MONDAY, MONDAY.....

Thisn is a horned lizard.

This particular one was sitting beside the trail at Pawnee Buttes when Merle and I were hiking there once. Pawnee Buttes are the 300 foot tall sandstone sentinels of the eastern Colorado plains. There isn't much out there, the drive to reach them from towns along the foothills is about 1.5 hours, but it is worth it. The best times to go are in the fall when the temperatures are cooler. For a period during the spring, the trails to the tops of the buttes are closed for nesting birds and after that, the summer can be too hot. I'm not a avid bird watcher, but apparently this is a place where avid bird watchers like to go. Once, when hiking there with my daughter, we came across some bones sticking out of the sandstone wall beside the trail. This is also a place where there are many fossils. We left them after taking a picture. I can't find that picture, though. Here's a picture of the Pawnee Buttes from the Forest Service website.

I work part time for a guy who owns a landscape installation business. It's fun now that I've learned the job ( meaning, it wasn't fun before I learned the job). Today was busy, but not so busy that I couldn't give some serious attention to Darby, his Corgi dog. I just love her. He also has two cats and many is the time I have to move cats off of the desk to get to my papers. They also climb in the desk drawers and supply cabinet. During a recent insurance audit, the auditor was sitting on the other side of the desk from me. There was a intermittent thumping sound under the desk as the guy was asking questions. One of the cats was under my side of the desk and Darby was on the other side by the auditor. The cat was slapping her paws out from a space under the front wall of the desk and Darby was pouncing on them. It was funny, but too distracting, so we had to break up the fun. Here's a picture of Darby. She's smiling!

She is pictured here on her master's boat.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pembroke_Welsh_Corgi



Here is a recipe I devised. I like to think it is sort of healthy
.

FISH AND RICE
Cook about 3 cups of brown rice and set aside (you can use plain white rice instead)
Broil 2 packages (4 fillets) Gortons Cajun Flavored Fish Fillets or other fish fillet you prefer per instructions. The Cajun flavoring really adds to this dish.
Chop up 2 fresh medium sized tomatoes
Mince about 1/4 cup fresh cilantro
2 medium jalapeno peppers, seeds removed and finely chopped
Pour one can of black beans (no salt added) in a colander. Rinse thoroughly to remove juices and drain.
Purple onion (Optional and just add to individual portions. If you add it to the whole dish, it will overpower the other ingredients, especially if you have leftovers.)
1 or 2 limes
Coarse Black Pepper
Tortilla chips
Green taco sauce

Combine rice with tomatoes, cilantro, peppers, beans and fish cut into 1/2" chunks. Squeeze juice of 1 lime over all, green taco sauce to taste and toss lightly to combine. Season with black pepper. Put individual servings on plates and top with a handful of crumbled tortilla chips. Add chopped onion, if so desired. This can be served hot or cold. It's one our favorites. You can add salt, more lime juice or taco sauce, depending upon your preference.