dasblauhaus

Hummingbird Hill Hearty Buckwheat Bread

2011-12-16T19:34:00.001-08:00

Wonderful toasted

Great with Pumpkin Soup

perfect with local honey

Second Rise

Measured and Cut

Kneaded

Leave alone to rise

Add Active Yeast

Adding Spices - Cinnamon and Peppers

Blending Buckwheat into the Bread Flours

Here is my

Hummingbird Hill Hearty Buckwheat Bread recipe:

1c buckwheat flour

2c bread flour

1c warm water

active yeast

1/4 c honey or sugar

2 tbs oil

Cinnamon and peppers to taste

Mix, knead, let rise,

Punch down, knead, place in pans, let rise

bake at 350-375'F until done.

Rex and His Gaggle

2011-12-16T19:16:00.000-08:00

Rex

Isis, Zulu and Cadeaux de Paix

Our Morning Gaggle

Frosty Morning Garden

2011-12-16T19:08:00.001-08:00

frozen birdbath

frosty dollarplant and blackberry leaves

Frosty Tarragon Blossom

Frosty Sage Leaves

Frosty Debutante Camellia Blossom

Dawn's Early Winter Light

2011-12-16T18:55:00.000-08:00

Citrus For Christmas

2011-12-16T18:52:00.001-08:00

Our trees did alright this year despite the drought

Holiday Blues

2011-11-06T20:13:00.003-08:00

Lots of Hay Along the Way

2011-11-06T20:13:00.001-08:00

Some of Our Nieghbors

2011-11-06T20:12:00.001-08:00

Autumn Skys Filled with Rain

2011-09-30T10:32:00.000-07:00

The Beautiful Complexity of Gulf Coast Clouds!

Rain curtain closing the sky at dusk

Rough lake waters churn a muddy brown against the blue skies heavy with rain

Simple Sunset

A Family of Fireflies at a Recent Night Concert

2011-09-23T19:22:00.000-07:00

Dangerous Dead Copperhead Snake

2011-09-21T13:36:00.000-07:00

On the road near the house...!!!

I am sorry it got run over, but it is a very poisonous snake!

Take a look down this web page to see what a bite on your finger, can do to your arm
http://www.squidoo.com/poisonoussnakeidentification#module11766077

Flowers Blooming Now

2011-09-09T14:16:00.000-07:00

Scentimental Hybrid rose

Lantana

Souvenier

Passionflower

and lots and lots of Autumn Clematis!

Cadeaux De Paix

2011-09-09T14:11:00.001-07:00

Lee's Rains Helped

2011-09-09T14:10:00.001-07:00

Geese on the PorchSo

2011-09-09T14:09:00.001-07:00

They like to patrol everything!

Spanish Moss Hangs on the Pink Perfection Camellia

2011-09-09T14:08:00.001-07:00

What Feathers?

2011-09-09T14:06:00.001-07:00

New Blog Links

2011-08-28T11:51:00.000-07:00

While we will still be maintaining DasBlauHaus,
we wanted to tell you that we have started a new Blog for the farm at:
http://hummingbirdhillfarmandstudiosllc.blogspot.com/

and for the bees at:
http://loveblessedlight.blogspot.com/

check 'em out!
and stay cool in the heat- don't forget to drink lots of water!

Fresh Figs

2011-07-11T17:02:00.000-07:00

Delicious!-Just starting to come in...

Our Blueberries

2011-07-11T17:01:00.001-07:00

Despite the drought

and the wild birds and animals who,

in their hunger have demolished

much of our crops this year-

We did get some blueberries.

They were delicious!

Lunchtime Adventures

2011-07-02T05:49:00.000-07:00

Storm Clouds on Lake Pontchartrain

Oak Trees Reflected in the Waves on the Mandeville Lakefront

My favorite Ditch Full of Lush Cat-tails in Covington

Bull and Calve Studies for New Paintings

2011-07-02T05:46:00.000-07:00

My favorite Bull

Very Powerful Bull

Heart- headed Calf

I am working on new paintings of Bulls, Cows and Calves. We went to an event and saw some really beautiful ones. These are a few images from the studies I took. I am glad that there was a very high strong fence between me and the Bulls!

