Heaven and Nature Sing! The Fourth Day

Everyone is grey today! I love grey. I don't decorate my house with it because I find it a bit cold, but I love stitching with it and on it and I love wearing it. So of course, my favorite birds are grey: the wee Chickadee I showed on Monday, and here, the chubby little Dark-Eyed Junco. These little fellows always showed up for winter when we were stationed on the East Coast, and I loved them.

The Mockingbird, state bird of Texas (and several other states). We have a lot of them where we live now.

Miss Mourning Dove. I don't know why I always think of them as female. Perhaps it's because they look so soft. And then there are those hot pink boots!

If you've never seen a Nuthatch, these little guys zip up and down tree trunks. So busy and so cute.

Today's critter friend continues the grey theme. Mr. Raccoon, with his fancy sparkly mask, looks like he's fixin' to get up to something.

You may not decide to make as many of these birds and animals as I have, but if you do, you'll need a convenient way to store the pattern pieces so you can make more at some point. I just bought card-sized envelopes, taped the picture of the pattern to the front, and labeled it. Then I got a cute Christmas box to hold my entire collection of patterns.

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Here's a side dish I do two ways. When I was growing up, my mom would frequently "put on a pot of beans", just like her mother had, and probably her mother, and on back. Beans were (and still are) an inexpensive, filling, nutritious staple. This is how I make a basic "pot of beans" that we eat as is. Great with that flank steak I shared Sunday.

Pinto Beans

3 c. dried pinto beans

1 onion, peeled and halved

4 tsp. salt

1 tsp. pepper

7-8 c. water

Place all ingredients in a slow cooker and cook on high about 8 hours, adding water if needed. If more than 1 cup is needed, temp is too high.

And this is the other way I prepare them, as refried beans. Obviously, they're not actually refried, but close enough. They're good with the taco recipe from yesterday, or as tacos themselves. Bean and cheese tacos are a thing in Texas, not sure if they are elsewhere. I also put them in my chicken taco salad, but that masterpiece will have to wait for another time. 

Refried Beans

To the above ingredients add:

1 can chopped green chilies

1/4 tsp. dried minced garlic

pinch of cumin

Mash with a potato masher when done. *If you're making refried beans, don't add too much water.

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Today's freebie is the prettiest, plumpest, purplest Partridge you ever did see! I imagine her stitched up with maximum glam--Kreinik and beads and the works!

Stay tuned for still. more. birds.