March 30th

As the world turns.....

We remain sheltered in place

and our lives may irreparably change,

but there remains hope

that our families, friends, aquaintances

and the world stays safe.

As a retired nurse with asthma,

I face a dilemma.

It's hard not to jump in to assist my

medical friends and colleagues.

I wrestle with that need daily

over my need to stay safe, 

not only for myself but my family.

I can't heed that call for help

and that makes me extremely sad.

As Aldous Huxley said,

"Maybe this world is another planet's hell",

maybe prayer will help....

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

Sitting on the patio this morning

sipping a cup of tea.

I watched a Mallard couple fly in to

join the chicken girls.

They unconcernedly grazed around the yard 

only a few feet from my chair.

But,

the hens weren't so accomodating.

Hazel made it known that

she didn't take kindly to any

uninvited guests.

She ran after the male and pecked him

on his tail.....

He flipped out!

He ran after her quacking loudly 

and she initially took off

like a "chicken" outta hell!

Then she must have decided that,

hey, wait a minute,

this is MY yard.

So she turned on a dime and

did her own pursuing.

Now it was him who hightailed

it out by taking flight with his mate.

Since our girls are waaaay too fat to fly,

the chase ended.

I hope the Mallards come back,

but the reception in this neck of the woods

is rather cool.

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

This week's harvest.

Cauliflower and broccoli.

A lonely asparagus.

Artichokes are getting big.

There's 3 on this bush.

Can you spot the tiny ones?

Tomatoes

This part of the potato patch was harvested 

last week and we are beginning to

replant potato "eyes".

Brussels sprouts.

They are too small to see clearly yet.

Mirliton

Cucumber flowers

Yellow squash blossoms.

They are edible too,

but we'd rather eat the veggie.

😋

Cauliflower

Spearmint

Our mint is in pots because

it can grow like a weed 

unless you keep it contained.

We cut our mint back a bit each day

and use the cut pieces in a mint green tea.

Just boil water, crush cleaned mint leaves,

immerse and let steep,

then strain into a pitcher.

I add a bit of stevia to sweeten.

Very tasty!

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

Beautiful Louisiana iris

Lantana.

Can't eat this plant, it is 

strictly ornamental.

Scarlet Sage,

or Salvia Coccinea.

The flowers of this plant are edible,

and the leaves can make a tea.

( but they really aren't tasty 😝)

Butterflies love them!

This is Pentas,

or Egyptian Starcluster.

This was a rescue plant from the trash 

bin at Lowes.

Add a little love, compost and they bloom!

We have this plant as food for butterflies

but,

in Africa it is used as medicine.

They use the roots in tea to treat malaria,

leaves in tea to treat diarrhea

and crushed root as a poultice to 

treat non-life threatening snake bites.

Amazing little plant, huh?

And the ladybug marches on...

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

As I've said before,

its been a year since the best

dog in the world left us....

😔

This was the beautiful sky

on that sad day.

Somehow this made

me smile despite my grief.

Please stay safe

in this uncertain time!

💖

March 23rd

Beautiful Louisiana irises.

The world is falling apart,

but it's spring.

Flowers are blooming,

veggies are ripening

and the world is still turning.

We are alive and healthy.

These little things in my currently

closed off world, make me happy.

It's been 10 days since I've actually

been anywhere.

Yeah, 

I walked around the block in 

the early morning hours,

with almost no one around,

and occasionally waved at passers by 

(with a wave that would rival

the Queens!)

but...

I haven't been tooling around in my car.

and 

it's surprisingly peaceful.

So, I'm not having a "cabin fever"

moment....

Yet.

The CEO and I have spent a lot of

time in our gardens, harvesting, planting

and weeding.

This is the yield during last week.

Not to mention... 2 to 3 eggs per day.

I cooked all of it, or in the case of some

of the broccoli,

ate some raw in a salad.

I also made refrigerator pickles

from 1 of the mirlitons.

Cauliflower

Broccoli

These 2 heads made casseroles

 that I froze for use this week.

More of our crops....

Carrot seedlings

Spinach

Collard greens - for the hens

Cucumbers with several flowers 

Far back is zucchini and near the

front is yellow summer squash

Eggplants

Blueberries - not ripe yet

Artichoke

This plant looks intimidating,

it's not.

The leaves are soft, and it's huge!

Potatoes

Tomatoes 

These are the cherry kind

This is a hybrid tomato with loads of blooms.

We also have Creoles with flowers.

Some flowers...

Petunias

More Petunias

Dahlias just poking their heads up.

Gladiolus.

No clue of their color,

so we'll be surprised!

**********

Here's a "did you know" trivia question.

Which plants of the above pictured ones

are in the same family?

Answer: Its the Nightshade family.

Many members contain potent 

alkaloids that are highly toxic,

but many are used as food.

Ours are; Potato, Tomato, Eggplant and Bell Peppers.

The petunia is also a nightshade,

but you can't eat it!

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

So....

