Dispatches from the Swamp #3 June 29, 2008

Its getting a little bit hotter and a little bit quieter in the swamp these days.  The birds are having babies and the males are spending more time with their fledglings than competing for territory with other males.   I didn’t see any snakes this week, I only saw one owl, and thanks to the drought there are almost no mosquitoes.  And all the blackberries are ripe now, so I did spend some time picking and eating. Mmm!

I wanted to share a little more about our living situation, because I think as far as work housing goes it is pretty unique.  How many jobs require you to live with your coworkers?  Many of whom you haven’t met before you started the job?  Believe me, at times it is like a less boozy Real World.  You live with a bunch of strangers, in a fairly isolated place, where you are working a physically strenuous job that requires early mornings. Most of the folks who take these field technician jobs are in school or just out, so its a young crowd.

Since I have been a full time bird geek, its not quite so extreme for me because I just come and go to the field house instead of being a full time resident there. I also believe that field biologists (or maybe field scientists in general) are fairly laid back and not prone to bad behavior.  That is not to say that in my 11 years of field work I haven’t run into some really bizarre folks!  There was a girl with rage issues (not so much fun when you are her supervisor).  A guy who spent every paycheck entirely on cds and then could not afford to feed himself and consequently fainted in the field, twice.  Two bird banders who worked together all summer and then had a big fight where it came out that the guy was in love with the girl.  Who could forget the clutzy grad student who decided one night to ride on the hood of a car armed with a butterfly net and try and catch moths and subsequently got run over (He was fine)?  Finally, there was the woman who appalled her coworkers/house mates by eating a mud snake that they found dead on the road.

Only one more month, and then we are done with field season.  At this point I am ready to enjoy a/c all the time.  So I will stay in Raleigh and stare at my computer screen until next spring when that familiar itch to go chase birds will kick in again.  Well, chase birds and  “live in a house with seven strangers…..”

Eat Your Veggies June 23, 2008

Being someone who likes to cook, I own quite a few cookbooks. In fact, I own so many that I really actively try not to buy any more. Last year, I borrowed my sister in law’s copy of Sara Foster’s cookbook Fresh Every Day. Sarah Foster is the person behind Foster’s Market in Durham and Chapel Hill, which was one of my favorite spots when I lived out in that direction. Well, I borrowed that cookbook from Laura so long she had to sneak into my house and steal it back. So I bought it.

This cookbook introduced me to roasted vegetables. Now I had roasted all the usual veggie suspects (potatoes) but had never attempted things like peas, cabbage, or cauliflower. Its amazing what 20 minutes in the oven and a little olive oil can do! The veggies come out with so much flavor and its just so easy.

Here are some rough directions that will work for most veggies.

Take your veggies and clean and trim (for things like brussels sprouts, asparagus), chop into pieces (cauliflower), or cut into quarters (cabbage). Put in a big bowl, and toss with some salt and pepper and 2 tbsp olive oil (I throw in 2 tbsp melted butter [at Ms. Foster's reccomendation]) then pour everything on a rimmed baking sheet. Bake at 400 for 20 minutes. Its not a bad idea to stir things once or twice, and please note asparagus and brussels sprouts may not take 20 minutes so you want to keep an eye on them.

Ms. Foster’s recipie for roasted peas I have now made for two work potlucks and both times it got rave reviews: roast as described above 1 package frozen peas, 1/2 pint cherry toms, and 1 small red onion, diced.

Now, go eat your veggies!

How to Spot a Wildlife Biologist June 15, 2008

Its very easy at the beach.  Look for someone who is pasty white except for the face (and possible farmers tan) and covered with weird rashes and bug bites.   Especially on the ankles and waist (chigger bites).

Dispatches from the Swamp #2 June 9, 2008

People, it is hot, hot, hot out there and no one is more aware of it than those of us working outside. Thank goodness I am in the swamp, where at least there is lots of shade (versus working in a field, for example) and this year, amazingly, the mosquitoes are not terrible! We are also very fortunate to have a great swimming hole nearby. On the con side, our double wide trailer is an oven when we get home from work and our window A/C units cannot cut it. Nonetheless, it was a week filled with birds, snakes, and sweating.

Lets talk about snakes, baby

This week I had a lot of snake encounters. I guess because its so warm. I saw a bunch of non venomous kingsnakes and ratsnakes which are pretty nifty because they come in a variety of different colors and patterns (I searched for a good link, but no luck, go check your local library). The prettiest I saw had black spots surrounded by white outlines, really good looking. Probably on its way to eat some bird babies. I also saw a baby Copperhead and despite their bad reputation, they are a truly spiffy snake. Mostly nocturnal, so I don’t really ever see them.

Now you get introduced to my pet peeve: people who think that every snake is venomous. I understand, completely, that a lot of folks don’t really like or are afraid of snakes. That is understandable: I don’t like and fear heights, and lots of other things too. But the mass hysteria surrounding snakes is really unbelievable. Do you live in a suburban or urban area? Guess what, that is NOT a venomous snake in your yard! North Carolina alone has about 25 species of snakes and only 4 of them are venomous. And venomous snakes are not only rare, but they can’t tolerate people and development.  It makes me sad because so many other species of snakes are killed because they are mistakenly identified.

Anyway, enough preaching.  Here is a handy link that can answer all your snake questions!

Strawberry Bliss June 2, 2008

One of the nice things about living in NC is that we have a very, very long strawberry season. It starts in Late April and goes until June. Consequently, I have been consuming them by the ton, as has my husband. They are one of his favorite foods. However, I haven’t done any baking with them, namely because every time I threaten to Chris looks horrified and asks “why can’t we just eat them plain”?  He has a point, they do taste pretty darn awesome on their own.  The other reason is because I just haven’t found a strawberry cake/tart/pie recipe that is really calling to me.

Recently in my strawberry buying at the farmer’s market I have come across these smaller berries, a different breed than the big ones.  I can’t remember the name, maybe Cavendish?  They are really delicious.  Smaller fruits and very sweet.   I still have not baked with them, but instead made a strawberry milkshake.  You know what?  It rocked!!  Nice strong berry flavor (and these were so sweet, I didn’t add any sugar).   Even Chris was happy.  Well, he would have been but he didn’t try any.  Maybe the strong pink color scared him off?

One thing I have not done is make Strawberry Daiquiris.   You can use frozen strawberries more easily on those and it gives the drink a nice icy texture.

Strawberry Milkshake

1 cup strawberries (if the berries are not sweet, add some sugar to taste)

1 cup vanilla ice cream

1/3 c milk (less if you want it thick)

Throw all that in the blender and puree.  So good!

Strawberry Daiquiri

1 package frozen strawberries (not the enormously sized bag)

1/2 cup powdered sugar

a few ice cubes, maybe 5

rum (as much as you like, I usually eyeball it)

tablespoon or so of lime juice if you want to kick it up.

Throw all this in a blender.  Blend until ice is well crushed….no little pebbles of ice should remain.

Next month….Peaches and Peach Margaritas!