Big Bird

  Got a quick snapshot of one of the ravens that hang around our yard. This one had just finished feeding its youngster (that was as big as it was)....couldn't get the camera out fast enough to get a picture of the two of them.

Calphalon Grill Hamburger

 

Calphalon Grills are just as advertised, completely stick proof, and they clean up as easy as 1-2-3. A really good buy.

  The kitty thinks so, too.

River Birch Treets

This is as big as the river birch have become this summer. Maybe we had too cool a summer; it never seemed to get started. I'd thought they were very fast-growing; but they can't keep up with the hybrid poplars that add around six feet each year.

Hybrid Poplar, Easy to Grow

I pulled this guy up where it had sprouted from the roots of my larger poplar. Planted it a year ago, and it's already quadrupled in size. It's going to be a nice addition to the shade we'll be getting in the backyard next summer.

The Prolific Honey Locust Tree

This is just the few seedpods that have blown from the tree so far.


The tree limbs are heavy with browning/drying seedpods, ready to fall at the slightest breeze.

I'm saving them. Not sure what I'll do with them, but they make a nice display all crammed together in a large cup.

Jalapeno Pepper Progress

The peppers have all turned completely red now. They're shriveled and beginning to appear dried. Kind of a pretty display from the front of the house. Interestingly, the hummingbirds that come around to drink from the hot lips salvia nearby, do not come even close to the red peppers. Think they know something?

Another Wildfire

This is the third wildfire in our area this summer. This one has two hot spots, and strangely, it's in the same area of the valley as the two previous fires. Does that sound suspicious? To me, it does.

Sun-Drying Peppers . . . progress

 

 

Two more days and some of the peppers are turning bright red. Interesting. I thought they would just get darker and darker until they lost all their color. Instead, they look like peppers (bell variety) that turn red as they ripen. Could it be that jalapenos are not quite ripe when picked? And now they're actually ripening as they hang in the sun?

I'm curious to see if they retain this red color when they're dry.

They're getting quite wrinkly, too.

Jalapeno Peppers, Sun Drying

 

 

 


These peppers are now 4 days into sun-drying. Can't always find a really sunny spot, but these get morning sun until around 11 a.m. The temperatures have been in the high 90s and over 100 for a couple of days, and the skin of the peppers is already beginning to look shriveled. I've never done this before, so it's touch and go, and I'll have to see if I end up with real dried peppers.

2009's Grapes

I still don't know what variety these grapes are, but they're becoming sweet; the sugar is rising, and so far the birds are staying away. Maybe they prefer red????

Big Family of Mountain Quail

 
  The quail know to come for an afternoon dip in the pool (the bird water dish) that I try to keep filled with fresh water. Just before I took these shots, the local mockingbird, who thinks he owns the water and the whole property for that matter, tried to shoo the quail away. Unsuccessful, because of the number of quail I think.....thirteen in all....Mr. Mockingbird stood by unhappily until they had their fill and left.

Ravens fighting over Dry Cat Food

These ravens have been coming into the yard every day, ever since I tossed some unwanted (by my snooty cat) dry cat food pellets. An expensive variety, to say the least, but who knew that ravens would eat cat food?

 

 

 

 

Lavender

This lavender plant has been in this spot for 2 years now. It only gets a full dose of morning sunshine, rather than all day sun that it prefers. Nevertheless, it's getting ready to bloom, and it's a bumper crop.
 
 

Honey Locust and its Pods

This year, the Honey Locust is ready to propigate, based on the number of pods hanging from all the branches. My guess is the tree was 5 years old when I acquired the property, and that was 8 years ago, so guessing 13 years total. Up to now, each year one or two pods appeared. Now there's enough to start a tree farm . . . if I wanted to.
 