Early Morning Stars

2011-07-02T05:39:00.000-07:00

I woke up at 4:30am and went out to take a few pictures of the stars.

Hercules

2011-06-28T14:47:00.000-07:00

Bored with his day, Hercules Springs into Action!

He begins with the" Toss and Tag" with Copycat!

He pauses...

and then counters with the "Flip and Flop!"

Lakeview is confused.

Turtle / Tortoise Time

2011-04-30T18:06:00.000-07:00

A lovely turtle/ tortoise
( he was not the usual green sliders that I see that I know are turtles-I'm not sure what he was truly- are you?)
was sunning himself in the road the other day. We didn't want anyone to run over him as dusk was approaching- so we tried to encourage him off the road. He insistently ran the other way. He moved really, really quickly I might add.a The little reascal stopped just inside the drivers side tire under our car! With some careful and persistent encouragement- we got him out and on his way in to the cool grass and off the busy road.

Our Clematis HENRY I bloomed today

2011-04-30T18:02:00.000-07:00

Clematis Henry I Hybridized by Isaac Anderson-Henry of Edinburgh, Scotland,
Year of Registration / Introduction: 1870
Bred from C. lanuginosa as the female or seed-bearer and C. 'Fortunei' as the male parent.

The True Fleur De Lis and a Symbol of the Trinity- the Iris

2011-04-21T21:11:00.001-07:00

Scentimental Rose

2011-04-21T21:06:00.002-07:00

More Clematis Blooming in the Garden

2011-04-21T21:06:00.000-07:00

Local Cattle Lying Down Before the Rain

2011-04-21T20:51:00.003-07:00

Blueberries

2011-04-21T20:51:00.001-07:00

Blue Clematis Blooms

2011-04-21T20:50:00.002-07:00

Genovese and Lime Basil

2011-04-21T20:50:00.000-07:00

Gumbo Z' Herbes from my Garden for Maundy Thursday

2011-04-21T19:41:00.000-07:00

Today is Maundy Thursday-
so I made a delicious Gumbo Z'Herbes from the greens and herbs in our garden;

"Hummingbird Hill Gumbo Z'Herbes"
1/4 cup of fresh butter from a local dairy,
1 tbs flour
1 vidalia onion choped fine and saute with
a handful of fresh spinach, 3 handfuls of fresh romaine lettuce, 1 handful of fresh tarragon, parsley, thyme, oregano and a little Basil all chopped and ground, then add
2 cups of no salt chicken stock
Black and Red Pepper-
and my personal touch-
1 tbs of cinnamon and 4 fresh French Bay leaves.
Bring to a boil and then reduce on medium for 1 hour-
Chop, grind and strain through a sieve,
serve over Atchafalya basin rice
with a generous dollop of crystal hot sauce!

Space Saving Way to Grow Potatoes

2011-04-21T15:06:00.001-07:00

Bees and comb

2011-04-19T06:48:00.000-07:00

Bees on the Queen's comb above and fresh comb waiting to be worked below...

The Queens are Here!

2011-04-19T06:43:00.001-07:00

Images from our Garden part of an Art exhibit in Nashville, TN

2011-04-05T17:24:00.000-07:00

" Sky Garden" and "Sky on Sky" Nashville April 2,2011

http://www.carrieleeschwartz.com/CLS-BAP-TN/index.html

http://billboardartproject.com/

Queen of the Sun

2011-04-05T17:12:00.000-07:00

Please go see this film

http://www.queenofthesun.com/

Happy Spring!- We Saw Our First Hummingbird!

2011-03-20T19:22:00.000-07:00

At least one young male Ruby-throated Hummingbird.
Too fast for my camera!
We refilled all the feeders for them.
The wasps are hatching out and so are the bumble bees.
They are feeding on the blossoming Wisteria.
The honey bees are visiting our pear and citrus trees
-so with any luck we may have some fruit this year.

Beautiful Full Moon!

2011-03-19T23:07:00.001-07:00

Pear Blossoms

2011-03-19T23:06:00.002-07:00

Cadeaux De Paix

2011-03-19T23:06:00.000-07:00

She is pretending that she is not there laying an egg!

