May 31st

Yesterday the temperature under my patio was 97 degrees.
97 degrees!
That's miserably HOT!
Here's a question.......
If normal body temperature is around 98.6 degrees,
why do we feel hot when the outside temperature is around the same?
Answer....
Humans function best in ambient temps of around 70 degrees.
The reason is that we generate our own heat, but disperse heat
less effectively in a hotter environment.
We sweat to compensate. To cool off.
In this climate, that works most of the time, but add moisture to the mix,
and now we are fighting to cool off from the heat AND the humidity.

Everything suffers in the heat.

The plants need watering twice daily.
If not, they droop.

I found some wild violets growing

in the side garden.

I think I'll replant them in a pot.

They produce pretty little purple flowers.

Chickens are different.
They have an internal temp of around 106 degrees.
You'd think that would be hot enough to lay scrambled eggs!
But, they must feel the heat as we do.
I found the girls under the shady tree in the back yard.
They didn't even get up when I called them.
Its just too hot!
Their egg production lessens in the heat too.

So, while the girls laid in the shade,

a shy friend came to feast on their breakfast.

That's a female mourning dove.

Pretty.

 

 

I picked a few of the flowers to bring inside.

That's my Dahlias, a Sunflower and the broccoli flowers.

I've picked them before, but this is the current crop.

 

Here are a few more

Dahlias.

 

 

This is sunflowers and sweet yellow onion flowers.

Beautiful!

They do smell like onions though.

:(

 

 

It seems that we grew some mutant carrots.

They were grown from the tops of carrots bought at the grocery.

I cleaned them up and cut them into small pieces.

The chicken girls loved it.

A nice treat.

 

 

On Sunday, for Memorial Day, we took a ride to the cemetery to place flowers

and flags on the family graves.

These angels just struck me as so very

beautiful.

Guardian angels.

 

 

 

On the way home, we drove out to the Lakefront.

It was an exceptionally beautiful day.

The waves slapping on the seawall threw up a fine spray

to cool us off.

Peaceful.

 

This past Memorial Day turned out to be a wonderful day.

All along the Lake we saw people fishing, flying kites, sailing and having picnics.

 

Did you know that Memorial Day was begun to honor

Civil War dead?

Over 600,000 Americans died then.

Their families wanted a day to honor them.

The US also began to set aside land for military burial grounds.

In places like Arlington, the entire grounds are covered in flags.

Also in Arlington,

there are monuments to military dogs.

Animals have served alongside man in almost every war.

Horses, dogs, Homing pigeons,

and chickens.

Yep.

In Rome, the armies took pet chickens with them.

Not to eat, although they did do that with some of them.

They tended to eat mashed chicken brains with wine and bread crumbs.

They also stuffed chickens by feeding them breadcrumbs soaked in wine and lizard fat.

Yum?

But, these chickens were there to foretell the outcomes of the battles.

If the chicken was agitated, the Romans feared a negative outcome.

Conversely, if the chicken was laid back, it would be a victory.

If the rooster fought something, the battle was in the bag!

That's a lot riding on that chicken's head.

Pun intended.

So.....

It seems kinda funny that the contemporary term,

"Chicken - Liver" means a coward,

and someone running around

"like a chicken with it head cut off",

is bordering on neurotic, or

"the sky is falling!", is

in effect a full blown panic.

This lowly little fowl has served man in countless ways.

From wars, to food, to companions,

this modern raptor

can lend itself to....

"What do you think a dinosaur tasted like?"

Chicken!

 

 

Remember.....

 

Life is short.

Smile,

while you still have teeth!

 

 

 

 

 

May 20th

The first 300 years.

New Orleans has been around for quite a while.
Here's a quick history lesson.....
I won't bore you with the obvious, hopefully.

NOLA was founded in the Spring of 1718, by the French.
A guy named Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville (a mouthful!)
picked the current site because,
1)according to the local Indians,the area was prone to seasonal flooding. (no duh).
2) It had a neat crescent shape that already had a natural levee.
3) It was the terminus of a portage route from the lake to the river.
and....
probably the most important, was that it was far enough away
from the colonial Spanish and English settlements....
Our boy, Bienville, was nobody's fool.
Meanwhile,
back in the city.....
Bienville decided to name it after the Duke of Orleans.
Totally a brown nosed move.
Now, he needed settlers.....
But, it was no paradise,
what they actually encountered was this....
In that summer a hurricane blew through.
It destroyed most of the wooden structures,
the few settlers that they had were beset by malaria,
"serpents and alligators".
So, Bienville decreed that all the settlers were to adhere to
his nifty grid pattern to discourage outlying buildings prone to flooding.

Now....
His initial problem was that he couldn't sell his colony idea in France.
No one wanted to make that long journey
from cushy France to sweat in sub tropical heat!
Again,
Bienville to the rescue.
He offered cheap land to anyone who came,
and extra to prisoners, newly released, who married
the local prostitutes of France.
Yay!
Win, win proposition?
France gets rid of riff-raff
and New Orleans gets colonists?
Okay....

