Rain, glorious rain... we finally got some!

It's just been so dry and so hot that any little bit of rain would be appreciated. Well, we got some the other day. Of course it waited to pour down until I got to the gate so I got soaking, sopping wet but I'm not complaining. We needed it badly. It rained and stormed for about 3 hours. The lightning and thunder was so bad it had the horses running wildly around the yard. Jimbo settled for standing up near the cabin while the other two hung out down along the tree line. They weren't actually in the trees but they were near them. I figure they know where they're safest having been there so long. Poor Jimbo, he probably didn't know what to do.

The wind was howling and blowing the tree branches every which way. The lightning was lighting up the sky every couple of minutes and the thunder was so loud you'd have thought cannons were going off. We're  pretty sure a couple of the trees were hit out in the woods in back of the cabin but we weren't about to go check! lol  Fortunately, the power stayed on so I was able to make dinner :)

Daryl had brought me a huge bag of beans so while it stormed, I sat on the couch snapping and stringing them so they could go into the slow cooker. I cut up some bacon with all it's pork fat beauty and added that to the pot. In went some water, some salt, some pepper and some ham bouillon. Since I had a few red potatoes that were threatening to go bad, I sliced those up and added them in too. I set that bad boy for low so it could go all night and got to making dinner.

We call it gruel because it doesn't have a name and we can't seem to come up with one. I've made it many times before and we always go back to the same name - gruel. Well it might not sound very taste tempting but it actually does taste really good. Just brown some hamburger meat, add some peppers and onions and a can of beans with their juice. I prefer to add dark, red, kidney beans but I was out of those so I added black eyed peas instead. I also added one can of cream of mushroom soup and a little sprinkle of anise. Since I had jalapenos in the refrigerator, I chopped up and added one of those too. Personally, I couldn't tell the jalapeno was even in it so maybe two or three would be better. Done deal. You can serve it over rice or egg noodles (pasta ribbons if you're into whole wheat) or just bake off a batch of biscuits and sop up all that gravy goodness!

The rain was greatly enjoyed by my garden as you could well expect. Indeed, there were puddles all around the tomato plants and the cucumber leaves were covered in splattered mud :) It probably sounds silly but I could just stand and look at that garden for hours - it has a very relaxing effect on me even though it is really more work than relaxation. Explain that one, would you? I had pulled weeds over the weekend so that made it look even better. None of the tomatoes have turned red yet but that's okay. Everyone has tomatoes coming in right now so there's never a shortage of them at the cabin.

Tuesday I had to stop at the Tractor Supply store and get two rolls of barbed wire for Wally. Let me just say that looks are very deceiving when it comes to barbed wire... lol  I asked the guy at the counter where it was but not before searching the entire store for it, hello? Outside he tells me, out with all the other fencing materials...well sure enough, there it was. He didn't have to make it sound as if I should have known this handy little piece of information.

I buggied over to the stack and reached out to pick up a roll of it and discovered just how dadgum heavy a little roll of wire can be! Jeez it probably weighed 50 pounds! I had to get two of them! Okay, first I had to get them into the buggy and then, not be be showed up, I had to get them into the trunk.When Ford built my car they were going for the world record on the smallest trunk possible. The rolls are about as big as a basketball and they do have handles but like I said, they're heavy AND they are barbed wire. They have a paper band around them, which is real nice of the manufacturer but for all accounts and purposes, not very effectual. At least not for someone who is as uncoordinated as I am. ha ha ah. Well the people inside must have felt sorry for me because while I was standing there contemplating my situation, a very nice man came out to help me.

He made it look like he was lifting cotton balls - whatever.
I finished up at the register and headed for the smallest trunk in the world. I don't know how many scratches on my hands and arms later but both rolls did finally go in. Upon my arrival home, Wally picked them both up at the same time and hauled them over to the 4 wheelers like it was nothing. Is it just me? lol 

One of the little mom & pop grocery stores had whole smoked picnic hams on sale for $.98 lb so we went to pick up a couple of them on Saturday. Well they were out so we got a rain check and went back to get them yesterday. The guy in the meat department remember us and offered to slice them for free. I had one sliced up but the other one I left whole. I'm not sure why now that I have it home but I'll figure something out. LOL We picked up some leg quarters while we were there since we'll need them for our next cookout - they were on sale for $.47 lb. We loaded the car and headed to Pee Wee's - it's only about 10 minutes from the store and since we were over that way...

The usual crowd was there and we had fun listening to everyone tell their funny stories/lies of how their day went, we had a couple beers and went back home. I talked to Daryl about attending the first hog killing of the season and he said it would be okay for me to come to it. He even told me I could get some of the hog fat to use in rendering lard. It used to be this was done outside, with a huge cauldron, over a fire and it was an all day event. I found a recipe from Jenny, at the nourished kitchen, that gives instructions on how to render lard in your own kitchen. Woo Hoo!! You know I am totally into that. Lard got a bad rap a long time ago and everyone switched to margarine. Bad move folks! Well, as things come around, we all know now that margarine is actually the one that's bad for us. Lard does contain cholesterol but research shows that in limited quantities, cholesterol is needed by your body. I could list all the benefits here or you could google it and see what I mean. Maybe I'll take the time on another posting since I have a feeling you won't be looking that up any time soon... lol  Anyway - that'll be later in the year.

My CSA basket was just overflowing with homegrown goodness this week. In it was another container of the Sungold and Cherry tomatoes, 4 big round beefsteaks, two roma tomatoes, green peppers, yellow squash, a couple cucumbers, a cantaloupe and more rattlesnake beans! This might be the last of the rattlesnake beans so I'm thinking of par-boiling them and putting them in the freezer for winter. I can't decide - they're just so good! lol This is so much fun for me. Every week I know something good is coming, I'm just not sure what it'll be. I have tried so many new vegetables this year I can't even remember them all! Good thing I have the blog. I'm pretty sure I put them all in a posting :) My favorite of all? Probably the beets. Weird huh? I never would have tried so many new things if they hadn't been in the basket so I consider my horizons very well expanded on account of the Beaverdam Creek Farm folks!

Speaking of cantaloupe, while I was slicing it up I just went ahead and sliced up the tip of my middle finger too. Man did that hurt! The cut is little but that knife is sharp (if you've ever been over, you know the knife I'm talking about) and to make matters worse, I ran a piece of paper through it at work a little while ago. Typing is a little bit of a challenge today :) because I can't type with a bandaid on the tip of my finger. You wouldn't believe how many times I've had to back up and re-type LOL

So I cooked a couple slices of the picnic ham. It was good but kind of salty to me. The trick, I hear, is to soak it in some water for a little while before cooking it. We had some of the green beans from the slow cooker and a couple of the leftover squash squares (those things are good - the recipe is at the bottom - try to try it - you won't be disappointed) and some tomato slices. Ahhhhhhh that was so good. The cabin smelled like ham and beans for the rest of the night :) They should make a candle scent like that one! ha ha ha

Dizzy Debbie is leaving for Arizona this Saturday so the girls (and guys) are "gettin their drink on" this Friday. I wish I could be there but y'all be sure to give her hugs for me since I can't be. You know how hard I tried to get her to come here instead but she just wouldn't. Stubborn red head. I know she has to go look out for her Mom and she really does love AZ so it's a good move for her. Maybe once Brian is out of school she'll be ready to move again and consider coming to stay here for a while. Everyone still asks about her - she grows on ya real quick, wouldn't you say? lol 

I got a letter from Ricky Kline yesterday. If all goes as expected, and you're at the club tonight, chances are good you will see him. Please give him a hug for me too! He's a cool guy and a great friend and I'm glad to hear he'll be back home.