Backyard Architects

2011-03-19T23:05:00.000-07:00

We've changed our look

2011-03-19T15:22:00.001-07:00

Its is the same old blog- just a little different in look.. let us know what you think..

Ooooeee!

2011-03-11T21:40:00.000-08:00

Hungry Planet Video from Joe

2011-03-05T19:36:00.000-08:00

My friend Joe sent me this video.
I think it is important to share.
Think about how you spend your time
and money on a week's worth of food
compared to the rest of the world.
double click it or the title above
to go to the URL and see full screen

New Feline's Smile

2011-03-04T15:24:00.000-08:00

Newest Feline Profile

2011-03-04T15:21:00.000-08:00

The Latest Feline

2011-03-03T20:17:00.000-08:00

Chillin' in the shade of the long leaf pines.
Amazing eyes.

Zulu Hiss

2011-03-03T11:33:00.000-08:00

Zulu is upset. She gave me a defensive "hiss"!
She is probably sitting on a freshly laid egg on her nest.

Mardi Gras Pansies

2011-03-01T14:14:00.000-08:00

Purple, Green and Gold- Happy Mardi Gras!

Lakeview Strut

2011-03-01T14:12:00.001-08:00

Hercules Inspects a Fresh Goose Egg

2011-03-01T14:11:00.001-08:00

Hercules in Repose in the Pines

2011-02-26T13:55:00.000-08:00

He is growing every day.

Polka -Dot Carnival Meat loaf

2011-02-26T13:53:00.000-08:00

Easy and fast-
Mix Fresh ground turkey with frozen peas.
Serve sliced on toast with Purple Onions and
Yellow Mustard for a Full Mardi Gras Flavor!

Cherry Bounce

2011-02-26T13:51:00.000-08:00

A family tradition that my maternal Grandfather shared with me. Made possible by the wild cherry laurels that are planted by birds every year, and a delicious Carnival experience. Happy Mardi Gras Pa-Pa!

Magnolia liliiflora

2011-02-26T13:47:00.000-08:00

A sure sign that Spring is around the corner,

These lovely blooms are from what locals call

a Japanese Magnolia, but are actually native

to southwest China - Sichuan & Yunnan

Their scent is delicate and lovely. Our tree is

planted by the gate and it greets us daily as

we pass through.

Cast Cat Tracks

2011-02-26T13:44:00.000-08:00

Although these paws are stacked to take the photo,

you can still see that they are cat tracks, especially

from the one on the left.

Jaguar (Panthera onca)

2011-02-25T18:42:00.000-08:00

Nice link with a great drawing of the tracks
http://dinets.travel.ru/blackjaguar.htm
This one is definitely well fed compared to the one that was in my yard
and it has obvious spots, which the one in my yard did not have.
But the tracks are very similar.

Images of Big Cat Tracks and Neighbor's Video

2011-02-25T16:43:00.000-08:00

I did not get a photo of it- but my neighbors, Mr. Davis and his wife up the hill got it on video.
They were interviewed on NOLA.com
He has security cameras all over his property on poles.
http://videos.nola.com/times-picayune/2011/02/video_black_panther_caught_on.html
I called her immediately to confirm and also to say thank you!
I was so grateful that someone had captured it on video!
My husband started to believe me, but was still unsure.
It sounded like a really loud cat was in the yard late one night that week too.

