The Blog Lives On...

IT'S not that I haven't wanted to write a post for you. There are a couple of reasons why you haven't had an update in over a week. For one thing, work has been keeping me very busy!! I know, that's just wrong!

Unlike most of the rest of you, I'm not able to access the internet from home so I'm limited to when I have a few minutes at work. If you have read any of my posts, you know that even if I did have the internet at the house, I'd be too darn busy to get on it for any length of time :)

The other reason there hasn't been a posting is because the blogspot website has been giving me some trouble. It wouldn't let me sign in until just a few minutes ago. SO I'M BACK and here's your posting :) :) :)
I missed all of you too! lol

The last posting detailed my attempts at frying chicken. Now that I'm a successful chicken fryer, I ask you this...Do you think that part of the post was good enough to submit it in a short story contest being held by Good Housekeeping magazine?

A few of you have written to say that that was one of your favorite posts so I thought I'd check with everyone to see if there's another post that stands out as your favorite or if you think that one was good enough. I wouldn't even be asking except I keep hearing that I should write a book using my posts.

You, dear reader, tell me...

Finally it's raining here in TN. It rained overnight Wednesday again Thursday mid-day and now here it is Friday and it's pouring down a lovely summer shower complete with lightning and thunder although somewhat off in the distance from me.

The sky is white with the rain and the trees are blowing in the wind though not so strong as to be a danger. It's a welcome relief after 100+ degree temperatures since Monday. I know you Floridians know exactly what I mean :)

As I'm not sure where I left off, I'm not so sure where to begin....LOL How about this..We woke up with the roosters Saturday morning and by 6:30 breakfast was cooked, eaten and cleaned up, the laundry was on the line and we both had our showers. Saturday morning it was just a bit cooler than it had been all last week so we decided to pack a cooler and go for a lazy drive in the camaro. We drove along the Natchez Trace Parkway and I have to say it's one of the MOST BEAUTIFUL drives you ever want to go on. There are no billboards, no tractor-trailer traffic, no nothing really except everything pretty that nature has bestowed upon us.

Farm land for miles, rolling hills and mountains in the distance, ponds, lakes and creeks abound and at the overlooks you can picnic, hike or just take it all in at your leisure. The Trace goes from here in Tennessee down to Mississippi and you can make the whole trip in about 4 hours. If you wanted to, that is. It's much better if you stop and get out and take it all in.

It used to be that the government would lease portions of the grounds to farmers so they could grow hay. In exchange for the use of the farm land, the farmers had to mow that part not in use. For years they mowed and mowed all along the roadways. When we drove the Trace on Saturday, the farmers had instead planted row after row after row of corn. Now that's enterprising! As long as the corn is growing, there's no mowing to be done and they get the crop of corn in addition to all the hay they were already profiting on. Wow, now that's cool.

The Trace is home to hundreds of deer, turkeys, turtles, hawks, just about anything that roams wild in the woods. There are miles and miles of woodlands and for as far as your eyes can see, not a single traffic light. Not even a toll plaza exists. It's a sight to see alright but along with the view comes a very interesting story of how we stole the land from the Indians and forced them to leave. The actual pathway they followed in their mass exodus is called the "old trace" and you will see markers for it as you travel the paved road. Google the story. I think you'll find we did a great injustice to the Indians in this story just as we did them all.

While summertime persists with its soaring temperatures and the heat index climbs ever higher, still we know that soon Fall will be here. It's evident in the Dollar Stores and the nurseries and even the hardware stores. They all know the time has come to put the gardening gear, flip flops and tiki torches on sale. They all know those big trucks will soon be delivering potted mums, pansies and spring blooming bulbs. They'll restock their shelves with heavy coats, knit caps, scarves, gloves and the like. Snow shovels and boots and sleds that need to be replaced after hard use last year are probably already making the trip here.

The canning supplies are on sale too - what's left of them. If I've learned anything about canning up here it's that you buy lots of everything early in the year when it first hits the shelves. It may cost a little more when it first comes out but you risk not being able to find it at all if you wait. Those shelves that were previously stacked so high you couldn't reach them all are now down to bare bones. A few boxes of lids and seals are left and even a few cases of jars, but not many. The pickling spices are nowhere to be found. Even if you concoct your own, you're hard pressed to find all the ingredients that you need. Somewhere here in Hickman County someone has lots of jars to show for their efforts!! LOL wonder who that might be...ssshhhhhhh hahahahaha 

Most of the flowers that bloom throughout the summer are beginning to decline. Even they can't take the heat. They won't be able to take the cold either so it's best this way :) Me? Well, you know I'll never give up trying to grow things here on the farm. I'll be trying to transplant some day lilies that have sprouted outside the rock borders. I have a couple of shrubs that need planted - they're just bare roots right now but it's still too hot for planting. From what I can gather, September will be the perfect time for them to go into the ground. About the time they get good and established, it will get cold and snowy and they can hibernate until the first warm days of spring. When they get bushy and begin to bloom, they are fire red when everything else is still brown and gray from the winter. Woo Hoo!!! Can't wait to see them! 