He decided yesterday that several of the trees

needed to be trimmed.

So, this morning, the sunlight

was relentlessly streaming

into the kitchen windows!

Wow! 

If I wasn't fully awake before, now I am.

These 2 guys visited for a while.

They even stayed put while I drank tea

under the patio.

They aren't intimidated by the 

chicken girls.

Oh,

and speaking of chickens,

Pepper and Nugget

say Hi!

🙏

and stay safe and well!

❤

On a sad note...

last year this time, 

our special dog Leia,

was entering her last struggle.

Still miss you girl!

March 14th

What harm could this small pretty

thing cause?

Simple....

widespread panic and a run

on everyday items.

Yes, its something to prepare for,

especially if you either self quarantine,

or a mandated one,

 but,

 how much toilet paper do you really need??

It's the "pack mentality" at its worst.

Pack mentality or "group think" is a phenomenon

in which people make decisions

based on the actions of others,

sometimes without even realizing it.

Back in '73 on the Tonight Show,

Johnny Carson's opening monologue 

was about shortages.

It was really about gas, but

he said, in a joke, that toilet paper

was in short supply.

This caused such a run on that item,

that people were hoarding it,

stores ran out

and he came on TV to say

it was nothing but a joke.

But...

inadvertently, he became

"Leader of the Pack".

My father-in-law (at the time),

had an entire closet crammed with

rolls of toilet paper.

It took years till they ran out.

It's was funny then, but now it's real again.

The simple acts of prudent infection control

that can be done daily are

washing hands,

sneeze into a tissue or crook of your elbow,

cleanse surfaces with a disinfectant

(if you can find any),

avoid large crowds,

and stay home if you experience symptoms.

Notify your doctor so he can make

appropriate decisions.

So, our new normal is all about 

flattening the curve and decreasing 

chances of infections by

cancelling schools, group activities and

reducing the burden on hospitals

and care givers. 

It will hopefully reduce the risk to

those who are susceptible.

Personally, I sing the "Jeopardy" song

while I'm washing my hands.

It makes me smile.

Stay well!

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

Broccoli

You can't tell scale, but it's almost

the size of a baby's head!

Culantro

This is different from cilantro.

It has a stronger flavor,

but almost the same taste - 

great in Mexican dishes 

and the leaves are long and saw-like.

Oddly, you can use this in a tea

for flu symptoms of fever and sore throat.

(Might come in handy...)

Rosemary

It was windy the other day and 

I was in the front yard weeding

around the irises when I 

smelled the wonderful fragrance of 

rosemary all around.

Love it!

Blueberries!

Yay!

We have 6 bushes, so

hopefully I'll have enough

to make jam this year.

Blueberry flowers....

More blueberry flowers...

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

Our other flowers are blooming too.

These are some of our Amaryllis...

This Peppermint one is my favorite!

They make such a beautiful arrangement

in that big clay pot.

Louisiana Iris

9 simple petals, but so delicate.

More Irises blooming at the

base of the cypress trees

Gardenia buds are all over

our bushes.

Can't wait to see them bloom!

Aloe bloom stalk.

This isn't the same plant that has bloomed before.

This is a baby of the Mother Aloe.

Sedum,

or golden moss sedum.

It's a ground cover but we

have it growing in the Amaryllis

clay pot.

It's a beautiful contrast of lime green/yellow

and the deep scarlet red of the amaryllis.

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

Chicken Girl Capers...

Here's the girls eating a broccoli leaf...

They are so spoiled that,

if he puts the leaf on the ground,

they'll walk away,

But,

if he holds the leaf,

they'll eat till all that's left

is the stalk.

Hazel likes to get high...

I mean that in the nicest way.

She'll jump up on higher things

to get a look around.

I found her on top of the BBQ and had to 

remove the little adventurer.

She wouldn't get down on her own.

BBQ sans Hazel

Our occasional fowl visitor,

a male Mallard, quacking

at the girls.

Don't know what that conversation

was about but

the girls kept their distance.

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

My friend was sweet enough

to share a recipe

Easy Eggplant Casserole

Peel and chop 2 medium eggplants.

Place in a large pot on the stove and 

add 3/4 cup of water salt and pepper to taste.

Cover and cook on medium/low stirring

occasionally - add more water if needed

to keep it from sticking to the bottom.

In another pot, saute' 1/2lb of ground beef.

Drain, then add 1 chopped yellow onion,

cook till soft. Sprinkle garlic powder to taste.

Now, add the eggplant mixture and Italian 

flavored breadcrumbs about 1/2 cup,

and 1/2 cup grated parmesan-romano cheese.

Mix till well blended, then pour into a 

greased or sprayed casserole dish.

Top with a layer of breadcrumbs and small pats of butter.

Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.

Can be a complete meal or

a side dish.

This is one that I'll try soon.

Thanks!

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

Think maybe this'll sell

on the Dark Web?

and I can supplement my SSI?

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

Again,

Stay well!