New Pictures Added...

I had to put up the picture of Neccy's new hair-do. It is just so super pretty!! I didn't recognize her when the picture came through and had to scroll to see who sent it. LOL She's heard that from several people.

The pictures of my ride to work are of 5 deer in these people's yard. I couldn't believe it! You can see where I am at the mailbox and they are only about 50 feet away. My phone takes terrible pictures but you can still see them up there grazing. Maybe I'll bring Wally's phone tomorrow...

Rebecca Lightyear... what can I say?

The butterfly pictures were taken Saturday and the bush had 3 or 4 in it. I couldn't get close enough before they flew off but I got a couple of shots for y'all to see. It's the same bush/tree as the beautiful sky picture from last week.

I don't know about y'all but I was busy, busy, busy this weekend! I was off work Friday and the day went by so quickly that before I knew it, it was 4:30 and I still hadn't been to the grocery store. Leaving the farm at 4:30 is almost unheard of, especially on a Friday. I needed to get a few things so I went anyway. Took me two hours between driving to the store, getting my groceries and getting back. Food Lion is about 25 minutes out, maybe more, who really knows? I'll try to time it next time... LOL

Wally was out bush-hogging the pasture so I unloaded the groceries and headed off on the 4 wheeler to see if I could find him. The trails are a little more worn now so I'm able to navigate my way around a few of them without any assistance - took me a while, huh? Hey, woods all look the same when you're right there in the middle of them! I made it all the way to the horse pasture and there he was! He was just finishing up so we left the tractor and rode through the holler to the cabin.

It's really nice down through there. The trees are so tall and they make for great shade. The path is easier to navigate now that he's got it all leveled out from the flood damage. There are blackberry bushes, ferns, wildflowers, a multitude of trees and who knows what sort of critters. It seems like it would be a haven for medicinal herbs. I don't have a clue how to identify them but I'm sure I could get a book on the subject. Maybe that thought will keep until colder weather sets in. I'll need something to occupy my mind when that happens.

For supper we had ribeye steaks with a sweet pea-summer squash medley. It was quick and easy and very filling. I'm finding all sorts of ways to use up that squash and there's still more to come. I poured the peas into the skillet and added some black pepper. I cut the squash into rounds and then in half so they were more bite-sized. I added them to the skillet along with about a 1/2 tablespoon of chicken bouillon. They cooked together in the juice from the peas until the squash was tender but still identifiable.

We were kind of bummed out because stupid TVLand changed their programming from All in the Family (which we love) to The Nanny. Ew, ew, ew - I can't stand that show!!!! I think we ended up watching Memphis Beat. I'm starting to like that show pretty well. It's funny because it's actually filmed in New Orleans and the whole time I kept thinking, man that looks like New Orleans... Maybe Beal Street resembles New Orleans? I've never been to Memphis so I couldn't tell ya.

Saturday was bull-dozier day for Wally. I ran to the Dollar General to get oil for it and then I had to go to town (yuck!) and buy some bras (even yuckier!). There's a store called Karen's (had to give them my business just because of the name) and they were having a buy 2, get 2 free sale. I like the lady who helped me, her name was Peggy. She reminded me of Ellen from the Orioles. I swear they could have been sisters. Same hair, same little tiny figure, same voice - I almost called her Ellen twice... lol!

After however many hours of torture (in reality, probably not even a whole hour) it took, I finally decided on the bras I wanted. I was ready to leave when Peggy/Ellen asked me if I wanted to look at the clearance rack. Y'all know I hate shopping so I was already pegging the meter on patience. Of course I went to look! I found a cute blue top and a killer greenish/brown jacket. I like the top but it's pretty standard issue - I wear the same styles all the time so you can imagine what it looks like. The jacket, on the other hand, is really cool looking. It zips up the front and has those pockets that you don't use. It'll be light enough for when the temperatures start to drop and perfect for horseback riding. I can put a red turtleneck under it and it'll be quite fetching! ha ha ha ha ha Still need to shop winter coats, this little jacket won't be nearly enough.