This weekend we're supposed to go to Hidden Valley Lakes. The guy who does the karaoke invited us to his dad's birthday party over there and it sounds like it's going to be a lot of fun. We're going to load up the 4 wheelers and take them with us. I have to figure out what to bring - even though Jeff said not to bring anything but beer. You know I can't go to a party empty handed now, it just wouldn't be right!  I don't want to bring anything that will go bad in this heat and I also don't want to bring a dish or bowl that I'll have to try and keep up with. I'm thinking the taco layer dip with some chips... what do y'all think? It can go in one of those disposable aluminum pans and it doesn't really last long enough for the sour cream to go bad. That'll work, so long as I remember to pick up one of those pans... lol!

You can google Hidden Valley Lakes and check out some of the pictures of the grounds. It's really very pretty. They have a pool, bathhouses all over the place, trails for riding, ponds for fishing, grills, picnic tables and a pavilion. Sounds like a real good time will be had by all, doesn't it? C'mon up and join us :)
 
"The brain is a wonderful organ; it starts working the moment you get up in the morning and does not stop until you get into the office." - Robert Frost  

Back on my regular schedule - whew!

Well I logged 8 hours of OT in just 3 days last week. If you know me, you know I much prefer not to work OT but if I have to, certainly I will. It just exhausts my old brain when I have to do it. I am happy to report that I am back on my regular schedule today and quite happy to be here!

I was able to get most of my laundry out on the line this weekend. It wasn't that we had rain or anything like that, although we hoped to, it was just that we had lots of running around to do. Saturday was a work day for the guys and a cooking/laundry/cleaning day for me. I know, mine sounds like work too but for the most part I was inside and they were out in that sweltering 102 degrees heat (98 with a heat index of 102) so I consider their day more work than mine.

I know I always write about food but it can't be helped when you spend a few noteworthy hours in the kitchen putting stuff up for the winter or trying new recipes when you have a bunch of guys out in the yard willing to eat anything you bring them.

Well, I didn't get to can the tomatoes. Turns out 10 pounds isn't really enough to do anything with other than make sauce so that's what I did. I barely boiled them so the skins would slip off easily and then let them cool in a big bowl until I could cut them up for simmering. I took pictures but so far they haven't downloaded from my phone to my computer. I'll post them when they do. I added some of the fresh basil from the CSA basket, some fresh parsley, onions, green peppers, salt & black pepper and just a little bit of oregano. A little goes a long way as I well know from having made the mistake of adding too much :) I let that simmer for, oh, say about 2 hours - maybe more. Once the tomatoes had done their thing and were cooked to sauce consistency, I let it cool and bagged it up for the freezer.

So now come winter, I'll have the taste of homegrown summer tomatoes just waiting to be thawed out!

I made some vegetable broth too. It's not a big favorite of mine because I prefer meat broth with a more concentrated flavor but sometimes vegetable broth comes in handy. Not only that but since I had the water from boiling the tomatoes, I figured I may as well use it for something else - don't like to waste :) I added all that stuff that I save and freeze when I'm chopping up veggies for other meals; onion tops, bottoms, skins, garlic skins, pepper tops and bottoms, celery leaves, cilantro stems, etc. I added a little bit of salt and pepper and let that big red pot do its thing. The broth simmered for quite a while as vegetable broth can be bland if it doesn't cook long enough. It tasted just so so but I know when I take it out for later uses, I'll be adding more to it so it will be enjoyable. Most likely some sort of meat! I could never be a vegetarian - bleck!

In between making home-made spaghetti sauce and vegetable broth, I was hanging clothes on the line. I'm telling you, it was so hot out there I do believe the first clothes to go on the line were probably dry by the time I hung up the last piece! LOL I don't know how those guys work out there when it's like that. I'm used to being in the office, in the a/c, all day. I don't mind being out in it for a couple hours but that's about all I can take.

The garden is looking wonderful!!! I have so many tomatoes now that I can't keep up with how many there are. On one plant I counted 16. They are not of the big round variety, rather they are kind of pear shaped and about as big as a grape at this point.  They keep getting bigger and eventually will turn yellow, orange or red depending on the plant. The German Queen plant still has the original 3 tomatoes on it but is bushing out very nicely. I hope to see some new flowers on it soon. Now those tomatoes are getting nice and big. They aren't quite as big as the palm of my hand but that will happen soon enough! I picked my two cucumbers and we ate them in a tomato, basil, cucumber, mozzarella cheese salad with some Italian dressing to top them off.

Still no yellow squash but the plants sure are pretty to look at :) They have such big orange flowers on them that you forget there is supposed to be a vegetable coming out. The chives and cilantro haven't broken ground yet but the radishes are growing like weeds. Too bad they got washed all together. I had to do some serious thinning out which didn't leave me with too many for harvesting. All in all though I'm happy to be picking or clipping something almost every day.

So I was reading my Justin Wilson cookbook (one of them) and found a recipe for "Squash Squares." I thought, well, what the heck? I had never heard of them before but they sounded tasty and goodness knows I have enough squash to float a barge :) The recipe calls for eggs, squash, a couple kinds of cheeses, bread crumbs, onions, salt, pepper and a little cayenne pepper. Well, I didn't have bread crumbs so I crunched up a bunch of whole wheat ritz crackers and used those instead.  After it baked in the oven for 30 minutes or so, I took it out, let it cool and cut into it. Holy squashamoly!! It was sooooooo good! Between all of us, we ate the whole pan. I had to make another one on Sunday just so we would have some for the week. :) This recipe is a definite keeper so you'll find it typed out at the bottom of the blog just in case you want to give it a try. It is rich so a little square goes a long way. Enjoy!

Today is CSA basket day so I'll have to leave a little early to get to the meeting place on time. I'll update you on the contents sometime this week :) I got you sitting on the edge of your seat just waiting to see what comes in, don't I?  LOL

Jimbo is really starting to show some progress now. His ribs aren't quite as pronounced as they used to be. You can still see them but only from about mid-way up. He has a belly now that covers the bottom of his ribs and he's got some meat on his leg bones and his neck. He's getting better about staying in the same area as Rebel and Smokey but still not real close to them. I'll look out over the front yard and Jimbo will be on one side and the Rebel and Smokey will be on the other side. None of them even give a passing glance to the turkeys in the yard. Surely they must know they are there but they aren't about to give chase. What would be the point?

Wally bull-dozed a new path for us to take on the 4 wheelers and the horses. It's so cool! If you're coming down the driveway, it goes off to the left and is completely shaded by big trees that even Wally hadn't seen in years. They were just little things last time he was in that area. We rode the path twice and I can't wait to get back through there again. It's just awesome to see. It leads around corners and down the hillside and then back around so that you come out on the driveway down by the gate. He did a great job picking the pathway. I was all dusty and dirty when we got done riding through there a couple times over! Goggles are a must and really a bandanna for my nose and mouth would have been nice too but I didn't think about that until it was too late. Fun, fun, fun!

The pickles turned out pretty good if I do say so myself :) They are a little bit spicy - I have no idea why because there wasn't anything spicy in the recipe but that's how things go. I like them well enough to make them again and I gave Daryl a whole jar. He loved them.

I'll keep cooking, canning and gardening and I'll keep writing about it as long as you want to keep reading about it. Just wait until winter when I'm freaking out about how cold it is - LOL!  I'll be learning all sorts of new things then, not to mention having to buy new clothes to keep me warm. I'm pretty sure one pair of wool socks is NOT going to be enough :)

"I'm not young enough to know everything." - Sir James Matthew Barrie

Gosh I've been busy this week!

I finally have a minute or two to update the blog and then it's back to the reporting thing that they call my job. As jobs go, I certainly can't complain. If it wasn't for AT&T, I might not be where I am today so it's all good :)

I haven't been able to get in the garden much this week because I've been getting home so late. I did see that the tomatoes are multiplying like rabbits and that's a VERY GOOD thing! I'm hoping this weekend will allow me some time to get out in that garden and pull some weeds, do a re-count of the tomatoes and maybe even pick those cucumbers off the vine. I still need to thin out the radishes and trim the basil. the basil is trying to bloom and from what I hear, blooming basil makes for bitter basil so I pinch off all those blooms before they get too big.

