I had another busy morning in the kitchen. I needed to skin and debone some chicken thighs to put them in the freezer...to have them ready for a meal on down the road. I have an easy recipe that we really like that uses chicken thighs and I have found that I prefer them boneless and skinless. The other job was to get a rack of ribs ready for me to roast most of the afternoon. I took the membrane off the back of the rib slab and then used a rub that I already had on hand that I had made a while back...just sitting in the cabinet awaiting the next slab of ribs that I cooked. I put them back in the refrigerator to let the rub "sink in" for a few hours. Then three hours before we were going to eat I popped them into the oven to slow roast at a low temperature. This was the first time that I have cooked ribs in the new stove. I used the convection oven set on roast and it did a great job. We really enjoyed some for our supper and look forward to more as the week wears on. Nathan came into the house and wondered what smelled so good! We were definitely ready to eat after smelling them while they cooked for three hours! Pretty good eatin'!
Woody enjoyed the much warmer temperatures and sat on the front porch for a while this afternoon. I joined him once the ribs were in the oven. It was a very pleasant afternoon for some porch sittin'. I read and snapped a few bird photos after I filled feeders...or filled the feeders that I have left. Our squirrels have become destructive with our bird feeders in their over zealousness at getting to the bird seed. One knocked down the round feeder and broke it in half...beyond repair this time. Then one or more managed to knock down the suet feeder and the chain disappeared. The other day our other bird feeder got knocked down and partly broken by another rascally squirrel. So...we are seeking revenge on all the rascally squirrels in our yard. We asked Elijah to set his traps. We did catch one today and Nathan and Elijah relocated him to a place some miles away...hoping that he doesn't have homing instincts like a cat! The trap is set for another. I found out that cayenne pepper is a deterrent to squirrels but not to the birds. So when Mr. Red-Headed Woodpecker came looking longingly for the suet this afternoon, I put up another cake of suet...but sprinkled it with cayenne. So far haven't seen any squirrels try to take a nibble, but the birds immediately discovered that I had hung a new suet cake up. I never found the chain hanger for the suet cage...so hung it from an "s" hook meant for hanging baskets. And, I hung the hook through where the latch is so the rascally squirrels can't open it and get the suet out.
Isaac helped a little this afternoon, when power washing the siding on our house got underway once again. Graham soon took over and completed the task. The house looks so good! Thank you, Graham! Nathan worked on the gutters across the front of our house. The oak blooms had turned into a mat covering over the gutters. That should be a big help!
We have settled in for a quiet evening with books, crossword puzzles, and TV...a typical evening in our house.
Be safe!
Be well!
Be cautious!
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