milk is a popular dairy alternative. Some people opt to drink soy milk because they are lactose intolerant or lactose sensitive or for health reasons, such as wanting to reduce cholesterol intake. In large part due to the milk industry's ad campaigns about how healthy milk is, many people wrongly assume that all milk is healthy. However, only low-fat and fat-free milk are accepted as 'healthy' by the medical community.

Unlike cow's milk, soy milk is naturally low in fat. Regular-fat soy milk contains slightly more fat per cup than 2% milk, but it is naturally free from saturated fat.

Because it is made from plant material instead of an animal byproduct, soy milk contains no cholesterol. Dairy milk contains about 20 milligrams of cholesterol per cup. An adult's recommended daily allowance of cholesterol is 300 milligrams.

Soy milk is also high in protein. One cup of soy milk contains about 7 to 10 grams of protein. This is similar to cow's milk, which contains eight grams of protein per cup. Soy milk protein is a complete protein and is highly digestible

 

 

 

Historically this date.......

1957 – U.S. Senator Strom Thurmond begins a filibuster to prevent the Senate from voting on Civil Rights Act of 1957; he stopped speaking 24 hours and 18 minutes later, the longest filibuster ever conducted by a single Senator.

 

1968 – Riots in Chicago, Illinois, during the Democratic National Convention.

 

1996 – Charles, Prince of Wales and Diana, Princess of Wales divorce.

 

2003 – An electricity blackout cuts off power to around 500,000 people living in south east England and brings 60% of London's underground rail network to a halt.

 

2011 – Hurricane Irene strikes the United States east coast, killing 47 and causing an estimated $15.6 billion in damage.

 

And births this date include....

 

1925 – Donald O'Connor, American singer, dancer, and actor (d. 2003)

 

 

1930 – Ben Gazzara, American actor (d. 2012)

 

 

 

1943 – David Soul, American actor

 ... working on wife #5 !!!

 

1958 – Scott Hamilton, American figure skater

 

1969 – Jack Black, American actor

 

 

 

 

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

xo Sue Mom Bobo

On August 28th, National Red Wine Day ushers in the flavors of fall. As the grapes ripen and signal a time for warmer sips, wine drinkers know reds mean tailgating and spicy foods.

Throughout the year, wine days afford us the opportunity to taste and learn about the differences between wines. Earlier this month National Prosecco Day gave us the last bubbly rays of summer. Now we savor the best of the season with Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot noir, Port, and Syrah.

Red wine varietals produce deep ruby reds as well as subtle ambers and browns. Their beautiful colors hint at the coming change in the season. With that, we can look for delicious menu changes, too. Besides, what better way to enjoy a great bottle of wine than by pairing it with excellent company and food. Restaurants around the country will be happy to oblige throughout the celebration. Be sure to check out the latest menus from appetizers to desserts.

Don’t fear the red, either. Even if you prefer a sweeter wine, there’s a red for you. Also, blends offer a way to enjoy the best of both wine worlds. And don’t fret. Red, red wine pairs well with salad, steak, dessert and so much more.

If you’re hesitant, attend a wine tasting. There you will learn more each time and find the wine that fits not only your palate but your cooking style, too.

HOW TO OBSERVE

Pour a glass or two of delicious red wine.

NATIONAL RED WINE DAY HISTORY

In 2014, Jace Shoemaker-Galloway created National Red Wine Day. 

Red Wine FAQ

Q. How many calories in a glass of red wine?
A. One 5 ounce serving of red wine contains 125 calories.

Q. Is a rosé wine a red wine?
A. Red grapes are used to make rosé wines. When making red wines, the skins remain in contact with the pulp and juice long enough to produce red wine. The production of rosé is similar. The juice and pulp remain in contact with the skins for a lesser amount of time giving the wine its rosy color.

Q. What are the names of some red wines?
A. Merlot, Pinot Noir, Zinfandel, Bordeaux, Chianti, and Rioja are just a few red wines from around the world