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It’s that point in the summer where the heat and humidity starts to kick in even in the early morning hours. My tomato plants and peppers are thriving, the hot pink echinachea is about to bloom just as the bright yellow yarrow begins to fade. It has just been gorgeous weather here lately, but it has been too warm to really enjoy it.
The Peanut has gotten to that very active, very rambunctious age, when splashing at the pool or just getting squirted with the water hose is a hoot. But she’s been blessed — or cursed — with her momma’s pale skin, so maybe it’s time for us to consider investing in some sunscreen company stock, since we sure do use it by the bucket load. In any case, we haven’t had a lot of time to head out to the city pool lately, but I’m going to try and build that into the schedule over the next few weeks — it’s just too fun to miss.
When the weather gets this warm, all I want for dinner is some fresh produce with a little sea salt. The silver queen corn has started showing up at the local farm stand, and fresh strawberries are tempting me as well. Nothing like it, although we haven’t made it to the first fresh garden tomato just yet.
I can still remember summers when I was a kid. School was out, we played outside every chance we got from dawn until well past dusk, chasing lightning bugs and playing flashlight tag in my parents’ big back yard. We had a little pond that was just down from our house, and I can remember listening to the frogs peeping in the shallows as the sound wafted in on the warm breeze from my open window.
To this day, I sleep best to the sounds of a little rain and some peeping frogs in the distance. It’s funny how certain sounds or scents or even music or visuals take you right back to a specific memory or time frame. Peeping frogs mean comfort for me, and the clean scent of just washed sheets and Downy fabric softener that my mom used, that I could always smell as I nestled my face into my pillow.
The visual rhythm of ocean waves, lapping at the shore, the sea foam catching back and forth in the rippled sand as it bobs at the surface of the water, coupled with that rasping ocean sound of water crashing against the shore — it never ceases to amaze me how that can mean instant calm for me. For some reason, the ocean means zen in my DNA.
Sometimes, it can just mean my picking up a favorite book from when I was a kid or even from later in life. Other times, it’s a particular song or album that pulls me back from that stressful edge to my comfort zone. What is your bliss? And, better yet, why aren’t you doing that today — because you deserve it. Let’s talk summer fun, comfort and happiness this morning. It’s been a long week, and we all deserve a little breathing space. Pull up a chair…
(Glorious summer photograph via Southern By Design. Love, love, love this shot!)
PS — Bob Geiger has the Saturday cartoons up, and there are some really good ones. This morning’s fave: The WH Greased Pig Contest. Mwahahahaha. And Twolf1 sent me the link to a truly amusing Onion bit.
PPS — Happy Blogiversary to Fallenmonk!
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Mornin’ Christy, and Zed?
Good morning!
Coffee’s hot and strong, can I get anyone a mug?
woo-hoo – kayaking tonight along Gulf Coast as the moon appears in the west. And flyfishin’ in the morning.
Good morning Christy!
Today I will see my niece, who is getting married tomorrow, and then go east a couple of miles to see Lake Michigan in all its splendor.
That’s a lot of summer fun and happiness all in one day.
I guess getting outside is my relief from all the things I worry about during the week.
lot of chores to do before I go, so see y’all.
Morning all — hot coffee here this morning, freshly brewed. Life is good.
‘Morning, Christy, FirePups. Gorgeous summer morning here, after an absolutely wonderful summer evening.
Will be making strawberry jam tomorrow afternoon, heading to the farm market just down the road to get freshly picked strawberries from the plot just behind the market. (Nope, not going to pick my own this year.) They’ve just started coming in this past week, but we knew it was too early, should be optimum this week. We’ll know by the scent.
Last year we realized during strawberry season that whenever we drove by the field next to the market, we could smell the berries from inside the car. Every time we drove by on the way to the library or the store, we’d roll down the windows and slow to a crawl to inhale the scent, the kids hanging their heads out the windows like dogs.
I couldn’t smell them last week, even though I could see a few people picking. I could see plenty of green berries as I drove by. But this weekend, after one heavy rain followed by plenty of sun, the entire area should smell like heaven. Wish I could capture the scent on camera…
Morning all. Sun just coming over the horizon here on the west coast. It is clear and looks to be a beautiful day here on Humboldt bay.
