Blue Serendipity

Over the weekend, as I was inspecting a rosebush next to this evergreen, a bird flew right in my face. It happened again the next day, which made me wonder where it was coming from. It did not take long for me to realize that the bird has made a home in the evergreen. 

 I took  a peep  and there I saw a nest

Two small blue eggs 

I called Zachary to see this blue serendipity.
The next day, Zachary went to check on the eggs and found a third one.

So precious. 

I googled and  decided these eggs are the robin's and that they lay one egg each day and that the eggs will hatch in 12 to 16 days.

Will there be a fourth one when we leave?

we decided to leave the nest alone so as not to affect the eggs' development ---mama bird doesn't want to be visited. She gets frightened and she flies off.

We are looking forward to sunny days, bbqs and  alfresco dining out back.

Grilling spatchcocked chicken and pineapple slices
(no veggies to grill, half a pineapple sufficed)

  

 Steve turned the spatchcocked chicken  with one leg...now (looks like)  mangled chicken

grilled chicken  liver 

CAPIZ lights back in place

Images of a beautiful sunny day

beach is almost empty

the dunes

My usual spot to sit in the sun with my morning cafe con leche

my mug reminds me to wind down, take it easy and relax

take in the view and breathe in the fresh salty air

do you see the surfers yonder?

aww...this monarch did not make it to its destination last fall

nice to see best friends taking walks together...

aren't these the sea weeds that float in Japanese miso soups?

roses in the dunes

I've never seen them with pink budding tips before

Ms. Joan down the block from our house loves a tete-a-tete with Zach everytime we pass by her home

she is a sweetheart
(here, she is waiting for her grandchildren to pick her up for their weekend date to do mini-golfing)

We arrived in the Poconos where we spent Mother's Day weekend and found the lawn overgrown with dandelion flowers and puffs. Steve could not wait to get his hands on the lawnmower to cut these weeds. So I started harvesting the flowers and leaves before Steve mows the lawn. I find dandelions beautiful in their simplicity. Bundled together, they are a burst of sunshine on my table. Dandelion flowers are made into wine. I have yet to taste dandelion wine.

Saving these beauties from the lawnmower.

I randomly stick them in the vase and let them  stand as carefree-ly as they grow.

Zachary loves dandelions for the puffs he blows away

more  flowers coming up

I took  dandelion leaves to saute with garlic and onions

I saved this little bunch too before the mower gets it

burst of sunshine on my table

the bunch fits the shot glass well

baby dandelion leaves join the salad ingredients

watermelon ---one of my summer joys

I'd like to walk about the streets of Paris again and enjoy the beauty of the ornate almond-ecru colored buildings. What care they put in to build these buildings in natural shade almost uniform, and yet each one so different in design, one cannot help but make many stops in order to appreciate the infrastructures. And down below are bursts and splashes of colors by the fruit stores as well as pattiseries and boulangeries seemingly in every corner. No wonder French people do not hoard food frozen or chilled in their refrigerators for the next meal because fresh supplies can be had in street corners. Of course the myriad of restaurants with their alfresco dining never lack of customers watching people go by as they converse and eat at leisure.

Is this how the  French clip their baguettes under their arms?

I wonder what the reidents are doing as we walk by their  apartment buildings

one of the many rental bike stations all  over Paris

dining alfresco 

a group of friends using he  bikes

One thing that caught my eye are the bike stations where the public can use the bikes to go places in Paris and return the bikes in the stations of their destinations or in the station where they got them from. Coming from New York, I am amazed that these bikes although for public use look new and are not vandalized. I do not know how the system goes in terms of fees, but using them with care and respect says a lot of Parisians' sense of honor system. Now I am hearing that New York City is launching a bike-sharing program in July. Annual fee that allows members to use the bike free for45 minutes each day is $95, additonal fees are charged after. This program is also open to tourists. Hmmm...I have yet to see how successful this program goes...in New York. (this should be interesting...hmmm...) In New York!!!!

I indulged myself this morning with a heavy breakfast that I ate at leisure.  Sitting at the table,  relishing my food and sipping coffee in between as I looked through the french door to check on my pink and white bleeding hearts, I noticed the deep purple columbine starting to bloom. I prayed for some sun  for my plants. The past week had been cold and dreary and wet, and I'm afraid I started planting too soon. My lettuces, basil and tomatoes  seem to be stunted.

Organic eggs from homegrown chicken: eggyolks so noticeably almost reddish-orange in color
tukey bacon and brown rice


After a leisurely breakfaast, I went out to my wee garden  to inspect my plants. 

what flower is this?

I noticed this plant growing by my fence as I was pulling out some weeds. It did not look like an ordinary weed so I let it grow till it bloomed like  a burst of sunligtht.


At night, around Zach's bedtime, we decided to  take a short walk to the beach to see if we could see a glimpse of the super moon, ...but the moon had not risen yet.  We did the same last night, but the moon hid behind the clouds.  I guess we'll have to wait till 2029 for the super moon to appear again.

looking for supermoon