It was only after I cast the tracks left in the mud
and we compared them to the size of our dogs' prints,
that my husband began to believe me.
I sent the large image files to Pon Dixson at the Wildlife and Fisheries
and also to Dr. James " Skip" Lazell-(a biologist and founder and president of the Conservation Agency, a scientific, nonprofit corporation specializing in research, exploration, and education on biodiversity, biogeography, and ecology. He is on the staff of the Museum of Comparative Zoology at Harvard University and the Peabody Museum of Natural History at Yale University. He is the author of over 230 papers and articles and four books, most recently, Island: Fact and Theory in Nature )
who quickly and kindly verified that they were definitely big cat tracks and probably a melanistic jaguar or leopard. This is what that cat that I saw looked like only it wasn't sitting. It was standing and it moved very low to the ground when I shooed it away. It had a very, very long tail and very intense lime green/ yellow eyes. http://bp0.blogger.com/_EqQZrgoXvqM/SIkn4p0bjxI/AAAAAAAABjs/dyB4JGNJs2U/s1600-h/Black+Leopard.jpg
It was beautiful really!
I haven't seen it since then. I think it has moved further north.
You see, every Late February , and early March,
I loose some of my chickens or Geese in the yard.
The " Old-Timers" say that the predators move down the creek beds and follow the waterways down to the lake in Winter for warmth and for food. After the winter- they go back to where they came from.
In other words...the big wild cats move through my yard on their travels once a year.
The Wildlife Agent also told me that the Bobcats mix with local house cats and we get lots of crazy mixed up wild cats.
I sent him this link to an image from an earlier post to verify.
http://dasblauhaus.blogspot.com/2009/03/big-black-cat.html
It is the only cat that I have seen in the yard other than the big one that came through this year.
All I know is I just don't want them to eat my geese or cats or dogs,
and I don't want it killed either.
I just want it to go about it's business somewhere else.
I am very grateful that I saw it though.
Even if no one believes me-
Not many people are fortunate enough to see
a magnificent animal like that in their own backyard!

The Visit from the large Panther, Melanistic Jaguar, or Leopard

2011-02-25T16:27:00.000-08:00

In the first week of February, I heard the geese outside around the North Porch making a racket. I needed to take out the garbage, so I put my shoes on and went to see what it was all about.
I walked out and saw a black cat out of my eye and thought- another mouth to feed!
Then Lakeview, one of our cats came towards me and I realized that the scale was very wrong. He was small and the Black cat was HUGE! It was much larger than our Lab-Mix Dog!
I looked again more carefully and saw at least a 100 lb black cat staring at my geese.
Not me, my geese.
I dropped the garbage and yelled- "Shoo! Git!" and it did nothing.
I picked up a piece of corrugated sheet metal that was by the well pump near the porch and shook it at the cat-making a bigger noise,
"Go on!" Shoo!" again- and it got very low to the ground and crept into the bushes by the well, but did not go far and it looked at me this time.
I shook the metal and yelled again- this time it went farther and faster into the woods by the blueberries.

I quickly went back inside and called my husband who said.
Oh it's just a big tom cat. I was not so sure.

I found tracks in the mud, and alerted my neighbors with small children, grandchildren and horses, etc., and told my students when I went to work.

I called it into the Wild Life and Fisheries agents and they said- take a picture. Easier said than done.

Sweet Little Hercules

2011-01-28T13:04:00.000-08:00

PUUUURRRRTY CAT!

2011-01-28T13:03:00.001-08:00

Lakeview- Lookin' Good!

2011-01-28T13:02:00.002-08:00

Time for a Cat Nap!

2011-01-28T13:02:00.000-08:00

Goose Nest and Newly Laid Eggs

2011-01-28T13:01:00.000-08:00

Unfortunately, they did not last
as the nest was raided
and nothing was letf but half a shell. :(

Homemade Whole wheat Bread

2011-01-28T12:59:00.001-08:00

Butternut Squash, Soup and Salad

2011-01-28T12:58:00.001-08:00

Quince

2011-01-28T12:57:00.001-08:00

First decent harvest, desite the freezing weather.

Another Artic Blast is Forecast for this Weekend

2011-01-20T21:37:00.000-08:00

Hopefully this blast will not be as cold or last as long.

The last one gave us 1-2 inches of ice in all the animal pools and waterers.

It also froze our beloved rooster when the power went out.

Rest In Peace Sunny.

You are greatly missed.

Lemonfish & Orange Ducks

2011-01-20T21:31:00.000-08:00

More Candied Citrus Fun!

I used my tiny cookie cutters

to make them more interesting.

Sure wish you could taste them!

Flying Hercules!

2011-01-09T15:23:00.001-08:00

Meet Hercules

2011-01-09T15:06:00.000-08:00

Meet Hercules Compleanno Sinatra
-So named because he is strong and showed up on my birthday "singing"!

