Meditteranean sandwiches and baby squirrels!

Finally! Blogger is working again. It felt like an eternity that it was down.

It's been quite the couple of days in my backyard. Since I got the feeder it's become quite the little animal sanctuary. All kinds of birds seem to flock here to hang out. It's incredible, and I am definitely not complaining. Yesterday I found the most amazing, beautiful and oh-so-sad thing while I was putting laundry on the line outside. This little guy in the picture to the right came out from under the hedge looking quite shaky and weak. He is obviously too young to be away from his mama, so I can only guess that something terrible happened to her. He wasn't very afraid of me, and had no energy to run when I walked over to him. I stuck a dish of seed under the hedge, and sure enough, the little guy (who we have named Stonewall) jumped on and started feasting. In the afternoon, another little guy came out from the hedge with the same shaky legs, only he was black (and we have named him Shadow). Unlike Stonewall, this one is a lot more timid with humans and made some really sweet protective sounds when I went to put the dish near him. THEN.. in the evening Kyle walked outside the front door with our dog Tibbs, and two more little black squirrels came running up to Tibbs! Not only that, but when Kyle and Avery went to take a bike ride down to the YMCA, these two little ones chased them down our driveway, and then headed down the road towards them. I feel so bad for these little orphans! I have told the kids that we can't befriend them since it really isn't good for their future. We will be putting out some seed and water for the next week or two until they seem stronger and more capable of living on their own. The two babies who chased Kyle and Avery on their bikes are off on an adventure already, down a different street. I miss them already! The other two were seen in our yard this morning, looking a bit stronger.

Isn't this little one sweet? He's the timid guy who was making adorable sounds.

Dinner was simple and delicious yesterday. I made a Mediterranean sandwich on focaccia bread with a side of canned baked beans. I got the sandwich from The Essential Vegetarian, but altered it a bit.

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Mediterranean Sandwiches

1 focaccia loaf

(you can make your own or buy one... I was going to bake one, but with the squirrel chaos, I ended up buying one)

1/2 red onion, sliced very thinly

1 green pepper, sliced very thinly

2 tbsp fresh basil leaves, thinly sliced

5 cloves garlic, crushed, divided

3 tsp balsamic vinegar

1/4 cup olive oil

1 cup medium cheddar cheese, grated

Preheat the oven to 350. Line an oven tray with aluminum foil.

Combine the sliced onion, green pepper, red pepper, basil and 2 cloves of garlic in a bowl with the balsamic vinegar. Stir to combine, cover and set aside.

Mix the olive oil with the remaining 3 cloves of garlic. Slice the focaccia in half with a serrated knife and brush the bottom half with the olive oil and garlic mixture.

Pile the veggies on top of the oil brushed focaccia, and top with the grated cheddar. Add the top half of the focaccia and place on the prepared baking tray.

Cook for about 15 minutes, until cheese melts.