I never got the spring peas in the ground so when the weather cools just a bit, I'll put those in. They may not be as prolific as they would have been if they had been planted earlier in the year but they'll do just fine from what everyone tells me.

Let's see, where did I leave off last time I entered a post... hmmm well, my memory fails me (naturally) so I'll just go with whatever comes to me and forget about trying to get it all in any kind of order.

We still don't have cows and I'm beginning to think we never will. Our last message from Curt was that we couldn't go on Tuesday and he would be getting back with us on when we could go. It's Friday and we haven't heard from him yet. What's that sound like to you?  LOL  We were aware that the guy had to get the cows hemmed up before we could come out but how long does that take anyway? Well, time will tell. I hope we get one soon though or it'll be too late to fatten him up before fall butchering starts.

My pickles will be ready for tasting in the morning. I wish I could have tasted them this morning so I could tell you how they turned out but alas, that update will have to wait until Monday. They sure look good when I shake the jars every morning - they make my mouth water! The cucumbers Daryl gave me last week will be bread and butter pickles by the end of the weekend! Everyone wants the bread and butter pickles more than the dill pickles except me. I like the dill pickles better. No problem since there will be more bread and butter pickles when all is said and done.

I put in an order for 10 lbs of tomatoes for canning. SO LET THE GAMES BEGIN!! Send me an email of how many jars (pints) you think I will fill and whoever comes closest, gets their very own jar of homegrown tomatoes, canned by none other than yours truly :) 

My total order was 10 lbs of tomatoes, 2 dozen ears of corn and about a 1/4 bushel of okra all for $15.00. Not a bad deal when you consider just the price of the tomatoes alone. The corn will only make about one batch and the okra I'm not really sure about. I've never canned it before but the recipe is in my canning book so I'll give it a shot. What the heck? LOL  For those of you who don't care for okra because of the sliminess of it - here's a tip - the longer you cook it, the less slimy it will be.

Don't forget I have that wonderfully tasty recipe from Joe Brack that's made with okra. When it's in season, buy however much you can store. Cut it into bite size pieces and freeze what you don't fry up in your trusty old cast iron (could someone please explain this to Kat? lol). That way, when it's no longer available fresh (like in the wintertime), you can just grab a bag from the freezer, add the ham bone and ham, speckled butter beans, black eyed peas and whatever else you like and you have a big, warm pot of nourishing, "good for you," okra and ham stew. Of course, this is assuming you save your ham bones or at least make broth of them before throwing them out.

Never throw the bones away my friends! They are powerhouses of nutrition if you'll just put them to boil with a few seasonings and a little bit of your time. Your overall health is worth your time :) On a given Saturday you could easily get the chicken bone broth going in the crock pot and ham or beef bones going on the stove-top. Just think, you would be home (saving money), cooking something healthy (instead of all that drinking and smoking) and putting up food for later (when you're too hung-over to cook anything). LOL

You think I'm crazy, don't cha? That's okay, think what you want. It's never bothered me before and besides, even if you don't do this for yourself and your loved ones, I'll do it for you when you come see me. So there.

Oh yeah - the CSA basket!! Oh it was beautiful alright - it was packed full of more rattlesnake beans, more summer squash and those tasty little climbing cucumbers! there was a little container just overflowing with Sungold and Cherry tomatoes mixed together and 4 or 5 heirloom tomatoes of a variety I'm not familiar. I also got a container of blueberries and a bunch of basil. The scent was much stronger on the basil from the basket than it is on the basil from my own garden. Those leaves are very, very dark green and really big like the size of a big spoon. The basil from my garden is light green, the leaves are smaller than a small spoon and unless you rub the leaves, you can't really smell it much.

All in all I was very pleased with the basket. The blueberries didn't last long. I think I brought some for work a couple days and I made a fruit salad for Wally with the rest of them. Man were they ever good too. I've never been a big fan of the blueberry (they're so darn expensive) but since they were there, I gave them another chance. All I can say is yum, yum, yum. That first burst of juicy blueberriness just makes you want more and more. I had to make myself stop or they would have been gone the day we got them. I'm just hoping we get more in the next basket :)

The squash was sliced up and simmered in water with some chicken bouillon and black pepper and the climbing cucumbers went into my lunches for the week. I have one squash left that I plan to just saute in some olive oil for a minute or two and then add it to a pasta salad. A few of the tomatoes, some of the chopped up basil, some black olives and drenched with Good Seasons Italian Salad dressing... oh yeah, that's what I'm talking about :)  See - I could make this for you toooooooooooooo :)

On my route to work each day, I travel this one very narrow, two-lane road that has some pretty fancy houses along it. As I rounded the corner onto this road the other morning, I came upon a 4 point buck, two young does and a larger doe I took to be the mother (who really knows? let me have my fantasy okay? lol). The buck was standing beside a mailbox on the right hand side of the road. He was literally that close to my car. He just stood there! He didn't run, didn't even act like he was going to run. I so wished I had a camera that morning. It was too dark to take it with the cell phone but a regular camera would have done it. Beautiful is all I can say. Well, I guess I could say delectable too but that won't be until hunting season... hahaha Don't be a hater.

We'll likely go to Pee Wee's tonight. I mean it is Friday after all and there is no Orioles here so what the heck? I'm doing better at getting to know people - ugh! Don't get me wrong, I'm not out there all friendly and such but I have been known to say hi on occasion. Sometimes I even say it before it's said to me first. Hey - that's a big step for me. Of the two of us, Neccy has always been the social butterfly. She makes friends like there's no tomorrow. Me, well I've been described as standoff-ish. As you well know, once I get to know you, that all changes. I'm just good with the friends I've got so I don't really try to make new ones. You know how it is.

I remember when we were kids our parents would take us camping over at Yogi Bear Park. Mom would have us loading that little pop-up camper like we were going to be gone for months. At the most we probably stayed 4 or 5 nights. She would give us stuff to take out to Dad and he would pack it all in there somehow. We even took the dog. We were allowed to drive around and find our own site and I remember what the conditions were. We always had to have a campsite near a bathhouse, for obvious reasons, and preferably on a corner. The trees had to be just right and we needed to be close enough to the pool. Of course the camper and car or truck had to fit and we needed room for Dave to have his pup-tent set up.

We wouldn't be there five minutes and Neccy would be gone. She would have friends within no time. While she did that, I would be setting up the camper. Her and I always shared one of the slide-out beds so I would busy myself with putting the sheet and blanket on the bed and getting our pillows lines up just the way we (ha ha) like them. She slept on the low side because I was older - you take your benefits where you can.

Meanwhile, here she would come with her friends and I would have my paper dolls out ready to get them dressed for the day. They always wanted to play with my stuff but Neccy didn't and she wouldn't let them either. She didn't like paper dolls at all so off they would go to do whatever kids like that like to do. Wander around I guess? I was perfectly content to dress those paper dolls and color in my coloring books all day. I couldn't tell you what Dave and Dougy did - I think they went to the pool with Mom most of the time.

Mostly I stayed at the campsite with my Dad. While I dressed my dolls and colored in my books, he drank his beer and smoked his cigarettes and showed me how to find lighter knot. He taught me how to make a palmetto frond into a marshmallow/hot dog roasting stick and most importantly, how to avoid stepping on those darn, itchy, white flowers. They were the worst until I discovered chiggers up here in TN.

Those were the days. Camp fires, sunburns, tangled hair, sleeping with the noise of the campground people all around us. I looked forward to it more than anything else and wouldn't trade it for the world.

