Thor's Day

Souvlaki tonight!  

A warm day with little wind and sunny skies should let me grill the first Greek shish kababs of the year (or the last of the season, if you prefer).  Marinated beef, zucchini, roasted bell peppers, and mushrooms cook up nicely on the grill and give us several meals.  Retsina, spanikopita, and pita complete the menu.  Photos to follow. 

Backyard Gardening

Not much happening in the middle of winter.  Our yard guy, Baldo, cut back the dried stems of oregano, mint, fennel, and parsley.  We trimmed the rosemary, too.  

Birds are emptying the feeders regularly.  One is filled with niger and is a goldfinch feeder--they have to hang upside down to reach the feeding slits.  That's a trick only goldfinches can do.  The other feeder is filled with the usual mix, sunflowers, millet, cracked corn, and assorted bits.  The sparrows and house finches spill as much as they eat.  The juncos and towhees get what's on the ground.  Occasional pigeons don't seem to be much of a problem and we do see doves, mostly white-winged ones, scratching around on the ground.  

I read that the BioPark is encouraging folks to sign up for the Great Backyard Bird Count coming up soon in mid-February.  More to come as that approaches.  

Next Door

The construction of the neighbor's house to the east continues apace.  Today they emplaced the garage doors.  I doubt if I'll be able to get inside for photographs anymore.  At least the noise is limited because the exterior walls are up and the dry wall installed.  I imagine it's mostly interior construction now.  Stucco coating in March will be a mess for us, since it's on the edge of our property.  Hoping for completion around April.  Then it'll be time to design and plant a raised bed up against the east wall and finish the bonsai area.  

Here's the view from the front as photo-bombed by Stella, the neighbor's Siamese cat who hangs out in our yard.