My little volunteer pumpkin is still hanging in there despite the 100 degree temperatures. I carry a water bottle to work with me every day so I can water it on my way home. Since the blooms dropped it now as a bundle of little pods, for lack of a better word. I'm hoping those pods will turn into pumpkins and just take over the flower bed!

My tomatoes continue to grow - although a nasty worm ate a couple of the plants before I realized he was even there! There are still 6 plants and they all have tomatoes on them - providing another worm hasn't invaded the garden! Between the rabbits, the mole and the worms, my gardening efforts have been for naught it seems. I still had a fun time doing it and surely I'll do it again next year. The exercise was great and just being outside in nice weather beats housework any day!

Did you plant anything? Did it make it to harvest? Did it flower and perfume your yard or home? It's not too late in FL you know? You can start cherry tomatoes, lettuce and other greens now and still get them harvested by your first frost.

The big thing here this time of year is okra. Everyone grows okra! Well, except me LOL I'll just accept what other people are growing as it has been reported that everyone has a bumper crop this year. I may pickle it again, although this year I know to use only the smallest pods for pickling. Otherwise they get stringy and it's hard to eat them. They taste good but the texture is all wrong. More than likely I'll use most of it in a smothered okra recipe from my Better Homes and Gardens cookbook or my ham, bean, tomato and okra soup recipe that Joe Brack gave me. I should call it a stew since it does get a little thick on account of the okra. By the way, okra is pronounced okree here in TN. LOL I laugh every time I hear it.

We're gearing up for Wally's birthday party come August 20th. We have guests coming in from FL, including Ernie, Dizzy Debbie, Dennis and Debbie Hall and possibly even Lew and Traci. With ours friends up here and those from FL we have about 30 people invited so far. We never know how many will show :)

We're having a fish fry this year and Darryl is cooking for us. He's got those big gas fryers on stands that you use outside. He has already got me a good deal on the fish and he's looking into pricing the frog legs now. He gave me one price but he said it was a little high so he's checking one other source before we decide. Don't make that face Kat... unless you've tried them, you don't know what you're missing. Remember I made that same face last year until I tried them how Darryl cooks them and I surprised even myself. I loved them! 

I'm making cole slaw and those little appetizers like Mike used to make at the Oriole's - the pickle wrapped in ham, sliced then stabbed with a toothpick. The last time I made them they were gone in a heartbeat. I'll have to double the recipe this year. We'll make some deviled eggs and I'm hoping to coax Ernie into being the hushpuppy maker as I'm still at a loss on that recipe (please, please, please, please, please?). Claudia is bringing her German potato salad and a pot of white beans.

I don't know what all else there will be but there's always more than enough food to go around. We have a guy coming to do karaoke and a pretty good burn pile is ready to be lit. Even though it's hot outside, you can still sit far enough back that you can enjoy the fire without getting too hot. Besides, it won't get lit until dark. We have horseshoes set up for those who can throw them. I'm not in that crowd - please - my throwing leaves much to be desired. You wouldn't want me on your team is all I can say. I'm a much better score keeper...lol!!!

Before the party there's plenty to be done. The lawn chairs need to be rinsed off, the lawn needs cut around the outdoor kitchen and the linens on the spare beds need to be laundered again. The porches were just pressure washed last weekend so they should be good to go and the coolers were washed and dried at the same time. The picnic table needs moved back into the shady area, the garbage cans all need new bags and the bean cans used for ashtrays all need to be cleaned out again.

I have bug spray, sunscreen and citronella candles and oil for the tiki torches should we decide to light them. Dizzy's Apartment (aka the outhouse) needs swept and cleaned and I'm pretty sure it needs a new bar of soap! lol After that, everything will be ready :) hahahahaha

Another week comes to an end and the farm awaits me so I dare not dally. With all this rain I'm hoping it will be cool enough to sit out front on the new bench seat. I can watch my humming birds as they drink up the never ending supply of sugar water and maybe read through another cookbook in hopes of finding something as yummy as my mayonnaise biscuits.

"It is not how busy you are, but why you are busy - the bee is praised, the mosquito is swatted." ~Author Unknown