Anyway, this goes on till the late 1760's.
As a result of Britain winning in the "7 years war",
and the main fact was that they really didn't want to deal
with New Orleans (They already had Mobile),
they just gave the entire colony to Spain.
But......
Nobody showed up to govern the place.
Nobody wanted to.
Score one for the riff-raff.
It was like teenagers with no parents were home!
But, in that time, French and German colonists
started to arrive in droves. French, to the city, and
Germans, to the marshes in the south,
(Des Allemands).
Acadians arrived from Nova Scotia.
By this time, somebody from Spain finally shows up to govern.
Finally....
The Spanish were responsible for most of our iconic
architecture - Cathedral, Cabildo and Presbytery.

Then,
There was a massive fire in 1788 and another one in 1794.
The Spanish learned fast.
The old, flammable buildings were built with wood,
now, they'd only be made of brick.
It worked.

In 1803 Napoleon, needing money, sold some of
the "The Louisiana Purchase" lands in the south, to France.
Now,
Its back to the future time and France is at the helm again.

Louisiana becomes a state in 1812.
But, no counties! Only parishes!
After all, Catholics R Us.

In 1815, Jackson and Lafitte save us,
albeit a tad late, (the war of 1812 was already over)
from another British attack.

New Orleans surrenders without a fight early in the
Civil War - no one wanted the city destroyed.
On to Reconstruction!
Race riots, occupation by the "Yankees" and
a "red light" district.

New immigrants came in again in droves (I like that word).
Irish, Italians and Yellow fever.
The immigrants and blacks were put to work.
They closed in areas where standing water could be a problem.
Voilà!
The yellow fever epidemic was curbed!
The new suburbs get a boost from an exodus of sorts.
Seems nobody wanted to live that close to those new immigrants.
So, ethnic neighborhoods sprang up.

Fast forward to today.....
Devastating hurricanes, crime, removed statues and
corrupt politicians.
But.....
We still have us.
We make this goofy place a little slice of heaven.
(and the food!)

 freshly shucked oysters!

 

 

boiled crawfish!

Most locals would say that this would be their last supper!

(sorry, its way too funny!)

 

 

 

There's just something' about this old city,

that makes it home.

 

 

###########################################

Blueberries!

So sweet!

We picked a handful yesterday.

I ate a few in my salad.

 

 

Our mirlitons are doing great!

 

 

Creoles

Cherry tomatoes.

The bush is covered!

 

 

Celery in a pot. We clip off whatever we need.

Cabbages.

 

Mint in bloom.

The flowers are edible, but anytime a plant

flowers, it takes so much energy from the plant.

So, with herbs, you shouldn't let 'em flower.

After all, what you want is the herb.

Just after I took this picture, I pinched off the blooms.

Don't throw them away!

I put them in tea.

A small blood orange. 

 

#########################################

 

2 more NOLA tidbits.....

 

1) The name Uncle Sam was first coined here.

It came from the wharves where goods

were labeled U.S. This was before we

became a state.

 

2) Poker was invented here, around 1700's on the Riverboats.

It wasn't just about it being a card game,

it was about the gambling.

 LOL!

 

Oops, gotta run.

The chicken girls are squawking.

That's their cue to me to come play!

Remember,

Be good to everyone.

Ya never know.....

 

May 13th Mother's Day

This is my heartfelt wish

for all Mothers, 

and those no longer with us.

As for myself,

I began this day as any other.

Got up early, gave the dog her morning medicines,

let the hens out and

put more feed in their container,

checked their water,

made toast and coffee for the CEO and myself.....

In other words,

a typical morning.

and this makes me happy.

Now,

I'm on a second cup of coffee before I

go out into the garden.

 But before that,

I thought I'd devote this entry to Moms.

I saw that on Pinterest and thought it appropriate.

It surely was for me!

Having children and step children

is the greatest accomplishment of my life.

Now, at this stage,

I get the joys of Grandparenting.

With five kids,

We've been blessed with five extraordinary

Grandkids.

They are such a source of pride.

 

Although, with my Mom,

I had a wonderful and strong role model,

I always hoped that I could have improved on her teachings,

like passing on a few "Golden Rule" type things....

 

Stop and smell the roses,

Think before you act,

Say "please, thank you, yes ma'am, no sir"

Admit your mistakes,

Be kind to everyone, animals too,

Ok to get mad, just don't get even,

Tell people how much you love them,

Say"I'm sorry" and mean it,

Share,

Always hugs,

Be tactful,

Make new friends,

Brush your teeth,

Be grateful,

Hydrate!

 

Being born and raised in the south, and, more importantly,

in the New Orleans area,

I have some uniquely different "Mom" ideas.