Well, enough of my ramblings. Enjoy your weekend and think about the fun times you had as a child. It'll bring a smile for sure.

"Great cookin is nothin more than imagination and common sense in the proper proportion." Justin Wilson

30 tomatoes - counted them twice to be sure!

Yes, there are 30 tomatoes out there on those beautiful green vines. I check on them daily now as they continue to get bigger and bigger. I know I have a variety because there are 3 plants that have yet to show any tomatoes at all while the other ones all have at least two or three. This is a good thing for me since they won't all be coming in at the same time. The only thing is, I won't be able to can them unless I get a whole bunch at once.

Daryl gave me a bunch of stuff over the weekend. I have more yellow squash, more zucchini and lots more cucumbers. I'm looking into making the Bread and Butter pickles this time. He also brought me a bag full of tomatoes. I boiled them, peeled the skins off and made a pot of homemade sauce. It was much easier than I thought and tasted so good I had to get it in a freezer bag before Wally ate it all. So whether I can them or make sauce with them, they'll be good up into the winter months when no homegrown tomatoes are to be found.

My dill pickles won't be ready for tasting until Saturday. I miscalculated the dates on my initial count. They have to stay in the refrigerator for 14 days and then you can open them up and taste them. I shake the seasonings around every day, sometimes twice a day and they look very appetizing.

I'm cutting the squash and some of the zucchini into rounds and freezing them. There aren't enough to can but there are too many to eat before they go bad. I was also given a big bag of okra. Now this one I've had to seriously contemplate. I can do so much with it but again, there isn't enough to can it. So some of it will get cut up and frozen like the squash, some will be sliced and fried (I know, I know...) and some of it almost has to go into a pot of gumbo. It just wouldn't be right otherwise.

I planted my radishes in 4 rows about 6-8 inches apart. Well, after the rains we had, it appears all the seeds kind of ended up in one place. LOL I'm going to have to do some thinning out so they can grow into the big, red, round orbs as promised on the seed packet. I love that they are so juicy and just a little bit hot. I slice them up, salt them and eat them right off the plate. I also use them in my salad when I have them. Since I have all these cucumbers, I'm going to try the radish and cucumber salad. It's kind of like the tomato and cucumber salad but with radishes instead.

With the rain going on my laundry was in a bad way for a couple days there. I did finally get most of it done but I still have one more load to do tonight when I get home. I still can't bring myself to use the dryer when it's so hot outside and mostly sunny. I just have to keep checking to see when they're dry so they don't get rained on. I did pretty good dodging the showers this weekend :)  It's becoming a challenge!

I filled up the hummingbird feeders again and it wasn't long before the little feeder was empty again. When we were at Pee Wee's I noticed her feeder was being put to the test too. Her birds don't look anything like mine though. One of hers has a fluorescent green belly and another has little white spots on its tail feathers. Mine are gray with black wings - I'm thinking maybe I have females and she probably has both. They stay pretty busy in their attempts to out drink each other, that's for sure.

I was able to get my floors done over the weekend. I know that sounds like a boring story but if you ever saw these floors you would know what a grand accomplishment this was for me! The kitchen, hallway and spare bedroom floors are laminate, the bathroom is linoleum and the living room is wood with a polyurethane sealer on it. You can't use the same cleaner on any of them. The living room needed it the most so I dust mopped, then swept and then swiffered. I can't use the swiffer liquid that comes with it, I have to use vinegar on it. We took an old bottle and cut a hole in the bottom of it where we pour the vinegar in then I'm off and swiffering! LOL They look so pretty when they're done that you don't even want to walk on them.

I finally got around to cleaning the spiral staircase leading up to our room. Those steps are made from cedar and they are huge. I have no idea how so many dust bunnies can collect up on those steps but I swept a whole pile of them off and onto the floor below. From there it's a piece of cake :) I'm sure I look like I'm completely uncoordinated, which truly I am, when I stand there on those steps trying to sweep and not miss anything and keep from falling all at the same time. Ah, but the reward is sweet when I see the sun coming in through the glass doors landing on those steps making them shining like they do. Wally did a fantastic job on that staircase - it's beautiful and perfectly suited to the cabin.

When I write about cleaning the floors, it sounds like something that ought to take about 20 or 30 minutes to finish. Well, no. It actually takes me about an hour on the living room floor alone. I have no idea what the square footage is of that room but I know it's big. My clothes dried in the time it took me to do that floor :)  ha ha ha

Well the crepe myrtles are all in bloom! Everyone seems to have one but me :( I'll remedy that soon though. It's just a matter of deciding what color I want, how many I want and where the heck I'm going to plant them so that I can see them without them getting in the way of the view. Maybe over by Dizzy's apartment? That would be pretty! Yep - It's decided. I'll be able to see them from my kitchen window and whenever we're out at the grill. Perfect :)

Tonight I go pick up my basket. I think I'm supposed to get more of the rattlesnake beans and that will be just fine with me. We loved them! I don't know what else I'm getting but that's half the fun of it. The surprise comes when Trish starts filling the basket from her coolers - lettuces, patty pan squash, flowers, whatever she brings I always get excited about it and can't wait to get home and start cooking. The zinnias from last week are still in full color bloom but the sunflowers have faded out. I used the garlic in my sauce and it was very flavorful and fragrant.

They have ribeyes on sale, whole or half for $4.97 lb. Now that's a deal. I have to go past Pee Wee's to get it but since I'll be out that way tonight anyway, I'll be stopping by. They'll even slice it for free :) woo hoo! It's grain fed instead of grass fed but I don't have much choice, grocery stores don't carry grass fed as far as I can tell. Who knows what a whole or half ribeye weighs? Not me - I could be buying $50.00 worth of meat if I'm not careful... lol Which reminds me, we still didn't get the cows. Maybe tomorrow. The guy who has them said Tuesday would be a better day for him.

This week is busy for me at work so I may not get to update you every day. I'm back-up for Suzette again while she is out of the office Wednesday - Friday. Just in case I don't get back on here, I hope you have a nice week. Don't forget to stop and smell the flowers! It's free and it's enticing - it might even make you want to plant something of your own...

"The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The next best time is now." ~Chinese Proverb

Summertime, rain or shine, it's all good...

The rain and subsequent sunshine we had over the past couple of days and nights made my garden grow by leaps and bounds. The tomato plants are easily several inches taller than they were on Sunday. When I checked them yesterday afternoon, four more new little tomatoes had popped out of those yellow flowers that are covering the plants.

I don't know their exact height and none of them are the same height but they come about  thigh to hip high on me now. The cages are as tall as me so there's plenty of room for them to grow.

The German Queen had a big, fat, green worm on it that was just eating it alive. Tricky the way it exactly matches the color of the leaves so as to deceive the blind gardener...I pulled it off and smashed it with a rock and guess what? A bunch of dark green slime oozed out of it... ha ha ha I don't know why that surprised me but it did. When I checked the plant over after the green thing episode, I thought I was going to lose the plant entirely. Most of the leaves were in decline and what was left of the stems were turning yellow. Yesterday it showed bright green, new growth all over and it still has the 3 tomatoes on it - all safe and sound now that there are no bugs to consume it.

I've got my eagle eyes on the plants now dadgummit.

It's a good thing I got those cages on them when I did because I would have a heck of a time doing it today what with all the growing going on. I caught Jimbo eyeing the garden with a ravenous look in his eyes but he can no longer get to it - thanks to the guys putting up the fence for me! Whew! That was good timing. The plants are very healthy; the leaves are the color of the "Forest Green" crayon and the plants are just overflowing with the little yellow flowers that show promise of the fruits to come.

