Saturday, August 31, 2024

August 31st

(That is a Hurricane Ida picture)

These are the peak days of the season.

It's when everyone in the south begins
the dreaded  "hurricane prep".
Our main concerns are food and water,
so we begin to stock up on 
nonperishable food and gallons of water.
We southerners, usually wait until the "watch"
becomes a "warning" to begin in earnest.  
That's when the stores put their most 
wanted items front and center.
Having been through this drill
way too many times,
I try to begin in July.
Yes, I'm aware the season starts June 30,
but it almost never arrives with
a full-fledged storm and the stampede
to get water, food, batteries and gas
can be nerve rattling!
At our house, we keep a "hurricane
shelf" that has flashlights, candles,
matches and batteries.
We also get the gasoline containers ready,
because we have 2 generators that
use quite a bit of it. 
In a garage storage area, we keep the food.
It's stuff like tuna, peanut butter,
powdered milk, cereal, ramen noodles,
Franco American pasta, and canned soup.
I don't forget instant coffee, creamer
canned meat products and crackers.
Oh, and snacks too!

Here's hoping we get a repeat
of last year with no terrible storms!


***************************

Cucumber and Sweet Peppers

Eggplants
It's been either very rainy or really hot
so, the veggies aren't producing
very much.
😔

**********************

My succulents are doing really good! 



This little guy is blooming!


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Do you remember the summer days?

These are The Lennon Sisters Paper Dolls.
My sister had a set of these.
They were famous during the 1960's.

I had one of these.
It's a Mr. Machine!
He had a blue key wind up and he 
rolled around on the floor
while opening his mouth
and making grinding gear
noises!
I loved it!

We played board games like, 
Monopoly, Parchesi.
Checkers, Chutes and Ladders,
Canasta and Sorry.
We jumped rope and skated on 
uneven sidewalks with our metal wheels.
We rode bikes till the mosquito truck
came at dusk and we had 
to go inside.
We performed plays that I wrote,
and we practiced, but only one
person came to see us 
on opening day.
We had a plastic 2 feet deep by 8 feet 
pool that we splashed in until
it needed to be refilled.
My Mom wouldn't allow us
to get back in the water directly 
after lunch, Ha!
We played our transistor radios 
and a portable record player
to listen and sing along to the Beatles.
We'd save money to buy a 45
record that we played
over and over.
Those days were so uncomplicated,
and it seemed that the summer was 
soooo long!
It was such a simple time.
I'm grateful for my sister and 
the friends we had
that we experienced that together.


*************************
I'm in the SALT corner!


********************
Bye August!

Even on dark days,
stand tall
and find the
sunshine!


💗💙💚








Wednesday, July 31, 2024

July 31st

 

Mornin'
This little guy reminded me that,
even at my advanced age,
I have unanswered questions.
Like...
Why didn't that guy give that poor horse a
name after riding through the desert?
Why didn't that other guy just consult his 
watch instead of asking "does anyone
really know what time it is?'
Or how about the woman asking if
we know the way to San Jose?
Get a map!
Stevie Wonder asked "isn't she lovely?', but
he's blind, so we get that one.
No, I don't know who wrote the book of love
or who let the dogs out!
I'm not lonesome tonight either.
I don't even know what it's all about, Alfie.
The Beatles asked if I want to know 
a secret, sure and I promise not to tell.
I also don't believe in magic or know
how much that doggie in the window costs.
There may be someone who is actually
afraid of Virginia Woolf and knows the
actual location of Waldo or the perpetrator
who framed Roger Rabbit.
Then again as these questions remain 
unanswered, we may never know
whatever happened to Baby Jane either.


Answers! 
We need answers!
😁


***************************************


Minew says, Hi!



Harvests this month...
Sweet peppers, cucumbers,
and eggplants.



Cucumbers



Dried herbs,
basil, oregano, thyme, sage,
Thai basil, and rosemary.


More peppers.
I dehydrated some to turn into powder.
It's great on salads and sprinkled on meat.


Basil


Oregano


Coreopsis


Mother of Thousands,
with her babies.


Gardenia


**************************


We've noticed a plethora of 
Dragonflies of different colors.
Did you know that,
temperature and food quantity
determines some colors in dragonflies?
Also, the older the insect, the deeper the color.
Younger ones are much paler.
Notice the 2nd picture is a pale blue,
where the 1st is a vibrant red.
The red dragonflies are always mature males.
They can live up to 6 months.





**********************************


Confounding Things:
Since we're on the unanswered questions,
Why is it, when you walk barefoot,
it seems like you always walk into
 a door or a coffee table leg?
Are they sneaking up on us  
just to mess with our exposed pinky toes? 
Is it a conspiratory theory?

The pain takes a couple seconds
to travel from the toe to the brain.
This allows you to immediately think
that, "Oh, that wasn't so bad' which then 
turns into an excruciating pain
that has you with an out of body experience!
OUCH!



*****************************


My grandson took this 
last weekend in Jesuit Bend.
Beautiful!


Thanks for reading 
💗💙💚





Saturday, June 29, 2024

June 29th

This is a picture from June 2nd.
Our harvest has been going great so far.
Those are our potatoes (russet and purple),
 cherry tomatoes,
cucumbers and eggplants.
I've made 10 quarts of tomato sauce
that I froze.
I also dehydrated a lot of eggplant,
and cucumber.
Most of the eggplant that I dehydrated
I blended to a powder that
I add to ground beef to 
enhance the flavor.
It's also great sprinkled over salad.

I think the rain has helped the crops
to remain productive. I hope that'll
keep up!

This is the last of the potatoes for now.
I peeled and boiled some to dehydrate.
So, in essence, I made my own instant potatoes!

Tomato sauce in the making.
I add a bit of salt, bell peppers, oregano
veggie stock, onions, garlic and olive oil.
Then I let it slow cook for about an hour.
I turn off the heat and allow it to cool
before using an immersion blender
to make a creamy sauce.
Literally everything in it is homegrown.
A smaller amount of veggies to make 
tomato sauce.


Purple potatoes.
These unique guys pack a punch.
They have 3 times more antioxidants
than white or yellow potatoes
and less starch.
It's the starch that converts to
carbohydrates, so all in all
this is a healthier potato.
I dehydrated these to use as
mashed potatoes later.
Thats a jar of purple potatoes!


2 jars of herbal/veggie blend.
I've been busy!



This is from June 15th.
Cucumbers, Peppers, Tomatoes 
and Eggplants.



This is the harvest from June 28th


I've harvested herbs too.
They usually are used immediately in
cooking or they get dehydrated
for use in my herbal blend.
I have oregano, thyme, parsley,
Greek basil, Thai basil, lemon verbena,
sage, rosemary, and mint.
Then to dehydrate them,
I cut them and wash them thoroughly.
Then I separate the leaves from the stems,
they dry out faster that way.

************************

The flowers are blooming too!
Gladiolus and Gardenias


I had to bring some of that beauty inside!


The red throat is amazing!



Purple Sweet Potato vine


Mary's Garden


Kalanchoe, or 
Mother of Thousands.
Every single one of those
buds along the leaves will
make a baby plant.


Sedum in the front porch planters.


Echeverria with a bloom

Rose Echeverria

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We are thankful that the fruits of our
labor serve to feed us.
Hopefully we can continue in these next years.
😊
**************************


When I first went out to weed this morning,
this little missy was sound asleep.


But, I should have known that
nothing gets by her.
Remember what curiosity did
Minew!


Jesuit, our resident Blue Jay
came to visit this morning too.
He was only there to
grab some unattended cat food!


**********************************


You surely can!

💖💙💚