Birthday Surprise

2011-01-09T15:03:00.000-08:00

This little guy came onto the porch and climbed the door-
swung from the farm bell and wanted in!

Woodpecker on the Telephone Pole

2011-01-09T15:02:00.000-08:00

Orange Sugar

2011-01-09T15:01:00.000-08:00

I made a huge batch of candied citrus peels and took the leftover syrup- cooked it to softball stage and made orange flavored sugar with it.. Perfect addition to morning tea, or crushed and stirred into oatmeal for a new take on ho-hum morning staples.

Candied Orange Peel

2011-01-09T14:58:00.000-08:00

I add a little cinnamon and cloves to the mix
to add some bass notes to the flavor!

Creole Style-Bubbles and Squeek- no meat

2011-01-01T20:23:00.000-08:00

Sauteed Cabbage and Black eyed peas with Red Louisiana Rice and two Farm fresh eggs form our hens- sweet cornbread and Fresh LA Sweet Orange juice- perfect way to start the New Year.

Sauteed Cabbage

2011-01-01T20:21:00.000-08:00

Louisiana Sweet Citrus Oranges- Juiced

2011-01-01T20:20:00.001-08:00

Fresh Louisiana Citrus

2011-01-01T20:20:00.000-08:00

The Best Grits are Full of Vegetables

2011-01-01T20:19:00.001-08:00

Grits Prep- More Like a Salad

2011-01-01T20:19:00.000-08:00

Deer in the HeadLights

2010-12-27T14:37:00.000-08:00

She was a cute and she had many friends with her. They were foraging for leftover popcorn and other human treats at the local park. Hungry but very graceful, they looked well fed. Amazing how their eyes reflected the camera flash so brightly.

Winter Light

2010-12-27T14:20:00.000-08:00

In Winter, the Sun dips way south and illuminates the metal panels behind the wood burning stove, lighting up the room in the rosy pinks of dawn.

Knitting Graphited Fiberglass

2010-12-27T14:17:00.001-08:00

Our stove is an old model and I needed to replace some fiber frax on the back- couldn't find any. So I bought some graphite coated fiberglass rope, unwound it and knitted my own. Made a mess of my hands and gloves- but it works just fine.

Chilly? Come join us by the fire...

2010-12-27T12:03:00.000-08:00

Vog's Fire from Vog Thorstar on Vimeo.

Warmth in our House, is the Fire in the Wood-burning Stove

2010-12-27T12:02:00.000-08:00

Our House is as Blue as the Sky

2010-12-27T12:01:00.000-08:00

Happiness is a Stocked Woodpile

2010-12-27T12:00:00.000-08:00

Christmas Dinner

2010-12-25T15:53:00.000-08:00

Slow roasted Leg of Lamb with Minted Jezebel Sauce, Hand Mashed Potatoes with Lamb drippings and baby portabello gravy, Steamed broccoli florets with lemon juice and chopped Melissa (lemon balm), Grilled green onions ( the man of the house's favorite) and a Louisiana citrus /tomato salad with a Pepper vinegarette.Sweet Green tea with lemon.
Hot chocolate for dessert.

Truly Hand Mashed Taters

2010-12-25T15:47:00.000-08:00

Christmas Gifts from the Chickens-Thanks Girls!

2010-12-25T15:45:00.001-08:00

A Favorite at our house for Christmas Music - Sing along!

2010-12-25T11:07:00.001-08:00

More Music for Christmas from Prague

2010-12-25T11:02:00.001-08:00

Joyeux Noel!

2010-12-25T10:58:00.001-08:00

Christmas Stollen

2010-12-25T10:46:00.000-08:00

Delicious with Café Au Lait for Breakfast while the
Chef prepares the feast- Lamb and root vegetables
are in the oven roasting now...

Merry Christmas from Our House to Yours

2010-12-25T10:37:00.000-08:00

BUSY BEES VIDEO 1

2010-11-19T18:45:00.000-08:00

Busy Bees #1 from Vog Thorstar on Vimeo.