To update you on the two plants Jimbo felt the need to chew the tops of off, they are doing just fine. They are about a foot and a half shorter than the rest of the plants but to make up for it, they are considerably more bushy than the others. Maybe it's not a bad idea to top them all off when they're young like that. I actually never thought of it before but it does kind of make sense. We cut back all manner of plants every year so why not tomatoes? I'll ponder that a while and get back with you. lol - gotta have something to ponder you know... 

The cucumber plant leaves were covered with dirt from the rain splashing on them so I brushed them off and propped up the two cucumbers on rocks, which, as you already know, are abundant in a Tennessee garden :) I love these plants with their spiky vines and curling tendrils always reaching out for new ground. The leaves are as big as my hand with my fingers spread out. They are dark green and very strong as they shade the delicate, little, orange flowers hiding beneath them. They smell like the earth and all day they reach for the sun. Even if no cucumbers ever grew on them, they would surely still be considered beautiful plants in my eyes. Yours too?

The squashes are sitting pretty on their hills! They stand so tall and proud you would think they were the kings and queens of the garden even though no squash has actually come of them yet... lol  Their leaves are smaller and lighter in color than the cucumbers but the flowers are big and bright orange just like a regular flower in the garden. They drop the flowers every day which I collect and add to my lunch salad. The flowers don't have a huge squash flavor, rather more of a leafy flavor. It's so light that unless I eat it alone, I can't really tell it's even in the bite.But that doesn't make me stop eating them :) With so many flowers coming and going, surely the squashes themselves will come about in the next week or so.  It's okay if they wait though - the promise of squash to come is like waiting for Christmas morning for me. The way I see it, we get so few gifts in life, the good ones are worth waiting for. Have I learned patience or what?

The dill appears to be suffering so I'm taking it from the planter and moving it into the ground. I don't know if that's what it needs or not but it definitely needs something. Dill being my favorite of all herbs, I have to take  measures in order to save it. I'm going to need lots of it if I'm going to be making more pickles :) All the other herbs are producing enough to keep our meats and vegetables seasoned without having to use the dried, store bought, herbs stored in the cupboard.

When you think about it, who would have thought I could fill so much space just rambling about my garden? Better still, who would have thought that you would enjoy reading it? LOL  y'all fascinate me with that.

I did find something healthy in the grocery store the other day. It's Quaker Instant Oatmeal but get this, it provides 40% of the daily value of fiber and it comes in Maple and Brown Sugar flavor. Sounding pretty good, isn't it? One packet has 10 grams of Dietary Fiber and 8 grams of Soluble Fiber. If you have done your homework on fiber and its importance in your diet, you know that this is incredibly high for one serving. I haven't found anything that compares - even in the whole grains arena. The total carbs are high but even carbs are good for you in the right form and in limited quantities. Indeed your body needs both to maintain a healthy heart. Just lookin out for ya!

On to the hummingbirds. I don't know if I have 1 or 10 but I do know that however many of them there are, they are quite adept at emptying the one little feeder in less than a day! lol  They drink from the other two big feeders but this seems to be the favorite. Teri emailed me to say that if a feeder is in a tree, it will typically be females and the babies who drink from it. The feeders hanging from the porch will typically attract the males. Honestly, they fly too fast to tell... ha ha ha  While I was filling the little feeder that hangs in the tree, one of the birds flew up and was just hovering there over the branch waiting for me to finish. I swear if it had been another 6 inches closer, it could have landed on my hand. I could teach them a lesson in patience, right? lol

I don't know if you remember or not but we moved the horses to the other end of the property so they could mow up there for a while. Well, when I got home the other night, they had decided they had enough of that. They were on the outside of the gate, grazing on the grass along the driveway like they had come up from the holler. I didn't want to venture any further and risk spooking them into taking off down the road so I just parked my car and called Wally. As we met just outside the gate, the horses moved off into the woods to the right of us. He had me go on up to the cabin and he called the horses out to him. They came out and took off for the cabin behind me. Oh my goodness what a sight that was to see. I know I say it every time but when those two take off running and swinging their manes and tails, it is just a beautiful sight to behold.

They made a beeline for Jimbo like they had forgotten he was there but he ignored them completely. He just kept on eating like he couldn't care less. Rebel made his way over to the air conditioner and wouldn't budge. He holds his ground against Smokey on this. I probably make it sound as if Smokey is more the boss of the two but in reality, it's Rebel. Smokey does act up at times but for the most part, he's a follower. Wherever Rebel goes, Smokey goes too eventually. When we ride them, Rebel always wants to be up front. It must be in his nature because you can count on it every time and Smokey really doesn't seem to mind at all. It's okay with me because Wally rides Rebel and he knows where he's going unlike me - I'm still learning my way around.

Well as I learn I'll keep you posted on the woods, the roads, the flowers and trees and whatever wildlife I happen to come upon. I hope it doesn't bore you to read about it because it doesn't bore me to write about it and it especially doesn't bore me to live it!

Come see for yourself :)

"Adopt the pace of nature: her secret is patience." ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

Keeping busy all the time...

We had a really good weekend what with bull dozing, blackberry picking, squash canning and tomato caging going on. I hope your weekend was as much fun as mine. Wally was able to get that bull dozier all the way up to the barn Sunday - this was cause for celebration as it has been a lot of work for him and the guys helping him out. The holes created by the flood waters have all been filled in and we are now able to take the 4 wheelers from the house to the barn with no problem. It actually looks so beautiful through there that you feel like you're in a state park or something.

Wally made the road wider than before because he had to use the dirt and rocks from the sides of the old road to fill in the holes. The trees make it shady all the way through and there are blackberries galore just waiting for me to get down there and pick them. I did pick enough for a freezer bag full and I'm going back for more. My hands are all scratched and so are my arms but it was worth it just to have a bag of those bite-sized, juicy morsels... :)

I'm making a blackberry sorbet with what I have now. It's so easy. All you do is freeze the blackberries, put them in a blender with a little bit of honey and blend them together. If the mixture gets too runny, just slip it back in the freezer for a few minutes. Yummy, yummy, yummy!

Friday was nice and quiet for us. Curt, Beverly and Teneshia were there when I got home but they didn't stay long. After they left, we had steaks that I cooked in the cast iron skillet and steamed broccoli with a little cheddar cheese melted on it and some gently simmered red beets from my csa basket. Daryl had given me a huge bag of cucumbers so I sliced up one of those too. Eating healthy never tasted so good! 

Claudia gave me two more hummingbird feeders which I filled with sugar water but no red food coloring this time. Wally hung one of them outside my kitchen window and the other one, we hung from the tree branch right outside the living room doors. The feeder I have still doesn't tempt them much although they will drink from it every so often. I noticed that little black ants have found it and taken over so I'm sure that's the problem. I'm going to hang it down lower and lube the hanger so they won't be tempted to climb it. Maybe. Hopefully. 

Saturday morning we were up early and I was off to the Fairview Co-Op to get cages for the tomatoes while Wally and Daryl worked with the bull dozier down in the holler. Well, low and behold on my way to the Co-Op I passed a little farmer's market. It's not really a market so to speak, it's really just two farmers who bring their harvest to the Recreation Center parking lot to sell. They had purple hull peas, corn, new red potatoes, tomatoes, cabbages, scallions, yellow squash and homemade jams and jellies. I bought the peas, potatoes and tomatoes and got the heck out of there before I talked myself into even more.

I stopped at the Dollar General to get jars, lids and seals for canning and found them to be on sale -woo hoo, my lucky day! I hadn't even gotten to the Co-Op yet and my day was already getting off to a really good start! At the Co-Op I found tomato cages for three dollars and change so I bought the 6 that she had and after much to-do, I finally figured out how to get them in my car. Big, long, cages, little, bitty car - see my dilemma? I'm sure anyone driving by at that moment probably got a pretty good laugh out of it. I did. Trust me, they absolutely would not go in the trunk no matter what I did. I realized after I got home that I could have put the back seats down and then they would have gone in the trunk but that's not how it went.

