More Travels, Animals, Flora, Photos, Food, and Community!

I've probably posted a photo like this already when I mentioned my recent trip to our Audubon but I can't help but re-post this little guy!  This is Lincoln.  Ever since I met him I have been thinking about him.  He's a resident of the Audubon and was a rescue.  At some point I will be stopping by to make a donation specifically for his care.  I adore this guy!  LOOK!  He's even smiling!

One of the other stops I made while traveling for work not too long ago was one of my favorite places in our county.  This is the road to/from Kinzua Wolf Run Marina, Kinzua Dam, Kinzua Beach, Allegheny National Forest/Rim Rock, Jake's Rocks, etc.

I was thrilled with how this photo turned out considering the car was moving at about 55 mph when I took it.  Below you will see two more photos specifically from the Kinzua Beach location.  I will be revisiting Kinzua Beach this Saturday as I volunteer for a Bicycle Event and helping with registration.  My father will be helping with set-up today and the beer tent on Saturday.

But the last time I stopped at Kinzua Beach I was completely alone.  Well, I was the only human...let's put it that way!  It was a nice brain break.  Here is a photo I took while walking down the hill from the parking area.  There is a building behind me, several large parking lots, restrooms, and a few paths.  The grass you see is a small part of a LARGE grassy area where you can walk, sit, have a picnic, etc.  The bridge you see in the front is the bridge that goes over part of Kinzua and is near Kinzua Wolf Run Marina which is somewhat across the street on the other side of the bridge and Kinzua Dam itself - is not too far away.

That day I walked down to the water.  There were several ducks there.  They were not afraid of me in the least.  They actually came up to me and nibbled on my shoes and jeans.  I talked to them for several minutes.  I posted a video a while back on IG.  I was so surprised they came up to me like that but it totally made my day and I will not forget it!

Another brain break I took this past summer was to Bett's Park.  More specifically the Pollination Garden that Penn State Master Gardeners attends to each year.  These next few photos where some of the beautiful flowers I saw while there this year.

I have blogged about the Pollinator Garden before and I think I even did a walk thru video on YouTube a few years back.

Since I am backlogging these photos I must say most of the flowers and plants have since 'expired' for the season because fall is approaching.

And speaking of fall...my indoor/office plants are starting to realize what time of year it is, too!  I've already lost 3 plants and it's bumming me out.  This plant, however, is one of my newer ones.  It's called and Aluminum Plant.

This one is an Elephant Bush Plant.  I fell in LOVE with it but I think it's on its way out, too!  I hope I can save it.

My mother found a few old photos and here is one of them.  It's of my sister and I when we were in our church Kids Choir.  We were 'ewes'.  Oh...to be a kid in the 80s!

Here is a photo from the most recent Bra Shipping Party that our Zonta Club Members did.  If you remember seeing photos like these in the past you might recall we send the bras over to Free The Girls and they go to survivors of trafficking to help them start their own retail business.  Right now there are 3 countries that receive these shipments...Mozambique, Costa Rica, and El Salvador.  In about 9 months we have shipped 2,001 bras to Free The Girls from our rural area.

And now it's time for some vegan food!  Here is one of the items I found from Trader Joe's.  It was yummy and had a nice kick to it.

Right near where I work there is a NY Style Pizza and Deli place and the pizza dough just happens to be vegan.  They will put basically anything you want on a pizza.  I have enjoyed a few of them in the past but recently I decided to re-visit their 'build your own salad' and this is what they made for me.  It was darn hefty and VERY MUCH appreciated!

Greens, Broccoli, Tomato, Avocado, Cucumbers, Onion, Peppers, topped with a nice amount of Hummus, and French-Type Dressing.

Again, one of my side trips while traveling to work - and actually FOR work - I stopped in Kennedy, NY, at the Aber's Acres Produce Stand.  I couldn't pass up these AMAZING Organic Raspberries!

And...Cherry Tomatoes!  A few years ago they got their ORGANIC certification.  It was a 3 year process.  Their stuff is AMAZING, too!

Cuteness, Cars, Crafts, Veterans Ceremony, Tomato Saltine Salad Recipe, & Fair Week Re-Cap!

I thought I would start this post off with a little CUTENESS!  This photo was taken in Erie near the Bayfront.  These little youth ducklings were all snuggled up and ready for a nap.