Morning Christy, is it hot out in WV this morning? Nice and cool here in NoVA, but the heat is supposed to return starting tomorrow…
Morning, Christy! Morning everybody! Fresh ground coffee’s on – toasted bagels with a little herbs du provence infused olive oil drizzle, mmm, crunch – be with you in a minute….
I share your bliss when hearing the rain or the ocean. At home when it rains I take a pillow out to the screen porch and either fall asleep or gaze out in a state of deep tranquility.
Christy-you’ve got mail.
Good Morning everyone… will go peak to see if the sun is starting up yet and make the coffee…
Why is it that I can’t sleep in on the weekends?
I remember being 9 years old and standing in a field of clover under pecan trees at dusk, watching lightning bugs begin to twinkle against the edge of the woods and hearing the distant sound of a whip-poor-will. It was magic. That memory has refreshed me most of my life.
Good morning, everyone.
sorry to get back to bussiness but it is the weekend dump after all;
former aids tell bush to ignore subpoena
the president says cheney doesn’t have to follow his executtive order
and he says he doesn’t have to follow the executive order either
abu torture says he’s staying no matter what
gonna be a long saturday
mc @ 3
Coffee! Yes, thank you!
I’ve been saying this for a while;
the more they are exposed the more brazen they will become, they will hang on to their reighns of power, they don’t care
they are dismantleing our constitution and it’s REALLY scary, the more we expose the more they dismantle
and the moire apathetic Americans become to what he’s doing
this is gonna get worse, it’s not gonna get better, the more waxman and leahy expose the more helpless we become to do anything about it
it really is time the democrats realized they have to get republicans on board…they can only do that if they deal
offer uncontested elections, offer pork, offer whatever it takes…it’s time
Louden at 10 — It’s actually quite nice here this morning. But we are supposed to get the same muggy weather back again by this afternoon that y’all are getting. Funny how these little respites of cooler weather wedge themselves in here and there…love it.
perris — You are killing the Saturday morning zen vibe. *g*
Christy Hardin Smith @ 20
sorry m’lady, off to work and won’t be able to post much today
4give?
yesterday i picked up my first week’s share from the CSA. this morning i had a huge salad before coffee. hmmm fresh organic baby greens with nothing on them – the smell and taste is heaven. yum, yum, yum.
Lindy at 15 — That’s such a lovely memory. I can almost see it, too — really lovely. :)
Cats experience bliss, too — at the moment, my cat is stretched out on her favorite windowsill and soaking up the rays :-)
selise at 22 — I tried to get into a CSA this year, but they were all full — repeat folks from last year re-upped, and there was no space to add on a new share for the two that I know about in our area. If I had the gardening skills, I’d start one myself because there is clearly a market for it where we are — but, alas, my autoimmune issues would do me in if I tried. (Which is why I wanted to buy into a CSA share in the first place!) At least we have decent farmer’s market-type stands these days…
perris @ 18
They have nothing to fear. They can do whatever they want. Gonzo is never going to investigate any crime they commit. Congress needs to impeach Gonzo.
Good morning!
When I was a kid, we’d die if we couldn’t spend all day at the pool. At dusk, it was Kick the Can — to start.
And back then all sweet corn was local so we had to wait til later in the summer to eat it. But it’s never been sweeter.
Summer in AZ….. it rolls from being hot to hotter…. the so called “cold” tap water is so hot that you think you turned on the wrong faucet.
The lizards are out on the fence wall doing their pushups to stay cool and the birds are fighting for time at my water fountain. It was 111 degrees and 3% humidity. AND the pool refinish job will be completed TODAY….. yeepee Skippie, a month with that mess going on.
Growing up here, it always seemed that the summers where 6 months long. Dad used to put the old canvas and wood army cots out on the lawn under the mulberry trees and we used to sleep outside every night. I would lay there listening to the sounds of the desert, learning the stars and making wishes on the falling stars.
Went to the garden center and the co-op yesterday. Lots of flowers to plant and fresh fruits and veggies in the fridg. Think we will have a shrimp stir fry tonight.
katymine at 28 — I was in Phoenix in August one year visiting the in-laws. Every time I breathed in, I thought my lungs were melting — I don’t know how you do it.
Good morning to you all from the Jersey Shore! We are down here for my parent’s 50th anniversary party. 6 brothers and their wives, 13 grandchildren and 11 cousins. I’ll say hello to the ocean for you Christy.