I picked up a few things from Food Lion and headed for home. What a pretty day it was. The sun was shining but it wasn't hot yet and a nice breeze was blowing just enough to where I didn't need to have my a/c on in the car. I turned on my radio and listened to the old country western music of my childhood and daydreamed about doubling my garden next year. I'm going to need lots more jars, lids and seals that's for sure!

I got home, put away the groceries and headed for the garden to get the tomatoes caged up. This was a bit of a challenge because as you know, the tomatoes have been in the ground since before we came to FL. They aren't easy to cage when they're already 2, 2 1/2 feet tall but I managed to get it done with only one broken limb to show for it. While I was at it, I noticed I actually had tomatoes on a few of the plants! I've been so concerned with getting enough water on them that I haven't been checking for fruit every day like I should have been. Surprise, surprise! The German Queen has 3 on it and one of the other plants appears to be those little pear shaped tomatoes. They're hanging on the branch like little tear drops about to fall. Teri said that she may have given me one of those varieties and I'm sure glad to have it. Hers are yellow so maybe mine will be too. Either way, I just love those tomatoes. I like to put them in my lunch salad because they don't make the lettuce all soggy by the time I go to eat it.

Don't forget, if all goes well, I'll be canning them in the very near future. Whoever guesses how many jars I put up will get a jar of their own! I have 10 plants if that helps you make your determination :) Claudia gave me seed packets for cilantro and chives so I hoed a couple rows for the chives and then planted the cilantro in a planter box next to my other herb planter box. I put a picture on the blog but it's kind of hard to tell what's what. From left to right, there is one tomato plant in the picture. Next to that is the cucumber plants (2 cucumbers on the vine!). It looks like there is only one plant in the picture but there are actually 2 or 3 of them. Next to the cucumber plants are the squash plants and then on the far left are the herb planters. The one in front has sage, basil, thyme and dill. The white planter has the cilantro in it. Next to the planters but not so clear in the picture, is where the chives went in.

I planted radishes too. They are at the front of the garden in 4 rows that are about 3 feet long. I'll have to thin them out some once they come up but all in all, the garden is looking pretty cool. Teri gave me some delphinium seeds to plant but I wasn't able to get to that yet. Maybe this afternoon if it's not raining or too hot... I did get the rails for my garden wagon painted, finally. I've had it for over a month now but time gets away from me as you well know. The wagon is red (my first little red wagon at 47 years of age! lol) and the tires are black so I painted the rails black too. I figure it this way, when they get dirty, maybe it won't be so obvious since we all know I may not have time to clean it every day that it gets used. Of course when Christmastime comes along, I may paint green over the black so it will look Christmassy... :)  Can't you just picture it? My little red wagon all loaded up with my snowmen?? I can :)

After all that work I was getting a little worn out so I took a break and packed up some red grapes and some cantaloupe for the guys and headed down the holler on the 4 wheeler. They were in the process of pulling Wally's bull dozier up to the barn with the bull dozier he borrowed. Lots of noise, lots of diesel smell and about 30 minutes later, it was done. I spent the whole time picking the blackberries! lol  Talk about some prickly plants -whew! I have little scratches all over my hands and arms. But the sorbet will be well worth it. There are still hundreds of berries to be picked but I can only get to the ones on the edge of the road. It drives me crazy that I can't reach the big, fat, juicy ones in the back!! I wonder if I could just pull up the whole bush and pick them that way... lol  It's not like I'd be doing any damage as there are so many bushes, they are taking over.

My fingers were purple, my hands and arms were dotted with little bloody spots and I was sweating like you wouldn't believe! I went up to the barn and rinsed off at the water pump. Oh that cold, cold, spring water flowing over my hands and arms was the most refreshing thing I had felt all darn day! I couldn't resist having a big drink of it and when I was done my arms were dripping with it and so was my chin! The guys just laughed at me. I showed them my blackberry harvest and we ate some of the fruit then I was back on the 4 wheeler headed for home. Daryl had to leave too so he could get over to Pee Wee's. He was on the other 4 wheeler but I told him not to wait for me because I don't drive that fast and I also wanted to get more blackberries. He waited up at the cabin to make sure I made it home safely. He didn't say that was why he was there but I knew it was. He's a nice guy like that.

I canned 7 jars of of those pretty, little, tender, yellow, summer squashes. I put a few slices of white onions and some dill in the jars along with some canning salt and into the canner they went. My canning book didn't have a recipe for the squash so I followed the one for pumpkin since it was the closest I could get. I sure hope it turns out good so I won't be disappointed when I open one of those jars this winter. They look so cool! I don't have any more room in the pantry for the jars so I set them on the bookshelf. I told Wally, we'll just have to eat all those canned vegetables we got from the store so we can make room for the new jars. LOL it would be so nice to never have to buy another can ever. I'll keep you posted on that progress :) I think it's been a goal for some time but only in my head. Now it seems it could become a reality.

Sara Jean had her baby today!!!!!!!!!!!!! Neccy called a little while ago to say that Cypress Dixie Lynne Davis was born weighing in at 8 lbs 6 ounces. Both mom and baby are doing well. Now the fun begins...

I'm not done with the weekend just yet so go get another cup of coffee... lol  As I was making pickles, which I'll get to in a minute, I caught sight of a hummingbird out of the corner of my eye. I wasn't even sure that's what it was but sure enough it landed on the new feeder Claudia had given me. I swear that feeder had not been out there but about an hour or so when that little bird found it. The girls were right - they smell the sweetness of the sugar and come flying in! There's no red food coloring and yet they spend all day drinking away. So now what the heck am I supposed to do with that bottle of food coloring? Suggestions are welcome but keep it clean people...

I was so excited to see that little bird I had to call my Mom and tell her about it. She said she wished she was here to see it with me. I'll get her here somehow, someway, someday...  meanwhile I told her about my squash canning efforts and my pickle making too. I found a recipe for refrigerator dill pickles that doesn't require a hot water bath. Daryl says his mom used to make them but she called them 14 day pickles. She was right. They stay in the refrigerator for 14 days before you can eat them. You have to shake the jars every day to mix up the seasonings and it's very tempting to open one up and see how they are but like cooking in a slow cooker, I know better!

I had so many cucumbers I had to do something with them before they went bad and pickles seemed like the best bet since Wally and I both love them. Seriously, Daryl gave them to me in a plastic grocery store bag and they were overflowing from it. Some of them were straight, some were curved like the letter C, some were bumpy and some were even kind of prickly but they were all perfect for pickling. I measured out my spices (naturally) and sliced and soaked the cucumbers as instructed. I packed them into the pint jars with boiling water and sealed them up. Into the refrigerator until next Thursday... Didn't Tom Petty sing that "The Waiting is the Hardest Part?" Well, he was sure right about that... lol  Neccy has already put in her order for a jar and we don't even know if they'll be edible yet!

While all that cucumber soaking was going on I made a zucchini bread. Again, they are so plentiful that I have to use them up before they go bad. I shredded up the 1 cup that the recipe called for and it didn't even take a whole zucchini. The bread was just okay. I set the timer wrong and it got too crunchy on the top in my opinion. It wasn't burned but it wasn't just right either. I sent some home with Daryl and he told Wally it was really good. I'll have to make another one so he can see that I really can make it better. Unless I make it with Splenda, it's not a good option for Wally since it has a cup of sugar in it. I'm going to have to go UNHEALTHY tonight and fry up the rest of it. It just pains me to do so when we've been eating so very healthy lately. But eat it I will and it'll be yummy! I could steam it but c'mon, fried zucchini, pretty darn good stuff if I do say so myself.

