Fall is Here

It feels nothing like it with a ninety degree day, but Fall is upon us. This is my favorite season of all. I love the changing leaves, well when that happens. It is anniversary season for my parents. For Dave and I as well. It is birthday season. Woohoo!!! I love the warmish days and cool nights. I can't wait to build a fire in the woodstove! Come on chilly nights!

Even though the weather isn't cooperating I got out my decorations: candy corn garland, my painted quail, the pumpkin and acorn candy dishes, the Thanksgiving salt and pepper shakers(it is never too early to be thankful), a wreath for the door and pumpkins galore!! Ah.  It is a full moon tonight. I love that too. Now..... I will have to wait for the cool air to arrive. Happy waiting. Happy Fall!!

Pretty.....

I found these in the yard last week.

I think that they are lovely.

I can imagine little fairies and gnomes hiding out under there.

I just had to capture their images. They reminded me my favorite Beatrix Potter image.

If anyone can find a print of this I will be indebted to you forever. It is just stunning to me. The ferns. The leaves. The fungi detail. Sigh. Thanks Beatrix.

Daisy

I love Daisy. When she first hatched I didn't want a "blue" chicken. Blue means gray in chicken talk. But as she grew her coloring became one of my favorites. She has her quirks. Sometimes she sounds like a duck. She is the one that got the hole broody hen club started. She doesn't like to be held and is spunky!!!


I love seeing her in the basket by the back door. I think it is a stunning sight. And when she leaves, I fetch my breakfast. Thanks Daisy.

Where's Little Jerry?

Well, Little Jerry and Momma are finally integrating with the rest of the flock. They run around together and spend lots of time under cover. I thought we could play a little game of "Where's Little Jerry?" kind of like "Where's Waldo?".

Where's Little Jerry? By her momma, perfectly camouflaged, beside the hydrangeas.

Where's Little Jerry? Poking her head out from the hydrangea leaves!

Where's Little Jerry? Looking for Momma!!! Can you see her here? Her coloring hides her so well!

Little Jerry Goes Outside

Well, it had to happen. Momma and baby had to move outside one day. I would miss Little Jerry's baby peeps, but not the smell of chicken in a confined space!!

Before the move

One unhappy Momma on the move

 

My first time holding Little Jerry. She was showing off her wing feathers.

Little Jerry's first glimpse of the outside world

The cutest little chicken face in the whole wide world

Little Jerry's first glimpse of her new home

Look how tiny!!!

Checking in with Momma

And it's hard to see, but a proper ride on Mom's back makes the day complete.

Mom and baby are doing great!!! More pictures to come!!!

Not Fried Okra

Ok, so on my my healthy eating plan I can't have corn meal. Corn meal is an essential ingredient in fried okra. Fried okra is one of my favorite foods. Sad sigh. So this summer I was determined to find a way to get that scrumptious okra flavor into my mouth. And I have eaten okra many ways this summer. I have tried it raw(It's better than I expected!), love it pickled, slimy boiled, crunchy dried and now I have two new ways to cook it.

The first way is oven roasted. I simply cut the tops off of the okra, tossed them in some olive oil, salt and pepper and baked them at 350 degrees. I turned them after 15-20 minutes and let them cook until a bit browned or blackened. Oh. So. Yummy!! Really. The flavor is so similar to fried okra I almost screamed with joy!

The oven roasted okra. It was even good left over!!

 The second way I fixed okra was pan roasted. The procedure is pretty similar to oven roasted, except that I was working with large okra, so I cut it into 2 inch segments. I heated oil in a large skillet, the one that broke my foot actually, and tossed the oil coated seasoned okra into the hot oiled skillet. I turned them frequently and cooked them on high. They took a while to get nice and dark. Dave really liked it. We ate the whole pan full between us in one sitting!

Now we need to try grilling okra while the okra picking is still good. Go enjoy summer eating while it lasts!!!!

Monster Vegetables!!!

Last week at the market I happened upon a monster vegetable. Seriously huge!!! Craig at Two Mule Farms grew some Cushaw squash or Cushaw melon, as it is also known. His lovely lady thought of me as she cooked some up the night before. They know how much I love winter squash. So I lugged this baby home.

Well, don't know that I could call it a baby. Maybe it is a toddler.

There. Pretty big huh?

The neck alone.

I started cutting. And cutting. And cutting!!! The neck alone yielded 6 quart bags full of cubed Cushaw!! Whao Nelly!!! I was in shock. I kept cutting.

One half of the bowl of the squash

The inside flesh. Very similar to a pumpkin.

seven quarts of Cushaw

Whew!!! One nasty blister and seven quarts later I was finished cubing my Cushaw. Isn't that fun to say? I love the sound of it. But I wasn't done. I still had half of a Cushaw to roast!!  Yes, this thing was a monster!!! I ended up eating about 1/4 of what I roasted and freezing the rest for soup or something like that.

This week I roasted my first batch of cubed Cushaw. I had read that some people treat it like potatoes. So I whipped up my spice blend for potatoes, mixed it all together and popped it into the oven. The result might have been better than potatoes. No lie!!! I can't wait to make more. Maybe some pie too!

Oh, and don't forget about the seeds!!! I used my same spice blend on the seeds and roasted them as one would roast pumpkin seeds. They were SO delicious! I think that they tasted even better than roasted pumpkin seeds. They are a little more crunchy. I want some more.

I might be crazy enough to buy another one if Craig shows up with more at the market. I will try not to get a blister next time!! Do you know of any unusually large or just unusual vegetables in your neck of the woods?

More Photos From Way Down South

Pretty much my own private pool. I only shared it a few times.

Yep. No one else around and the marsh is just that way.

Even at sunset, all mine!!

Part of the marina

I mean, can you beat this view?

Savannah, can't wait to see you again!!!

Way Down South

I am finally getting around to uploading some pictures of our trip to Savannah. We had a great time fishing and relaxing. A few big ones got away, the sharks made an appearance and the sunsets were gorgeous. I can't wait to get back down there!!!

A crab in the crab trap

Oops. A blowfish in the crab trap.

Dave with one of the sharks he caught and let go. It was shark week after all.

What's in Dave's tackle box?

This is where we were fishing. Gorgeous!!

A ray. One of the many things swimming out there.

Going towards the marina. I was trying to get a photo of the dolphins but they didn't cooperate.

Dave's goal was to catch dinner. Here is some whiting cooked up along with fried okra and green beans. Yum yum.

Joel with some kind of fish that I can't remember the name of

More to come!!!