Oh, by the way, gang — Cong. Hilda Solis from LA is going to be Howie’s guest today for Blue America. :)
Twisted at 31 — This is me being jealous…
O.o
Here is a picture of our local co-op. North Coast Coop Lots of great veggies there. I love going there whenever I can just to look at the beautiful displays of fruits and veggies.
The anti- Michael Moore propaganda campaign has already gone into full swing — in the “Mainstream.” Last night on the CBS Evening News Jeff Greenfield, a “Mainstream” designated liberal (ie. “I’m not really a liberal, I just play one on TV”) had a piece about the film. He went on about how certain points it made would provoke “question” — without mentioning what those questions might be and who might make them — while claiming that though many might see the film it wasn’t likely to effect the ongoing Presidential election campaign.
In other words he was talking to his Beltway masters, not the Great Unwashed (ie. Us), to reassure them that everything was OK and they need not worry.
All this a full week before Sicko reaches the general public.
They’re shitting-in-their-pants scared of this film.
Dandling #1 Grandson :)
Christy Hardin Smith @ 25 -
i feel for you… i almost didn’t get a share this year, because they were going to cut back on the number of shares offered, and i’d only started last year (with a half share). but it’s been a great growing year so far, and they got some extra help… so more shares were added.
it’s been an organic family farm for more than 20 years, with the parents active (or working for?) nofa (northeast oranic farmers association).
i am very, very lucky.
Get some farm fresh basil, two bunches maybe. Cut some small squares of feta cheese, or crumble it. All in a bowl. Quarter lengthwise a green fresh- picked zucchini, sliced crosswise paper thin. Maybe three or four handfuls of cherry tomatoes (or sweet 1,000’s). Make a small bunch of croutons out of foccacio bread. Continuing with the same bowl now, right? Olive oil, balsamic, a squeeze of lemon juice, and some red wine vinegar, all properly proportioned, and to taste. Pepper, salt. Glass of white wine. Put off reading FDL, Greenwald, TPM, and all the others,for a short while at least, and go out and catch up on … Doonesbury? Who else might one suggest here? Remember, you’re at your picnic table in the yard, or on the deck, or in the window looking out, or with the aforesaid bowl and nothing else but a fork and sitting on a rock, by the water, or the stream, watching, gazing, wondering, wishing.
SOS at 36 — Ooooooh, that sounds fun. :) How old?
Morning! I’m late getting off to the farmers market, but thought I’d take a minute to share last week’s goodies. Last of the strawberries I expect and first of the blackberries – not great but might be by this week. Smart folks at the FM say that 3 days in the 90s finishes off the strawberries, so I’m not expecting any (this week has been HOT), but they were better than I can remember – maybe a bit of silver lining in the horrendous results of our hard Easter freeze. Lost the cherry and apple crops (heartbreaker for some of those sole crop folks in the mountains), and the peaches are said to be goners, cept for a few folks in the sandhills who managed to salvage a scant few.
The other fab goodies for the last 4 weeks have been tomatoes – not field grown, but greenhouse grown by folks who know what they’re doing – picked dead ripe. We’ve had Stripeys, Cherokee Purples (the best!) and German Pinks. With wonderful bread from a local baker, and the fresh basil, things have been tasting a lot like August! I’m really looking forward to what today may bring. Black raspberries (my very favorite) are due to come in right now, and I’m hoping (well fantasizing)someone will bring some down from the hills — probably will have to take a trip myownself. They are soooo perishable because they’re soft when pickable.
Having gone on too long, I’ll grab my cooler and proceed.. after making a quick subject shift…
Christy, does Peanut have a copy of the old Childs Garden of Verses w/ illustrations by Jessie Willcox Smith? It was my absolute favorite when I was her age – think it’s the reason I learned to read. The illustrations are spectacular, and RL Stevenson is RL Stevenson!
