Monthly Archives: August 2016

More Garden Groceries

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Sylvia has begun to harvest potatoes.  Some of them look as pretty as the ones you see in the store.  Most of them don’t.

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I like these organic, home-grown potatoes better than the pretty ones in the grocery store.  Plus, you’ll not find one with its own built-in tripod there.

We have once again cut way back on meat consumption in favor of plant-based nutrition.  Okay, I’ll make an exception for bacon-wrapped jalapeño poppers.

I don’t have pictures of our poppers.  Who wants to take pictures when they come out of the toaster oven?  Not me!  I want to eat them while they are warm.

Much to our relief, one of the zucchini plants has stopped producing.  The other two can follow soon.  Please!

On the Track at Michigan

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In advance of Sunday’s NASCAR race at Michigan International Speedway, my favorite driver had something to share with the fans.

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Brad Keselowski, driver of the no. 2 car for Team Penski, took NBC pit reporter, Kelli Stavast, for a spin in a replica 1901 Ford Sweepstakes.  The two were in period costume.  That must have been quite the experience to zip around the big track at 45 mph.  My good friend and neighbor, Jerry, was at the track I’m looking forward to hearing his report on the Sweepstakes.

It was a Sweepstakes that Henry Ford drove in his first race at a horse track in Grosse Point, Michigan in October 1901.  Ford’s first company failed, but after he won that race investors came on board.

For my part, I prefer my 20-year-old Dodge Intrepid.  Handles better and has improved comfort and safety features.

Through the Window

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On Monday, walking past the dining room windows, I saw what looked like something flapping in the breeze.  It was in the neighbor’s soy-bean field.  I picked up the binoculars (a few steps away) and saw a doe grazing on the bean leaves as she lay in there in the field (about 125 yards away).

A quick trip to the office and I returned camera in hand.  Opened the window and waited . . . and waited . . . and waited.  Retrieved the tripod, attached the camera and zeroed in on where I last saw the deer.  No luck.

On to the next project.  Sylvia and I lead a small group on Tuesday evenings.  We both sat by the windows as we wrapped up our preparations.  We were talking, comparing our ideas and setting up our lesson plan when a young phoebe landed on the deck railing just outside an open window.

We were amazed that this young flycatcher sat there with a fly in her bill while we talked to each other.  As we watched, she crunched and then ate the fly before flying off to catch another.

We had wrapped up our lesson prep and plan and I started to put things away.  Through the window, clearly visible was the doe once again chewing on bean leaves.

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She chewed away in front of her and beside her.

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Something caught her attention (our chatter?) and she froze in place, listening carefully.

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Sylvia and I watched for a while and then went about our other activities.  She continued her feast.  What a beautiful day.

Careless Words

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At times we can be careless and even reckless in our choice of words.  That point was driven home to me on Saturday.

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I was walking by the kitchen where Sylvia was at the counter preparing a meal.  She said, “I’m making poppers, do you want me to leave seeds in your jalapeños?”

Being a bit distracted, I responded, “What ever.”  Thus far, our peppers haven’t been that hot.  Sometimes I like a bit more fire.  How was I to know that the potency had increased?  I probably should have been a bit more careful in my choice of words.

Later at the table, Sylvia carefully selected three for me and took the other three for herself.  She took the first bite and observed that hers was a bit more spicy than usual.

On the first bite, I realized she was correct.  On the second bite, I retrieved a tissue as my sinuses began to clear.  (This has been a bad year for allergies and they’ve had me congested all summer.  Clearing the sinuses means welcome relief.)

As I was finishing the first popper, two more tissues joined the first one.  Soon, I reported, “One down two to go.”  Sylvia smiled at me.

After the third popper was gone, I discarded three tissues.  My sinuses were clear and it was easy to breathe through the nose.

Now it’s Monday afternoon and my sinuses are still clear.  That’s a good thing.  #ReadyForMore

Can You Beet This?

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Sylvia harvested beets the other day.  This one was a bit larger than the others.

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The beets are now in the oven.  Once they are baked, we’ll have some fresh beets and will probably can the rest of them.  We had beet greens with last evening’s meal.

We have fresh garden veggies each day.  Lots of tomatoes are included in each day’s harvest.  Fortunately, the zucchini has slowed its production.

The year of the garden continues.

Reaping

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The year of the garden continues . . .  The crops have been super abundant this year.  We are enjoying tomatoes.

160813a We are also enjoying onions.  They are quite large this year.

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Tomatoes and onions go well with jalapeños.  And together they are the major ingredients in salsa.  (We harvested the garlic some weeks ago.)

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Of course when you stuff them, wrap them in bacon and bake them, they make delicious poppers.  The peppers have particularly nice flavor this year. :food:

With fall coming on, we are looking forward to our butternut squash.  We are particularly fond of these, and we have plenty.

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The squash went crazy and ended up filling about half the garden.  This is only one corner of the plot.

Sylvia has some softball size beets and how do you take a picture of potatoes?  We’ll only find out later how good they are.  Okay, I’m tempted to burrow with my hands and get one now.

Learning Never Stops

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Some life lessons are best remembered when learned through a trial-and-error process.  That also seems to be the story of my life.

Or as Maxwell Smart said, “Missed it by that much.”  He also said, “Sorry about that, Chief.”

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I’ve been blogging for eight and a half years.  During that time, I have discovered that there are four steps to a blog post.

  1. You gather your resources (photos, ideas, etc.) and compose your post.
  2. You proofread your post.
  3. You publish your post.
  4. You discover an error (or errors) in that post.

Has this ever happened to you?  Perhaps I should have stayed in shcool?

Help Please

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I am bewildered–unable to identify the birds that feed on bugs in our lawn.  They look like this.

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They come down in large flocks to feed on the ground.  They move around in erratic patterns, sometimes running and sometimes leaping into the air to snatch a bug on the wing.  Here another image that was taken in full sun.

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Do you have any idea what these birds might be?