I stopped at the Dickson Food Lion (as opposed to Fairview where I normally shop) and picked up some roast beef and provolone cheese. I was in the mood for a sandwich and I really can't do fast food. I tried to fuel up at the Pilot station but they had a sign up that said I had to go inside to pay. This Pilot station is huge and there were so many cars pumping gas that I knew I'd be forever if I had to go in. I left there and went to the Shell station instead. Fuel was the same price - back up to $2.55 a gallon. Last week - $2.47. What's up with that?

I had picked up two more rolls of barbed wire and some staples so the guys can finish fencing and while I was there (Tractor Supply) I checked out the bird feeders. I decided to get the one that has the squirrel deterrent perches. If the squirrel lands on the perch, his weight will pull down the hatch and close off his food source. Nothing against squirrels but they don't need to be eating my bird seed.

Well, the joke was on me. I filled the feeder, found a tree with a branch that I could reach with just a little effort and got it hung up. Wally and I got on the 4 wheelers to take a ride and turned back around at the gate. We came back so I could get some goggles and low and behold, just who do you think was eating out of my new feeder?
Rebel!!!! Wally saw him first and showed me. My goodness that horse will get to the food no matter what it takes. He was pushing the feeder forward with his nose so the food would fall out. When it came back to him, he would just open his mouth and in it would pour!! We have to get this on video. It was so funny! He did spill a little bit but not much considering. Goodness who'da thunk it???

So now I have to find a new place for my feeder. If I even think about carrying it around with me, Rebel is right there behind me the whole way. He's just waiting for me to leave it alone again so he can raid it! We had to store it in the outhouse until we can figure out where to put it that he either can't reach it or won't go to the trouble of trying.


Wally had just gotten back to the cabin when I got home. We were both pretty worn out. Shopping just gets to me mentally and all that running around didn't help either. I made us both a roast beef sandwich and he told me about all the work he had done. I did manage to get my floors done and three loads of laundry along with the time it took for my outing. We went for a little ride on the 4 wheelers but neither of us felt like going anywhere so we called it a day and hung out in the air conditioning. We watched the race and I folded clothes while the hummingbirds cleaned out their little feeder :)

Supper was traditional goodness - venison steaks with sauteed mushrooms and onions, pattypan squash cooked together with rattlesnake green beans, potato salad and marinated cucumbers with white onions. It sounds like a lot but we didn't have all that much on our plates. The steaks were marinated in Dales (Low Sodium), beer and garlic powder. They were nice and tender and cooked up really fast. I was afraid I'd get them too done so I took them out after about 5 minutes on each side. The onions and mushrooms cooked in the juice that was left in the steak pan.

You know what happens once we eat...LOL yep, I cleaned up the kitchen, Wally fed the dogs and we hit the sack! The evening air was hot and humid (sultry) and we had a long day ahead of us on Sunday so it was easy to justify an early bedtime.

For breakfast Sunday, I made gravy from the leftover pan juices and served it over biscuits (I know, I know but we only had one a piece...) some scrambled, fresh from the hen, eggs, bacon and sliced peaches. I started on my last load of laundry, pulled weeds in the garden and counted squash and cucumbers. Six squash with more to come and 4 cucumbers. The tomatoes are turning yellow - but it looks like this is normal. Teri? Could it be that you gave me all heirloom tomato plants? If they are supposed to be ripe at this point, please let me know because there are probably 10 that are ready to come off if so. Woo hoo!! I can just see the tomato salsa coming up in the next day or so. I have some jalapenos from the CSA basket but I'll have to pick up some cilantro. My little cilantro plants are nowhere near ready to eat... lol

Yellow tomatoes, red onion, cilantro and scallions - put a spoonful or two on your grilled chicken breast and you have the start of a very healthy meal. It's good on a piece of french bread drizzled with olive oil, layered with mozzarella cheese and set under the broiler too - set the timer though, this one heats up quick! Trust me, I've set off the smoke detector many a time when bread is in the oven.