I made a pot of chicken broth with the chicken feet that I got the other night. I know it sounds gross but really it isn't. You just throw them in the pot with the bag of frozen onion tops, celery tops, carrot peals, etc. (you know, the ones you save for just this purpose...?) and before you know it, you have a very healthy and nourishing bone broth that will aid in joint pain and provide a very nice base for soups (and yes, chicken & dumplins, Rebecca) as the weather gets colder.

Zucchini bread, canned summer squash, chicken & dumplins and home-made pickles, is that not enough to get you to come see me people???

Daryl said all varieties of green beans and peas will be coming in next so hopefully you aren't bored with my ramblings about putting up vegetables for the winter. This could go on for a long time :)

You must be just dying to know what was in my basket yesterday, aren't you? I feel like this whole posting is about food but the weekend was filled with it so it can't be helped... Yes, the basket was as beautiful as ever! I have a perky little head of red leaf lettuce, cucumbers of a variety I've never seen called Japanese Climbing Cucumber, summer squash that is so light yellow it almost looks white. I have some patty pan squash that is as big as my hand, regular and plum tomatoes and a big bag of Rattlesnake Beans. I had never heard of those before either. To top it off, it came with a bouquet of multi-colored zinnias! These farmers are after my heart I tell ya...

The beans are in pods but they are tender enough to eat so no need for shelling. The pods are mostly green but they have a purplish pattern running through them which gives them their name. I ate one raw and it was very tasty. Since cow shopping was put on hold until this weekend coming up, dinner will probably be a ham steak, the summer squash and Rattlesnake beans with carrots. Oh yeah, and the "bad for us" fried zucchini... well, sometimes you just have to have a little fat in your diet. At least this way, it comes with a vegetable too... gotta justify it somehow! lol

I did talk to Claudia on the phone and Neccy and Dizzy Debbie called me from the ride they were on. I wouldn't have traded places for all the money in the world but I sure was glad to hear them having so much fun. It was even better when they thought they had hung up the phone and I got to listen to them carry on without them knowing I was there... lol  now that was some funny stuff!! ha ha ha

What fun I had watching the hummingbirds, canning and pickling the harvest given to me and baking bread that made the whole cabin smell like cinnamon and nutmeg. While I do enjoy spending time with my new friends, indeed spending time alone is something I'm very well suited for. It didn't bother me one bit that no one was there all day. I rather liked it for a change.

Well, how does your weekend stack up against the one I had? Hopefully, you did just what you wanted to do and enjoyed yourself just as much as I did. Until tomorrow...

"As for butter versus margarine, I trust cows more than chemists." ~Joan Gussow        

Riding the bull dozer with my honey...

Well I have to say that yesterday was one for the books. It all started out at work where I was really swamped with trying to be back-up for one of my teammates and get caught up with my own work from being out for 10 days. Sounds taxing, right? Well it would have been and should have been but as it turned out, the reports I needed were delayed by, oh, say about 4 hours.

Since I couldn't do the reports and I had a couple hours of OT from the day before, I asked my boss if I could just leave early and run the reports the next day. She let me! Woo Hoo I was off and driving. I stopped at Food Lion to pick up a few things (my Publix is still under construction and they're making some really good progress!) like yogurt, bread, milk (ew) etc. They had a sign on the glass indicating that the Bud and Bud Light were on sale for $12.99 an 18 pack. I got all my groceries and headed for the check-out.

Of course the beer rang up wrong at $15.49 so I had to tell the lady that the sign was posted outside for $12.99. She called another lady who went out there and checked it. She came back in with the sign all crumpled up in her hands and I got the beer for $12.99. So now, here I am out of work early, getting beer on sale and it's a beautiful day outside. A little warm but I'm off work early so who cares? LOL I am just lovin it!

I'm all smiles going home too. There's no traffic, ever, and not a cloud in the sky. I have WSM on the radio so I can listen to the old country western songs (you can listen live at wsm.com) and I can't think of any better place to be than on my way home. When I arrive, the gate is open. This never happens now that we have Jimbo but there it was open as could be. I drive on through and head up to the cabin where I find Wally and Daryl getting ready to go back down the holler where the bull dozer is. I guess I put a damper on their plans because after they helped me in with the groceries, Daryl headed off to Pee Wee's and Wally came inside to hang out with me.

We debated whether or not we wanted to go to Pee Wee's, it was Wednesday after all, and finally decided what the heck. Wally got a shower while I put away the groceries. I ate a chicken salad sandwich, grabbed a beer and we were off like a prom dress. Jimbo had just gotten outside the fence when we got to it. Wally got out and led him back inside. He was in no hurry to get away, he just wanted all that sweet grass on the other side of the fence. They say it's greener over there you know? lol

Driving to Pee Wee's is half the fun for me. It's all horse farms, cow pastures, corn fields and the like. I can't get enough of it. The cow pastures are full of the little spring calves and the corn is so close to being ready you can almost smell it in the air. Everyone has something growing in their yards whether it's flowers, corn, tomatoes, peppers, or hay, you're going to see something. I always wonder what is in the silos... Too bad no one ever invites me over to see. lol!

We had fun at Pee Wee's - some of those guys tell some pretty darn funny stories. Half are probably just a bunch of bull but they are funny just the same. I did get my hands on some chicken feet to use in my endless broth making efforts. They came frozen in a package at .99 lb from one of the little local grocery stores. I know you think it's gross but I've done a lot of reading on the subject and the feet supply large amounts of condroitin (spelling?) which we need for good joint health. Trust me, the skin and nails are removed prior to boiling! If you're interested in reading up on this subject, check out the nourished kitchen website. Jenny is well educated on it and makes some strong points for usage.

Yes, they all thought I was crazy. One guy was actually interested in hearing my spiel though so that was encouraging. His wife has serious joint pain from RA and he felt like maybe this would be helpful for her. I told him I would bring some broth for her next time we go. If she consumes only a 1/2 a cup a day, it will start to help. But enough about that, don't want you to get too grossed out :)

We were home while it was still daylight so Wally took me to see the work he had done with the bull dozer. We left out on the 4 wheeler and soon reached the dozer. He climbed up in the seat and I sat beside him hanging on for dear life. Lordy that thing is big and loud and very rickety to ride on. This being a first for me I was fascinated by how strong it is and what it can do with anything that gets in the way. We moved trees that were down, two at a time, over to the side of what used to be the road. We piled rocks into those big old holes as we went and reached the top without too much trouble. It was getting dark and guess what? They don't put lights on bull dozers, at least not this one. I could see fireflies all over the place down there but the road wasn't easy to make out. I could tell where the holes were because they were darker areas than where the rocks were :) Other than that, I was dependent on Wally knowing that old road like the back of his hand. He totally impressed me with being able to maneuver that thing. It doesn't have a steering wheel, it has a rod for left and another one for right. By pushing and pulling on them he was able to make it go where he wanted it to.

There are pedals and gears too but don't ask me how all that works - it will never compute in this brain of mine. He did let me steer once we got up to the driveway and that was fun. I did pretty good for my first time! At least I stayed on the road. Oh, and I forgot to tell you. I had changed into my overalls for this trip. Marcia gave them to me a while back but they never fit me. They fit now and Wally said they were perfect for the job! I can hear you laughing all the way up here! That's okay - I laughed too. I imagine we were a sight to behold, both of us up on that machine and I in my overalls with it pitch black outside...cool, huh?

Keep me in mind next time you see someone up on a bull dozer, you never know, I just might learn to work one some day...

"Beauty isn't worth thinking about; what's important is your mind. You don't want a fifty-dollar haircut on a fifty-cent head." ~Garrison Keillor

I'm baaaaaaaaack!!

It was really nice visiting with everyone but I sure was glad to get back home. Remember the John Denver song, "Back Home Again?" I felt like singing it as soon as we got off the interstate! lol too bad I couldn't remember the words...