It seems I have been spending more time in Erie for several reasons but a few of them have been work related.  As for this 2nd photo - this was taken at our local Courthouse over the summer.  The person on the right in mid-salute is my father.  He was one of over 300 veterans in our county that was recognized for serving during Vietnam.  Our area has more veterans per capita than any other county in Pennsylvania.

In late June - we once again helped with the car and craft show at the fairgrounds.  It was the first time in 7 years of holding the event that we had PERFECT weather!

One of the camping foods I made this past summer that I certainly want to try again is this Tomato Saltine Salad.  For the vegan version I used the following:

2 packages of saltines
1 large tomato, diced

Vegan Mayo to taste/consistency

Garlic, fresh or dried, to taste

Sea Salt and Pepper, to taste

Super easy!  I know it might sound weird but I think it might just qualify as a comfort food!

Finally, I am getting to re-cap Fair Week.  It was the first full week in August and I'm just getting to it now!  YIKES!  In this photo, you will see me, Riley Green, my mom and my dad.  YES...Riley Green is TALL...but...my whole family is also SHORT so that is why he looks like a giant.  BUT...if you look at the next photo...

You will see all of the guys from Home Free are also tall.  Here is a pic of the guys with me, my sister, my dad (squatting and holding my niece), Trinity, and my mom in the back, too!  This was the 2nd time we had Home Free at our Fairgrounds and they are AWESOME!  My niece was dancing the entire time.  Now when she sees the five guys in a photo...she points to each one of them and says..."hot...hot...hot...hot...hot.."  I have to say...she's NOT wrong...they are some good looking guys!

Something I did for the very first time at fair this year was enter a few categories in the domestic buildings.  My original plan was to enter several photographs but when I went to do the prints they were to grainy and I decided not to do it but didn't want to FAIL at a goal so I entered other categories instead.  This first photo didn't place at all.  I decided to enter it into the Mixed Media but there were so many other entries that were much more involved than mine so it's all good!

This one placed 4th!  I entered it for Collage!  It was a project I did several years ago and was thrilled it placed!

This one I entered into the Scrapbooking Page category.  I placed 3rd!  I was pretty shocked!

And check this out!  I got a 1st place!!!!!!  I was completely surprised and didn't believe it at first.  I entered this Veggie Recipe Book in the Rubber Stamp Project category!

Here's another look at it next to the actual ribbon.  I had more photos of the inside on my IG, too!

And here is my FIRST PLACE Project with all 3 Ribbons!  I was so thrilled yet surprised that I placed at all let alone with 3 projects in my first year of trying!

Carrot Orange Juice with my SlowStar Juicer

Another quick post of my most recent SlowStar Juicing Adventures and Journey!

This juice consisted of Mandarin Oranges and Baby Carrots!  That's it!  

I LOVE the color!

My mother really liked this juice which kind of surprised me but I was delighted when I found out!

We juiced about 3 pounds of oranges and 2 pounds of baby carrots for this!

Today I will leave you with this photo!  For some reason I kept forgetting to post it!  So sorry!  I found this lovely couple on my walk home from work a few weeks ago!  They were right near the road - a brick road - to be exact - right near a beautiful Methodist Church in downtown!

Surprises at Dollywood!

Check this out!  It's part of my lunch at one of the places inside Dollywood!  I had their Salad Bar which also included a Mac & Cheese Bar.  I asked them if I could do it with no meat or dairy and the wonderful lady who was doing the custom mac n cheese orders went back to the kitchen and found the olive oil and did mine vegan style!  I thanked her multiple times for the special treatment!  This is what we came up with!  Macaroni in Olive Oil with tomatoes, green onions, read peppers, onions, mushrooms and it turned out yummy!  A special shout out and THANK YOU to Dollywood!

One of the many things I enjoyed about Dollywood was the friendly ducks throughout the park just waiting to greet passerby's.  Everyone who worked at Dollywood treated them like guests of the park...they were completely free to come and go as they please.  There were many natural places for them to frequent including ponds and streams.

Another neat part of Dollywood was the artisans and their demonstrations.  This guy was one of the blown glass guys.  Everything they make during the day goes into the last part of the process to cool over night and then it's available for sale the next day in the gift shop next to the demo area.  I posted a bunch of photos of me over at the Travel Blog if you want to check it out and I will have a lot more from Dollywood in the very near future.

Vegan MoFo ~ Foods, Findings, Fun!

Warning!  Warning!  LONG Post Ahead! 

