The dogs and I had our last beach walk on Friday and was it ever a good one. We got out there early in the morning and no one was on the beach. We started walking, well they were running, down the beach and I noticed a few dolphins swimming in the opposite direction to the way I was walking. Of course, being a big fan of dolphins, I was very excited and started texting the family. Not only did we see one pod of about 5 dolphins, we saw 5 more pods of at least that many. Obviously some good fishing. Once we turned around I noticed that the dolphins were now swimming in the opposite direction and this time they were performing some interesting antics. They would circle and then all of a sudden two or three of them would jump out of the water and crash back down. I alerted a few young teens who were walking along looking down at the beach and they were so excited to see it that they video taped it. Another lady joined us and we all had a wonderful 10 minutes just watching the show. Never, ever have I seen anything like it before. Of course, I couldn’t get a picture but the picture is in my mind. What a way to spend our last morning on the beach.

Great Blue Herons

The Great Blue Herons have been nesting in the trees around our golf hole and pond for a number of years. This year we watched them come back and build their nests, or perhaps refurbish their nests, once again. We wondered when the little ones would hatch and Sunday morning when we were walking the dogs, there in the leaves below the trees were a couple of empty egg shells. The babies have hatched. So happy to see this before we leave. I am sure there will be more egg shells as the rest of them hatch but so glad we got to see this before we left.

A Special Treat

Good friends were on their way north after spending the winter in their home in Florida. They stopped to visit Beaufort and to do some exploring. I was going to say they were friends from North Hatley but we have so many friends in common in the states as well I can’t really say that. However, that is where we see them the most, when we are up in Canada in the summer. While here, they stayed at another mutual friends guest villa which just happens to be not to far from our house. We had a wonderful catch up, ate some fun meals together and they got to explore our area to their hearts content. Shrimp season opened here Friday so we went down to the water for lunch on Saturday to a restaurant right next to where many of the shrimp boats are moored. So exciting to have the season open again and a fun way to send them on their way up north.

Sign Spotted on a Visit

People are always trying to get creative when encouraging dog owners to pick up after their pets. This week I have seen two that amused me but this one takes the cake. It took us a few minutes to get it but really, some people are very clever. What threw me was the blue color.

The Last Days

We have spent the last few days saying good bye to our friends here and doing the last minute packing and putting away that always comes with our departure north or south. Most of the heavy duty packing was done a week ago so we were able to spend this week with our friends and also playing golf. We know it will be few weeks before the conditions up north come close to what we have here so we have really enjoyed getting out there in the sunshine and playing. Our last day will be spent getting the dogs groomed, the cars washed and cleaned out, then packing the cars and loading everyone up to take off early on Tuesday morning. We will be ready, after all we have done this before. I am a little sad thinking that this time last year when we were heading north we were interrupted on the trip when my mother became ill. It will be different but I am looking forward to meeting my new great niece and nephew who will still be very little when I get to see them.

Twist on a Recipe

Heirloom Bean Salad with Smokey Sun-Dried Tomato Vinaigrette

I have a recipe that came from Blue Zones for a Bean Salad. However, I read the directions and decided that it was way too involved to soak all the beans and follow those directions but I really liked the vinaigrette so why not use canned beans. You can buy the beans individually or in many cases they come pre-mixed with three or four different kinds of beans. Give it a try, either way, the purist or the lazy man (me). The dressing is delicious.

INGREDIENTS
7 oz each Black Turtle beans, Hopi lima beans, French navy beans, small red beans, pinto beans, yellow peas, and green lentils (any combination of dried legumes will work)
2 cups grated Brussels sprouts
1 cup tri-color or red quinoa
5 whole bay leaves
3 tablespoons sea salt
2 tablespoons mushroom base
1 tablespoon thyme
Cilantro, parsley, or fresh scallion, to garnish

SMOKY VINAIGRETTE INGREDIENTS
1 cup grapeseed oil
½ cup sun-dried tomato
⅓ cup white balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons smoked paprika
2 tablespoons honey
1 tablespoon ground basil
1 tablespoon ground black pepper

DIRECTIONS
Soak legumes for 8 hours prior to cooking. (see what I mean)
Cook quinoa by boiling in 1 quart of water with mushroom base until the quinoa sprouts. Strain excess liquid and spread onto a baking sheet to cool.
Cook legumes for 1½-2 hours in one gallon of rapidly boiling water with sea salt, thyme, and bay leaves, skimming foam occasionally. The largest legumes should be al dente. Strain excess liquid and spread onto a baking sheet to cool.
Layer ingredients in a large glass or bowl: quinoa, then grated brussels sprouts, then legumes.

SMOKY VINAIGRETTE DIRECTIONS
In a food processor or heavy duty blender, process sun-dried tomato with grapeseed oil until smooth.
Add white balsamic vinegar to the tomato-oil mixture and process until emulsified.
Add honey, sea salt, ground basil, ground black pepper, and smoked paprika and process until evenly distributed.
Drizzle 2 tablespoons of the vinaigrette mixture onto the salads; preserve the rest for future use. Garnish with cilantro, parsley, or fresh scallion (optional).