Bye all. Have a great morning!
teedawg at 38 — Damn. Now you made me hungry. And I’d suggest a Best Of Calvin and hobbes for that sort of relaxation. :)
AH, finally a blog I can get into…new to your site…enjoy it! As a woman nearing 70 I can travel back in time to all the “comfort zones” you mentioned…especially clothesline dried laundry(and yes, the Downey adds bliss). I have to remember my children in their pool/hose days as it’s the grandkids now experiencing that wonder and they aren’t near. Our real bliss, however, comes from the blessing of living our retirement years on our 70 acres of beauty in the southern tier of NYS…just yesterday I enjoyed a quiet encounter with a green heron, a young buck, and four HUGE grass carp simultaneously…and that after feeding the goldfish in their water lily pond and spying on the oriole couple tending their pocketbook nest. Now, it nearly time for CAR TALK and WAIT, WAIT DON’T TELL ME…and it’s sunny and nearing warm…ENJOY
Every place’s weather usually have so many months of good weather and so many months of ok weather and then there are the bad months…..
Here we have 8 months of GREAT weather, 2 months of Nice weather and then those 2 months that are miserable called the monsoon season. That is part of July, August and Sept. Even natives just survive those months. I always chuckle when people come in August for the first time, it keeps the move to Phoenix population down because if you came in December when my roses were in full bloom and it was a high of 65-70 you wouldn’t think so.
Vacation in 6 days wooohoo Greece here I come!
June is my favorite month.
Maybe that’s why July 4th always seems like the beginning of the end of the summer to me.
Morning all. We had a glorious long and cool spring, then just last week or so HOT HOT HOT.
The cats like to be outside most all the time, disappearing in the afternoons where ever cats go to escape the heat.
It would be great to sleep outside at night, no need for the coolers and fans, but just not safe in the city to do that.
I grew up surrounded by mountains and canyons. We had all kinds of forts, and I remember the smell of pine needles and the grit of the old lava flows.
Summer passes, like all the seasons, so much more quickly as the years go by. Summers were so anticipated then. It is so great to slow down to watch new leaves in the garden and to wait for the plants to get big enough for the fruits to set. I love the garden season from seeds sprouting until the plants go to seed again.
David Ehrenstein @ 35
hmmm… i think i will go see it opening weekend… just to do my bit to help the numbers grow the buzz.
My small town had a really huge public pool less than a mile from my home. We would spend all day there. Lessons in morn, arts & crafts later, than swimming or (as a teen) hanging out.
It’s no longer there. The pool water was fed straight from a creek. No real filtration system. It was emptied weekly instead. Didn’t pass health/safety concerns so they shut it down.
Now, my sister and I joke that we have the new public pool. We share a pool which is in my back yard. And, I should note that between us we have 6 (now adult) children. Privacy isn’t an issue so we have a wrought iron fence. This also means that if you round the bend to look in my backyard you can see if we’re all swimming. One summer was especially cold. On the first hot day, it seemed that half the town rounded that bend saw us swimming and stopped to say hello. Which, of course, meant an invitation to join us. By the end of the day it had turned into a real party. Cars parked all over our lawns. Many pizzas delivered. A few beer runs and we were off.
Aaahh, small towns. Gotta love ‘em.
Sunny at 40 — You know, I don’t think we have a copy with those illustrations. But I’ll be sure to look for it now. :)
Off to breakfast at an old fashioned diner. Have a fantastic day doggies!
UMMMM…strawberry jam…what an inspired idea! We’re always a bit late with the strawberries here…I see that the puglets (4months old) have finished their PUG SUMO WRESTLING and NASCAR RACING around their area of the kitchen…now engaged in fighting over one of the dozens of toys they SHOULD play with…Keep the zen going…
Wow, Christy! Sounds like your West-by-God childhood had a lot of similarities to my Bluegrass childhood. Starting when I was ten (and passed the Red Cross basic swimming class – had to be able to swim across the deep end of the pool and back without assistance), I got a yearly swimming pool pass for my birthday.
My hometown had a great red cross swimming program in those days (they closed the city pool a few years ago due to liability issues and there was a leak so it was costing them too much water).
Hope those opportunities are available for the Peanut when she gets older.
Elliott @ 44
I think it’s the light, Ellie. At least it is here. The light has a white-bluish cast to it up until solstice, and after solstice it gradually acquires a softer, warmer glow. I don’t know which happens first, though; the plants begin to ripen at the same point, like the tree leaves becoming a dark green instead of a bright green, the grass drying down to a yellow.
Before I forget — I’ll be on Sam Seder’s show tomorrow (Sunday) beginning at 5 pm ET.
Rayne — all that talk about strawberry jam makes me want to make some freezer jam this week. Nummy. It’s like pulling a jar of sunshine out of the freezer in January, isn’t it?