It's been a crazy busy week and this is the first chance I have had to post so I have a lot to blab about so I will try and cram it all into one post! 

First...I'll write about this food adventure!  This first photo is a dish I made the other day and was originally inspired by a blog post of Suituapui.  I'm not even sure what to call this dish!  In his post he was blogging about nyonya chang and
pulut.  He used a meat filling.  I thought the idea of it was great so I did a vegan version.  Thanks for the idea Suituapui!  For my filling I decided to do an Eggplant Curry of sorts!  Here's what I put in mine...

1 White Japanese/Oriental Eggplant
1 Purple Japanese/Oriental Eggplant
Splash of Garlic Grapeseed Oil
2 T Black Seasame Seeds
1 T Mustard Seeds
1 Onion
2 tea Turmeric
1/4 tea Cayenne
1 1/2 C Peas
2 T Cilantro
Water as needed

I ended up using about 3 to 4 C of White Rice for the bottom and top layer, too!  A few side notes...I used all local produce for this...locally grown...from our Farmers Market Farmers, here.  The long and skinny eggplant were labeled "oriental Eggplant" but online I have also seen it labeled as Japanese Eggplant and in some cases Chinese Eggplant.  I've been using Black Sesame Seeds lately - I get them at my local herb store in bulk and organic.  A conversation on Instagram last night under this photo of this dish one of my buddies mentioned it would be called cavala baingana paratem - they said it would translate to "Rice Eggplant Layers" in Hindi.  I wasn't able to locate that on a Google Search so I don't know if I spelled it even close.  But regardless I thought it was fun.  For lack of other ideas - I think I will call this Eggplant Curry Rice Pie.

Saturday we were over at Liberty Winery with our Wildtree stuff!  It went incredibly well!  A very good day despite the rainy weather!  It rained so much that they broke a record for this time of year even before noon that day!  I think someone said that it rained over 2 inches by that time.

There were 8 bus/limo/group tours and all of the regular walk-in customers, too!  It was a great day!

I came across these Kiwi Berries not too long ago and they are fabulous!  You can check out their website for all sorts of info!  I was going to eat some as-is and then try and juice some of them but they didn't make it to the juicer!  They are wonderful!  They are like Mini-Me Kiwi's!  They taste JUST LIKE Kiwi Fruit!  They are also considered a Super Fruit!  YAY!

I will be on the look-out for these from now on - now that I know how awesome they are!  I'm still trying to locate the Candy Candy Grapes that Christine chatted about.

Another food creation I made earlier this week is this Vegan Spinach Dip.  Last week I was craving Spinach and even more recently had thought about Spinach Dips and wanted to try and make one!  After researching a few of them online I did a combo of two of them and added a few personal touches to make it my own.  Here's what's in this Spinach Dip:

2 to 3 C Spinach
 1 Tomato
3/4 C Cashews
1 Onion
2 to 3 T Tahini
2 T Lemon Juice
1 tea Wholesome Sweeteners Raw Coconut Palm Sugar (can use Agave)
1 tea Nutritional Yeast (Optional)
2 tea Sesame & Nori (or you could use Dulse)

This makes a VERY LARGE amount of dip but it's quite tasty and even better the next day!

Yesterday on my way back to my car after work I saw a slew of ducks coming out of the river and on the bank near the hospital.  It was so adorable.  I tried to get closer but they weren't interested in socializing - it appeared they were on a mission.  Perhaps it was dinner time.

There were many more ducks there than I had in this photo.

Earlier in the day it was VERY foggy but my walk to work there were HUNDREDS of birds sitting on a telephone wire from one end of the bridge to the other end.  It was quite a sight to see, actually.

 Last night I wanted to use up the rest of the produce I had on hand before it 'turned'.  I decided to do this Breakfast Bowl.  I LOVE how colorful it turned out!  I used Potatoes, Peas, Red Bell Peppers, Yellow Bell Peppers, Onions, Garlic Grapeseed Oil, Tuscany-Type Spices, and some Nori.

The flavor was pretty good.  Now I must go buy some more produce, eh!?

I will probably start doing more casseroles as there are LOTS of seasonal squash happening around here this time of year.  One of my FAVORITES is Quinoa Hummus Casserole that Dreena Burton has in Vive Le Vegan Cookbook.  That's become one of my favorite foods!  You can try it with various flavored Hummus's.  For the top layer you can do whatever veggies are in season and roast them.  The bottom layer is Quinoa but I have also tried using various rices and they work great, too!  Yup!  Might have to do one of those soon!