I've been wanting to put in a flower bed around the flag pole and I was finally able to get to it this weekend. It's just a little space but it sure did take a lot of work. First I had to hook up the little red trailer to the 4 wheeler - not really hard to do but I'm a beginner so it takes me a minute or two. I rode over to the rock pile they've been using for the outdoor grill and picked out the rocks I wanted to use to define my space. Then I rode around to the vegetable garden and got my shovel, a couple small claw tools and a big rake. I got my seeds and bulbs and water jar and took off down the driveway.

First things first, I had to get the weeds and grass out of the way. Dig, dig, dig, not much accomplished! lol I'm telling you, it's rocky. I got a little trench dug so I could start placing the rocks and got about half way through when Wally stopped by. He told me about the topsoil he had down where he was working on the bull-dozier so rather than me digging (or not so much) for hours, I figured I'd use what was already dug up. I took the trailer down through the trails with a piece of screen, my shovel and a couple rocks. We found some garbage bags and Wally got on the dozier and pushed a big old scoop of moist, brown, topsoil into a pile for me. I had to shovel it onto the screen and then filter out the rocks and stems. I had to stop twice and go get cooled off in the creek. It's called the North Pole Swimmin Hole because it's incredibly freezing cold when the weather is so stinking hot out. One toe in that water and you're like, ahhhhhhh.

I scooped up a couple handfuls and poured it over my head and all over my face and arms. Relief! It was short lived however because I didn't have nearly enough soil, even for my little space, and I had been at it for about 1/2 hour. I finally went down to the creek and took off my t-shirt and soaked it in the water. When I put that thing back on man oh man was I ever chilled!! LOL from stinking hot to super chilled...

Wally took a break from bull-dozing and came and shoveled the soil into the bag for me. I was just done for at that point and I still had to take it back up to the garden. He shoveled it like it was nothing and I was on my way. I got back to the garden and shoveled out the soil then made some rows for the seeds. I planted the hollyhock and delphinium seeds and finally the remaining allium bulbs went in. My t-shirt had dried in no time at all and I went through about a gallon and a half of water. Come springtime, I'll be glad I did it.

I want to try and put a row of beets in my vegetable garden - the packet says I can plant them through October in this region. I read the radish packet and it says they should be ready within 25 days of planting. I'll have to look back on the postings and see when it was I put them in the ground, unless any of y'all remember...? lol Not so much, huh?

Well, last night's supper was the Cottage Pie you see in the pictures. It's another recipe from Jenny at The Nourished Kitchen. It was delightful to say the least. It has ground beef, onions, peas, squash (I was out of carrots and like I said, I need to use up this squash...lol) a little tomato paste, fresh thyme, fresh rosemary, sweet potatoes (mashed with butter and cream) and cheddar cheese sprinkled on top. This was very easy to fix as you can assemble the ingredients while the sweet potatoes cook in the oven. It cooks for about 30-45 minutes or until it is bubbly and the cheese has stared to brown on top. We didn't have anything else with it but it didn't need anything else. It was warm, cheesy, filling and, of course, nutritious. Jenny wouldn't have it any other way... lol  Yes, there is some fat from the ground beef but you drain it off and there is some fat from the cream (only a 1/4 cup in the whole recipe) and butter (REAL butter) but these are monounsaturated fats which are the good ones! In fact, our bodies need a daily average amount of these fats in order to keep our skin smooth, our hair shiny and our nails strong just to name a few.

Trust me. I read this stuff all the time. I could start quoting my resources if you would like to read about it too...?

So the workday was strenuous but even that felt good. The food was full of flavor and healthy vegetables (are you sick of squash yet? lol). The night was balmy and calling us to rest. We listened :)

"I hope that while so many people are out smelling the flowers, someone is taking the time to plant some."
Herbert Rappaport