Good morning from L.A. Bliss moments for today? I’ll be walking the dogs soon down by Venice beach- it’s overcast & low 60s so perfect for a long stroll. Have online work to finish, but by late morning bf & I will head up to Santa Barbara area to visit friends in Montecito. Hiking in the foothills & swim time w/our pals says “summer” to me.
I’ll make sure to read Blue America when we get back- L.A. homegirl Hilda Solis is a great choice for a chat…
Christy Hardin Smith @ 54
what’s freezer jam?
Elliott @ 44
Mine as well (though the birthday may have had something to do with that). I always loved the May/June time frame growing up. Most of the violent storms of early spring were past. The super sticky hot and humid days of late July and August were still to come and all the trees and the grass were all the deep green, vibrant and ALIVE. That’s a lot of why I loved my time in Hawaii so much as it reminded me of the late spring times back home almost year round.
Buenas dias, perritos. I sure did oversleep this morning.
Pardon our manners, Dancer… we’re all just now getting our coffee/tea. Welcome to the Lake!!
Good Morning everyone. Already back from the farmer’s market. Lots of early tomatoes here in Georgia and the cantaloupe are here too. Raspberries and blackberries galore. The yellow squash, cukes and zucchini are taking over. Going to be fresh green beans, squash, new potatoes for dinner tonight and for dessert fresh blackberry cobbler. You know it is really summer here in the south when you have your first blackberry cobbler.
I can still remember the summers in W.Va with my grandparents and the excitement of the first expedition to pick blackberries. The warnings of snakes and black bears along with poison oak and ivy. Hours in the hot sun and scratchy vines and finally reaching that point where you had eaten all you could hold but were still looking forward to that cobbler for dinner. We would pick gallons and gallons which were destined for canning as pie filling and jams. Later in the cold of winter you could still taste the summer as you spread those preserves on your toast.
My bliss as a kid was sleeping in the back yard in a tent of sheets hung from the clothesline. No musty canvas odor, just the mingled scents of Clorox, Lavender Sachet (my mom’s fabric softener of choice) and that sunshine-y smell from line-drying.
As a grown-up, it’s falling asleep with a good book, in a thoroughly cleaned house – with freshly washed sheets that smell of Clorox and sunshine – and knowing I can sleep in.
S.O.S. from MA @ 36
Hey SOS! Haven’t “seen” you in awhile! How’s Z enjoying his books?
Good morning, all…my grandmother used to live in upstate New York, and the fireflies and crickets were the ultimate summer audio-visual feast.
She is long gone, but whenever I am nearby, I try to swing by the area, which is, outside of town, largely unchanged.
My literary zen place is The Essays of E.B. White – such a solid, elegant, comforting writer.
Been a crazy week, but a good friend is getting married today and a pool party tomorrow, so that should perk me up…
Rayne @ 52
I never thought of it that way!
But it’s still June! Still good sleepin’ weather.
Selise at 56 — Here’s a quick recipe for Strawberry Freezer Jam.
Dancer @ 42
Howdy and welcome from across the border in the Northern Tier of PA!
Morning All!
Cool in the high Colorado Plateau this morning but it will get up in the 90’s today. Heading up to a Kachina ceremony this morning at the First Mesa village of Sichmovi. Corn Kachinas are dancing. Great view from there as it is about 600 feet above the valley floor.
My own corn has been up but it is a long way from tasseling. We do have a couple of small green tomatos on the plants and a few strawberries too.
Christy Hardin Smith @ 64
that looks like fun, thank you!
Mutant Poodle @ 62
I just, all these years later, parted with my mother’s copy of Katharine White’s Onward and Upward in the Garden. My mom like both E.B. and Katharine.
morning, all! coffee here on the West coast… just got back from a few days in the mountains… love the smell of pine trees in the heat of the afternoon…
via watertiger – more hilarity (starting to look like the keystone kops) regarding who is exempt from oversight on classified materials. (LA Times)
seems the shrub doesn’t need to follow his own orders either!
I was born in Kansas and damn near froze in the winters and baked in the summers. When I was eight, my family moved to the California bay area, in San Pablo, which was a small town at the time. I remember the first Christmas there, with a short sleeved shirt, and the sun shining and palm trees everywhere. I was in heaven. At that time, the north bay area was a bunch of small towns connected by a two lane road, and there were eucalyptus trees and buckeye trees and green rolling hills and the sea-salt smell of San Pablo bay. Later, I moved to Humboldt county and the big redwood trees and I remember swimming in the rivers and looking up at the giant redwoods and the feeling of being in a cathedral.
