Stormy Weather

[greenilex]

No good with numbers. There is a boat somewhere at the back.

[Richard Tarleton]

[QUOTE=marthe;36477] Today a saw about 20 robins (male) congregating in a grassy area by the edge of a nearby wood. Here, robins are a sure sign of spring. They're larger and have a more rusty-colored breast than English robins. [QUOTE]

The American robin should be familiar to anyone who saw the film "Mary Poppins" with J Andrews - someone in Hollywood assumed a robin was a robin, and placed a (stuffed) one on a balcony in London.

A sign of spring here today - a small tortoiseshell butterfly in the weak sunshine on the Pembrokeshire coast path.

[marthe]

Well RT, what do you expect from the evil empire of Walt Disney? Even I thought the movie was very silly when I first saw it in the 1960s. I must admit that I don't remember the stuffed robin at all! My first encounter with English robins was in children's lit. such as "The Secret Garden" and "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe." I read these books when I was 10 which predates the Disney "Mary Poppins" and the fake robin by a few years.

[Richard Tarleton]

I enjoy these little ornithological solecisms. Has anyone seen the Vietnam War film "Full Metal Jacket"? Owing to Stanley Kubrick's dislike of air travel it was shot on a lot in south London, with potted palm trees. Loud and clear, during a lull in the shooting towards the end, comes the song of a chaffinch

[salymap]

Well not many birds around here today except the fat greedy pigeons.wonder if they would be good in a pie

[Curalach]

wonder if they would be good in a pie

I think the recipe calls for Four and Twenty Blackbirds!!

[salymap]

Then you would have to visit 12 or 24 gardens, they are territorial like English robins I believe.

[Richard Tarleton]

I think the recipe calls for Four and Twenty Blackbirds!!

Apparently the original called for naughty boys - only later changed to blackbirds.....http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sing_a_Song_of_Sixpence

[Serial_Apologist]

Well not many birds around here today except the fat greedy pigeons.wonder if they would be good in a pie

BANG BANG!

Supper for one!!

Anyone know what's happened to our Euda? I'm thinking of squatting her website...

[eighthobstruction]

First Curlew and Lapwing sighted today....

[salymap]

Evening S_A I've been wondering about Euda too......strangely silent. Hope she's okay.

[antongould]

Well I've just arrived home from a trip to the deep south and what do I find waddling about our drive quite put out by having to make way for our car - no not salymap's four and twenty pigeons but five ducks!!

[salymap]

Morning, brrr. Thick ice on the birdbath outside the kitchen window.
Light at 6.30am though, Equinox in 2 weeks is it not? I used to love frosty, sunny mornings when I could move faster.

[antongould]

Very much the same here - looks like we are to have a beautiful spring day.

[Eudaimonia]

Morning all!

Nothing wrong really; just gathering my thoughts...thanks for asking! This weekend, warmer weather lured me out of the hibernaculum ("growlery"? ha) and I've been going on my long hikes again: I grabbed my raincoat and walked nine miles one day and eleven the next. Would you believe my legs feel great? Oh well, enough about me...more topsy-turvy updates "in the usual place" when I'm feeling up for it.

Well not many birds around here today except the fat greedy pigeons.wonder if they would be good in a pie

You bet! Long ago, I read that when hunting for roasting pigeons, you should always go for fat ones with the reddest feet-- a sign of youth and good health! Now every time I see a flock of pigeons, I find myself scouting around for the roasters. Also, you should never eat them at once: the thing to do is trap them, keep them in a wire enclosure in your yard, and feed them white breadcrumbs for a week. Supposedly this improves the flavour and eliminates impurities due to their scavenger diet. I'm sure I'd never have the heart to do it myself; the only meat I eat these days is fish. But it is useful information to know, isn't it?

Sal: I scanned a few pages of gourmet pigeon recipes from my Escoffier cookbook for you--pigeon pie is on page two! I'm posting the links so you can choose a comfortable reading size. Enjoy!

ESCOFFIER PIGEON RECIPES

http://www.flickr.com/photos/hobannyc/5505062247/sizes/l/in/photostream/

ESCOFFIER PIGEON RECIPES, PAGES 2 and 3

http://www.flickr.com/photos/hobannyc/5505173767/sizes/l/in/photostream/

Cheers, ~E.