A hawk, snake, and steak tartare

Last Sunday, Justin and I raked and bagged leaves in the front yard. It was cool, but not cold, and the sun was out. There wasn't a cloud in the sky. The day was gorgeous! As we were finishing the yard, we noticed a hawk bouncing around in the ivy beneath some trees. We saw he had something in his mouth and we quickly realized he had a mouse. He enjoyed his food and then perched on a tree near Justin and me.

I have a love-hate relationship with the hawks. It's really more of a hate-love relationship. I don't like mice, but the thought of them being eaten by a bird is awful. Even though the chipmunks made a terrible mess in our storage room outside last year, and I had to clean it up, I still don't want them to be eaten by a hawk. My love with the hawks is that they eat snakes. I've never seen one of the hawks in our yard eat a snake, but I really hope they do. There are plenty!

Justin told me that when he and the dogs were in the backyard while I was working in the front yard, he and Annabelle spotted the hawk just standing on the ground in the middle of the backyard. Annabelle started barking and ran toward the bird, which immediately flew to a tree. Annabelle then "marked" the area where the hawk was standing. She wanted to let him know who's yard he was in. Even though I know they're probably safe, I have a rule that the dogs aren't allowed outside alone when the hawk has been spotted in the yard.

Yesterday, Justin was raking the very back yard while I was inside cleaning. After a few minutes, Justin came back inside and we had the following conversation:
k: The area where you raked looks really good.
j: You don't want to go out there.
k: Is there a snake out there?
j: Yeah.
k: Did you kill it?
j: No, it got away before I could kill it.
k: How big was it?
j: About a foot long, but it was really skinny. I'm pretty sure it was a copperhead.

Where is that darned hawk when you need it?! Last summer, I found out that several of our neighbors suspected that a bed of copperheads was near our yard. I guess they're still there. I really want to get the very back of our yard completely cleared of ivy and brush so that we can get some grass to grow there. I know that won't prevent snakes in the yard, but it will allow us to see them more easily. Maybe they won't like the grass and will leave. Something else that bothered me about the snake spotting was that I always thought snakes hibernated until spring. It's still winter, so why are they out and about already? Seriously, where is that hawk?

After being nearly eaten by a snake, we decided to eat at Mary Mac's Tea Room for an early supper. We've wanted to eat there for a while and decided to go. The line was wrapped around the building. I suggested we go to Flip. Their parking lot was full, but we were able to be seated inside immediately. I inquired about sitting outside, but there was a twenty minute wait, so we took the table inside. I ordered my usual shrimp poboyger with fries. Justin ordered the steak tartare burger with a side of pork belly macaroni and cheese.

While we were waiting, I joked with Justin about the raw meat he ordered. He said, "No, I think they cook it very slightly." I said, "Um, no, I'm pretty sure it's completely raw." He looked it up on his phone and said, "You're right. It is completely raw." When it arrived, his burger was topped with a soft boiled egg. To me, soft boiled is practically raw. He ate the burger and said that it was absolutely delicioius. The waiter commented that if we would just lick the plates a little, they could reuse them without having to wash them. What can I say, we were hungry. We shared a nutella and burnt marshmallow milkshake. Justin said, "These burnt marshmallows are the most cooked thing I've eaten tonight." I thought that was pretty funny because it was true.

When we got home, I showed Justin a clip from the Mr. Bean show that reminded me of the night:

Valentine's Day Tulips

Justin and I celebrated Valentine's Day this past weekend since it fell on Monday this year. We ate at Canoe Saturday night and it was yummy. Sunday, I worked in the yard for a little while and when I came inside, Justin had gotten me tulips. I was so surprised! I love tulips!

Aren't they pretty? He did a great job arranging them.

They look really nice on our dining room table. Hint hint Justin, I need fresh flowers there all the time.

I told Justin that I have plans to get him an orchid for Valentine's Day, but I want him to pick it out. He had an orchid a couple of years ago that was pretty for a short while and then it kind of died back. We repotted it and it came back to life and was so pretty for a while. We moved it and it promptly died. I know we can get one to grow for more than a couple of months. I just know it.

Canoe

Justin and I have been wanting to try Canoe for a while. We made reservations a few weeks ago for Valentine's Day weekend. The only available time was at 5:45 p.m. so we had an early dinner tonight. We arrived and the valets took the car as we headed inside to claim our table. We were immediately seated and started looking over the menu.


They had a couple of appetizer specials that Justin and I ordered. Justin had the foie gras, which was served with brioche toast and cherries. He seemed to enjoy it since he cleaned his plate. I ordered the prawn appetizer. It was a large prawn served atop a avacado mousse with finely chopped boiled egg. It was also served with cherry tomatos and bacon. I didn't realize it was served with bacon, otherwise, I probably would have ordered something else. I ate around the bacon, so there wasn't a problem. It was very good. Justin didn't love it, but I thought it was tasty.

Justin ordered the duck n' beef burger. It was topped with a fried egg, pickled cabbage, and wilted spinach. It was served with truffle pommes frites. I tried the french fries and they were tasty. Justin said the burger was delicious. It was huge and he ate it all. I had the grilled salmon. It was served with spaghetti squash, carrot saute, pecans, and wilted spinach. Mine was also very tasty. I cleaned my plate, too!

For dessert, we shared the Valhrona chocolate and salted caramel grotto with pretzel hazelnut dust. It was a hard chocolate dome shell filled with a caramel filling. The entire dome was surrounded with a little sprinkle of pretzle dust. It was so rich and yummy. Mmmm...

I want to go back and try more desserts. They had a bread pudding on the dessert menu that sounded very good, too. I love bread pudding.

I included the photo below to show the Canoe building in September 2009 after the flood. It is right on the Chattahoochee River so it's no surprise that it flooded. They quickly made repairs and reopened.

Photo sources: here and here.

Me and My Honey

Justin and I dined at Canoe tonight for Valentine's Day. I'll post about that later. We took a quick photo with my phone when we got home. The flash casts a blue tint on everything, but at least this photo isn't blurry like usual.