I visited with the kids, Aunt Karen and Uncle Dee, Mom, Neccy, Jack and Kain and everyone at the Oriole's so I think that covered just about everyone. Let me say that's not an easy thing to do with so few days to do it in.

We aren't used to running wide open like that so needless to say, we were exhausted by the time we got home. Then we had to start in on party preparations as we had people coming over for a 4th of July cookout. We had just a small crowd this time but it was still fun. Never as much fun as when Dizzy Debbie is there...Daryl cooked chickens in the smoker and corn on the grill, I made my salsa with shrimp in it this time, some pea salad, some cucumber and tomato salad and Claudia brought a watermelon. We had plenty of good food, good people, good (?) karaoke and perfect weather, what more can you ask for?

Of course I went to bed earlier than anyone else! I just can't hang with the big dogs anymore. On the good side, I felt just fine the next morning while some others weren't quite up to par. I made a breakfast casserole and dug out the coffee pot for those who partake. Claudia found the coffee and took care of that. Everyone who came to the party, stayed over. No one wanted to drive on a holiday weekend when there are road blocks around every corner.

We got everything all cleaned up and the guys started playing horseshoes while the girls sat in the shade and talked about recipes, gardening, birds and men. Beverly, Claudia and I all have lots of cookbooks so we decided we're going to swap them out come winter when we can't get out in the yard. I'll be plowing through those sure enough and you'll get to hear all the new recipe ideas and trials and errors :)

When it started getting kind of warm out, we loaded up and went to the swimming hole. It's a rough road getting there but well worth the trip. Before the storm it wasn't so bad but now there are big ruts in the road and trees down blocking the way. It's just beautiful to see - the water is crystal clear and the trees hang over just enough to provide shade when you need it. The side is all stone and you can climb up and jump in if you so desire - I didn't. It's not deep enough to be over Wally's head but it's perfect for jumping in and cooling off when the heat of the day is sapping your strength. I think I got into some chiggers because the next day I had little, red, itchy bumps all over me. Claudia said the same thing. So we painted our spots with nail polish and all is well. Poison ivy doesn't seem to bother me but those chiggers are something else!

I have my first cucumber on the vine! It's just a little one but it's growing bigger every day. I now know which plants are cucumbers and which are squash :) All the plants look great and the cucumbers have runners coming off in all directions. Can't wait for more! The squash look really good too but so far just a bunch of flowers on them. I didn't even know I had the cucumber on the vine. I was showing the garden to Claudia and Beverly and Claudia noticed it on the ground. I was so excited! I'm not sure they 'get me' as Dizzy Debbie would say but they could tell how happy it made me - lol. 

Next we worked on the hummingbird feeder. Apparently I was doing it all wrong... surprise, surprise. The girls informed me that the red food coloring doesn't actually draw the birds to the feeder. The sweet smell of the sugar is the draw. They also told me my water was probably sour since it had been hanging there for so long. Little did I know, it has to be changed every couple of days. It sure did stink too - no wonder I had no birds. That was Sunday. I washed the feeder, put clean water in and lots of sugar. We hung it back up and low and behold, yesterday there was a hummingbird on it! Wally said it was back today too... how bout them apples? I have a cucumber and a hummingbird within a matter of days :)  Life's good huh?

The tomato plants are coming along really well. I was very surprised at how big they got in just the few days we were gone. Jimbo ate the top off another one but I think it will still survive. It's just going to be stunted somewhat. After that happened, the guys fenced in the garden so he won't be able to wander in there anymore. I know it was accidental because otherwise, he would have eaten all of them. On our way home from FL, we stopped at Jay and Teri's to pick up a tomato plant that she had set aside for me. It is a German tomato and promises to be very prolific. There are probably 20 blooms on it and it went through some trauma just via the 5 hour car ride to get here. I can't remember the name of it but Teri very nicely left the tag in with it so I'll have it tomorrow or the next day in case you want to look it up.

I grew one in FL a few years back and as I recall (I can't recall much but I do recall my tomato plants... ha ha) it put out some of the juiciest tomatoes I've ever tasted. They were almost a purple color and really big. The plant grew so tall I had to tie it to the tree branches to hold it up.

Saturday we had such a nice breeze coming off the hill it felt like the beginning of spring again. We shut the air off until about 4 in the afternoon. While the weather did cool off over the weekend, for the next few days it promises to be extremely hot. I think today it's supposed to hit 97. I hope the guys are drinking plenty of water while they work outside.

Yesterday Daryl finished putting the stone on the grill and Daniel and Wally went and got some tree saplings to plant along the driveway. They look so cool! The leaves are purple right now and I'm not really sure if they change or not but even if they don't, they look good the way they are. Claudia brought me some hollyhock seeds from her flower garden and I'm planning to put them in the ground around an old tree stump up by the gate.

Jimbo is doing really well. He's not fat by any means but it's not for lack of trying. He eats and eats and eats all day long. I wouldn't be surprised if he ate all night long too. lol  He is starting to fill out a little bit in the shoulder and rib areas but his backbone is still very prominent. It's just going to take some time. He likes watermelon rinds and cucumber peels but mostly he just likes being left alone to his grass eating so that's what we do.

Smokey and Rebel were down at the bottom of the hill while we were gone but surprised us all by showing up Saturday for the party. They must have heard the music and decided to come see what they were missing. I'm sure they were glad they came up because they were getting fed all kinds of stuff. Watermelon, corn, cantaloupe, chips... lol  They got a wild hair for a few minutes and just ran around and around the cabin for no reason we could see. Maybe they were just showing off for our guests?

My CSA baskets were awesome!! Claudia picked up one for me on the Monday we were in FL. It had summer squash, cucumbers, garlic, a head of regular cabbage, a bunch of carrots and a couple heads of lettuce. The one I picked up this past Monday had more squash (getting the canner out this weekend!), cucumbers, fresh dill, beets, two heads of lettuce, a container of cherry tomatoes, red onions (that look like scallions?) and a bunch of huge sunflowers! I just love it!

The lettuces go first because I use them in my salad every day. The salad now has fresh beets instead of canned (can I ever go back to canned? ugh), farm fresh cucumbers and yes, they do taste a lot different, radishes from the vegetable stand, fresh green beans (from Teri) and the little cherry tomatoes from the basket. I throw in some black olives and salad peppers to round it out. I sometimes add a hard boiled egg too. Sadly, today I forgot the egg :(

Daryl has been keeping me in fresh eggs since I got here. I think I may have bought one dozen and all the rest have come from him. I don't know who his connection is but I'm sure glad to be the recipient of all those brown eggs. I don't even have to tell you the difference in the taste and texture of these eggs compared to pasteurized eggs. My oh my!! He gave me a bag full of cucumbers too so I'm going to try my luck at pickles. I don't have a hot water canner so I'll have to invest in one of those. I hear they have them at the Tractor Supply store and it just happens to be on my way home from work :)  yeah, that's the ticket! I'll let you know if they turn out to be edible.. ha ha ha

With all this squash coming my way I have made a squash casserole from a recipe given to me by a really sweet lady named Marie. She goes to Pee Wee's and heard I had a bunch of squash so she sent the recipe my way. She reminds me a little of Bernice. Which, by the way, if you see Marvin and Bernice please tell them I said hi and give them a hug for me. This recipe has creamed corn in it. I didn't think I would like it because I'm not a big fan of creamed corn but it was sooooooo good! The corn added a sweetness to it that made it taste almost like dessert. The topping was crushed up ritz crackers (whole wheat of course) mixed with melted butter - smile.

So while I'm gardening, cooking, canning vegetable, hanging my clothes on the line and enjoying the hummingbirds and breezes off the hill, I hope you're making your dreams come true too! There's no time like the present and besides, haven't we learned that life is too short?

 "You can never do a kindness too soon, for you never know how soon it will be too late." Unknown Author