(as do most of us in this area)

 

Like this.....

What?

Really?

 

Another one that I didn't get as a young kid.

It just seemed weird.

 

But this was always a constant in our house.

Pickle meat, not sausage.

I love it!

It was usually my Grandma who made the beans and rice.

On Tuesday,

That's the day my uncle, her son, would visit.

 

Then my Mom would make these.....

or sometimes my aunt, but either way,

I loved it!!

 

We'd shop for groceries at Schwegmanns.

That place literally had everything!

I don't know how she spread the small amount of money

that came in each month,

but I never felt poor.

These bags held groceries, newspapers,

trick or treat candies,

and even became costumes

and book covers.

Versatile.

One of my Mom's mottos was

"Make it do or do without",

and, as a child of the Depression,

by God, she did!

 

We had a small veggie garden in the spring and summer.

My Mom loved Creole tomatoes.

She taught us the love of a simple tomato, mayo

on French bread sandwich.

 

As soon as our tomatoes ripen

I do exactly the same....

 

 

 

She loved Nectar soda.

A concoction of red drink and vanilla ice cream.

Red Drink, you say?

this seemingly innocuous drink was

literally craved by us kids!

It was never referred to as

Red Cream Soda.

It simply went by....

Red Drink.

 

Another wonderfully local taste treat that

my Mom loved was

McKenzie's Buttermilk Drops.

These little mouth watering treats were often

on the table at our house.

 

 

Now, this was a dish my Grandma cooked

that I absolutely loved,

(although my sister didn't.)

Yep,

smothered liver and onions with grits.

Another uniquely New Orleans dish.

I still get it sometimes at Piccadilly Cafeteria.

I don't go there for the cuisine,

I go because it reminds me of my Mom.

 

I miss her every day.

There's so much she taught me,

so much that shaped my life,

that I'd like one more day.

To show her what I've become,

and maybe,

Just to be a kid,

a daughter......

 

So, now,

I'm a wife, mother and a grandmother.

I hope I can pass on some of the wonderful things I learned from

my Mom and Grandma,

even if they don't

wanna learn!

😜

 

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

 

some of the cute little plants

that greet me at the front

door every day.

That chartreuse green is so pretty.

 

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

Sandy, watching me walk around.

The girls make me laugh

at their silliness

sometimes.

 

 

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

Some funny stuff...

 

 

and lastly.....

Only in Louisiana

Ya think they mean the 16th century

English Monarchy?

Yeah,

sadly,

Me neither.

 

 

 

 

 

Remember.......

Be nice,

Or

Leave.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

May 4th

Happy Star Wars Day!

 

(and also with you.....

There, I said it.

You know you thought it.

Yeah,

Its a tad sacrilegious,

but funny...)

Amazing how this particular yearly celebration has become a "thing".

 

Tomorrow is the 5th or Cinco de Mayo!

Cue the maracas and mariachi band!

Ole'

or.....

Americas reason for getting drunk on imported Mexican beer,

tequila and

margaritas.

Or,

the Star Wars way

 

Yeah,

You guessed it......

 

May has all kinds of days to celebrate.

May 1st was Mayday.

Its another of those pagan holidays that celebrate spring.

In the old days maidens would dance around a Maypole.

(dunno about you, but I can't imagine a more ridiculous activity,

circles make me dizzy,

then I get nauseous,

potentially spewing my last meal..

Nope.)

I digress.....

Mayday! Mayday! Mayday!

Its also an international distress call that originated in 1923 in London.

They decided on that word because the airport

had mostly flights to and from Paris.

So,

The French word for "Help me!" is

M'aider

Anglicized to Mayday.

(before that they used Morse code for SOS)

 Then there's Mothers Day and Memorial Day.

Its just chock full of holidays!

 

============================================

 

I wanted to bring some of the outside in,

so I clipped a few flowers and lettuce.

Who knew it'd make a pretty arrangement.

It makes me happy!

 

 

 

 

This is garlic.

It's in the grocery garden.

We simply planted cloves of garlic.

Now,

to harvest it, we clip the green tops.

Its milder than the bulb, but the same taste.

Yum!

 

 

This is called Society Garlic.

No clue why that is.

Same kind of harvesting here too.

The plant is too young to harvest a bulb.

 

 

 

 

This is broccoli.

The flowers have a mild broccoli taste.

We use them in salads.

Tasty!

 

 

The tomatoes are looking fabulous!

 

 

This is a gauge of how large an artichoke plant actually gets.

Pretty big!

 

 

"The blueberries taste like blueberries!"

a small tasty handful.

 

 

 

Pepper in an attempt to visit China.

 

 

I didn't cook anything tonight.

This Chicken chick is taking the night off.

The CEO is gonna surprise me.

Hmmmmm.

I love surprises!

 

 

Don't forget to wake up early and watch the sunrise.

Never know how many sunrises we will get.

Take advantage.