 
 

Preserving Basil and Mint

  In spite of the instructions I found on the internet, such as "place basil in a glass of water, cover it with a plastic bag, and store it in the refrigerator" to keep it from spoiling for a few days . . . which worked poorly, by the way . . . this basil has been staying fresh and perky for more than a week now. So, the answer is, stand the basil stalks upright in a glass of water, cold from the tap, making sure that the water does not come up as high as the lowest leaf on any stalk, and place the glass in a kitchen window that gets filtered sunlight. Even if the basil has wilted (from following the plastic bag in the refrigerator), it will regain its vitality in a short while when following the no-bag-in-water-in-the-window instructions and will remain vigorous for a long time. How long? I don't know, but I'm leaving this glassful in my window as I slowly use the basil, and I'll post the facts when I used the last leaf . . . which I expect to be as fresh as they are today.

Perfect Hamburger Buns

Today I decided to try my hand at making whole wheat hamburger buns. Wanting to stay strictly with the South Beach Diet (no white flour) I'd looked for a WW bread recipe that didn't call for any white flour (not an easy task, as you may already know). So, when I noticed the WW bread recipe on the back of the package of King Arthur Flour (whole wheat) at the supermarket, I bought the flour and tried the recipe. After making one loaf of WW bread with the flour, I believed that the recipe needed more yeast. So, here's what I did.

  I doubled the amount of yeast called for in the recipe on the package. I also used pure maple syrup as the sweetener (the recipe calls for either sugar or maple syrup or molasses). I stirred the double amount of yeast into the hot water and dropped in a few drops of maple syrup. The yeast foamed up into the highest, puffiest foam I've ever obtained with yeast. Should have taken a pic, but I was too busy to become photographer as well as baker. As called for in the recipe, I put all the ingredients in my KitchenAid bowl and mixed slowly with the bread tool. Then, when the dry and liquid ingredients were mixed well, I kneaded the dough with the KitchenAid dial set at 2. (I'd doubled the recipe, so the KA had to work pretty hard for the next 6 minutes. Kneading done, I put the dough in an oiled bowl, covered it, and put it in the oven (that I'd heated to the lowest temperature, then shut off) for an hour. The dough nearly tripled, as you might imagine. Once again, I shoulda taken a photo. Next time, I will.

I then, according to the recipe, scooped the dough from the bowl and placed it on a lightly oiled plastic mat (interestingly, instead of using flour on the mat, the oil kept the dough from sticking to either mat or my hands...I used a light canola oil, which I'd also used in the dough). I then cut off chunks of dough, weighing each to be sure the chunks were all approximately the same size, and formed each into a ball. I placed the balls on parchment-paper covered baking sheets, making a sort of flat bottom on the dough ball by pressing the ball on the baking sheet. I also placed the balls about 3 inches apart, expecting them to rise and spread out as they sat for another hour. Oh, yes, I brushed the tops with half and half and sprinkled sesame seeds on the liquid. I then rolled out a piece of saran wrap, oiled one side, and placed the wrap over the dough balls, oil side down (to prevent the wrap from sticking). Here's what they looked like.

  Not having a "real" recipe, I adjusted the time the recipe called for had the dough been formed into loaves and baked. My first batch was a bit too dark, and this is what it looked like, so I adjusted the time down for the next batch.

  Here's a photo of the final batch, adjusted for time in the oven. We made hamburgers and used two of these perfect little buns. As RR would say: Yummo!!

Abundant Harvest

  This is the abundance that was in today's produce box from Abundant Harvest. Now if I could only figure out what that long white radish-like thingee is, and how to cook it.

Flowering Plum Tree

  In spite of having its leader lopped off by an errant gardener, who I immediately fired, the tree is recovering. All the limbs that have grown from the lopped off limbs are weak, as expected. I'm hoping that the wind won't break any of them off and add to the damage done by the gardener who believes it's a good thing to "top" a tree.

Redbud Trees

 
 
 

These guys are part of a small redbud forest I planted 5 years ago. They're doing quite well in spite of the drought we've experienced and, thus, the small amount of watering they get in the hot summer months.

River Birch Trees

 

 

 

These three, from last year's planting, are doing fairly well. They've developed leaves and look like they're going to make it. They're supposed to be fast-growing, but I wonder if they'll be able to keep up with the hybrid poplars.