What have you been up to!?

Sprouting Arugula, Neem Oil Soap, Farmers Market Finds, When Ducks Attack, Our Little Boy's Growing Up!

 Yes, this is the 3rd post for today!  I mention in THIS POST about me trying to sprout Arugula for the first time.  So I thought I would take this time to elaborate on that.  Keep in mind this is the first time I am doing this - so I am far from a GURU!

I didn't realize when I bought these that you did NOT soak them over night as you do with many or most other sprouting seeds.  Instead you lay it atop a medium of your choice and dampen it.  What I did is I re-used a pint sized container I got at a produce stand and lined it with a few paper towels.  I added a little bit of the sprouting seeds and sprayed them with water from a spray bottle.  This is only DAY ONE so I will update you on my progress.

Yesterday I was lucky enough to get several things accomplished in and around town as well as home.  For one - I was able to take some time with Riley and give him a more lengthy bath instead of the quickie-wash he sometimes gets.  He wasn't happy at first but once in the bath he did better than I expected I kept telling him I wouldn't use the 'mean' dryer - that's what he really doesn't like!  I kept my promise.  I used commercial shampoo briefly but then switched it to the flea and tick wash and spent a lot of time with the Oatmeal soak.  After the Oatmeal soak I rinsed him off and applied Neem Oil Soap!  I had bought a little bit from the Daughter-In-Law of a lady I know who sells it at our Farmers Market.  I'm THINKING I will be buying more of this from her in the near future.  I bought that last week.  I think Opal will be excited about this purchase of mine as she's a soap maker and lover of Neem Oil as well!  This week I bought a bit of French Bread from one of the vendors before heading out to the Winery.  I was so happy when I noticed Abers Acres Produce Stand open in our area around midday yesterday!  They are usually only open from 10 to 5 during the week and I am not able to get there because I work.  I stopped and purchased Fava Beans, Peaches, Cherries, and Blackberries.  Let's just say the Black Berries are already gone and I ate about half the Cherries already, too!  They are AMAZING!  Friday night I stopped at The Hatch Patch and grabbed some Sugar Snap Peas and ate them on Saturday.  They were tasty, too!

Yesterday I was able to make some Iced Tea.  Well, it was actually a Tisane.  I made up some of Shanti Tea's "Lemonade" which consists of Rooibos and Lemon/Grass.  It's marvelous!  As you can see I have been using my Team Melissa cup quite a bit around the house. 

I have a TON of FOOD Posts coming up but this is my 3rd post already for today.  I might wait until tomorrow to blog about the foods of the last week or so. 

I also have lots to share with you about my walks around town and some TREE Photos I have been taking.  Again, I will put those off a while longer, tho.

FUNNY STORY...
Last week while I was taking one of my walks around town I heard a duck and looked around and noticed her drinking in a nearby puddle.  I started slowly walking towards her - I often DO do this - and she started walking towards me.  I first thought - oh - how cute - she's social...well, then she started walking faster and faster!  Darn near running!  CHARGING even!  So I drew back.  I walked about a half block and she was still chasing me!  I was laughing but still trying to be cautious.  I'm thinking it was because she thought I had food.  I was behind our local Subway Restaurants. 

I don't want to label this little lady as aggressive - but she sure wasn't afraid - nor was she slow and just waddling.  Let's just say she was pretty excited.  Perhaps I was a friend of hers in a previous life and she recognized me and wanted to give me a BIG HUG!

It was a memorable moment, tho, that is for sure.

I've seen my share of wild life so far this year!  I'm thankful for it!  It makes life interesting and each being is beautiful!

Speaking of wild life...indoor wild life, in our house, that is...PACO!

I think he's finally growing out of puppy!  He's calming down in the evenings faster but he's still Mr. Personality, don't get me wrong!  He's a character.

But he's maturing.  He's snuggling more.  I like it - I like it A LOT.

This was Friday Night on my lap - on the sofa.  The 'kids' and I watched a 'scary' movie.  A "B" Movie at that.  It wasn't very good...but it was nice to snuggle with the kids.

3 In A Row

 I love taking photos of Ducks!  Any animal, really, but Ducks...I could take thousands of pics of!  These were taken a few years ago and I thought I would share them here, today. 

I can't wait for Spring!

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