The thing I yearn for from the summers of my youth is the rich fullness of time. I swear the earth rotated more slowly on its axis in those seemingly endless halcyon days.
Thanks Christy! Have a great weekend and I’ll save some cobbler for you and the Peanut. You want a little fresh whipped cream with it or just some vanilla ice cream? Careful it’s hot!
egregious @ 5
We do the same thing, we’re a few blocks from the Lake now, so its off to swim or fish when the kids get tired of being around the house. That’s what makes WI great :) Now, if we could get some rain around here…
As an Airforce brat We moved a lot, but two places as a boy stand out: my earliest memories were of Montana summer mornings in Glacier Nation park, the smell of bacon and pines in the sweet mountain air. The second was in Bermuda, starting out early in the morning hiking from St. George to the harbor in Hamilton to listen to steel drum bands play and watch the ships in the harbor. Now I live on a fossil coast and go for walks when my body allows in the early evenings and watch the fireflys at play.
Christy, did you see this from today’s Boston Globe? Nursing mother, with PhD going for MD, denied a little extra accomodation for breast feeding during 9 hour exam.
There’s something about the sound and smell of the great lakes that is my zen. When i go home to visit my parents, i always sleep soundly there. Their house is about 1/2 a mile from the shore of Lake Huron. So i’m in prime audio area to hear it on most days, and particularly at night for doppler effect days. It always calms me because that means ‘home’.
I live about 20 miles from Lake Michigan currently in Grand Rapids, MI. I miss the sound of the lake at night, and if i gas wasn’t so much of a problem right now i’d take a drive. Then again, i can always get a train ride to Grand Haven, now that i think about it…
Got to get in on this. We’re having a real English summer here near the Glastonbury Festival. That is, on and off it’s raining. Lovely and green here though, birds singing their little hearts out, cat trying to put them off by eating them, but she’s getting too old for that.
Christy mentioned sunscreen. I fried, burned, and peeled every summer; but I don’t really have bad memories of that, guess all the fun, the care free fun, we had blotted that out.
.
.
I just make-up where I put commas and semicolons
It’s incredibly humid here in the Ozarks since we had soaking rain yesterday afternoon and this mornings cool white mist rising off the river details its snaky path through the mountains for over twenty five miles out my back door.
This is the end of the third month running this year in my losing battle with the lady cardinal who loves to wake me up in the morning by fighting her reflection in my bedroom window who has now taught her baby or a close girlfriend to fight her reflection in another window.. The only thing I can do is get up, sneak over to the window, and scare the dickens out of the birds with a yell and fast light banging on the glass.
Is this an abusive relationship? Am I codependent because on the rare days the birds don’t show up for a fight, I wake up missing them? What does it say about me that I now laugh after I get a good scary yell at the birds first thing in the morning? In my own defense I tell myself it’s better to laugh than get angry about a rude daily awakening which is out of my control.
Welcome to my chair… As I type a crow is arguing with a roadrunner just twenty yards away…and Jessie Yazzoo the cat, loves every minute of it.
Due to the latest super hard Spring freeze any old timer around here can remember, we have no strawberries or blueberries this year, none. And I am about to admit to myself I lost a giant mimosa tree in my yard.
I think I could live off of solar powered electricity alone If I could just take AC off the table and convert my refrigeration to propane. But the heat and humidity make even a nights sleep in the hammock on my screened in porch uninviting… so for now the porch and gas grill set up handles as much cooking as I can come up with in order to keep out of the kitchen.. and morning coffee never tastes better than when prepared and sipped outside on summer mornings.
In the southern tier of NYS it is cool and beautiful this am~I will go out to mow shortly. I came home from work last eve atmidnightand loked out my balcony at the stars and the pond and the land and was so grateful~even as these idiots bring back feudal society and the dark ages~life is still good.
hugs to al- think I will take my strawberies and do some jam also!
Well my immediate bliss is a peanut butter and jelly donut from the local bakery. They take a great jelly donut, add peanut butter icing, and it takes to a whole new level.
Gardening is my bliss. Every year welcoming back my old friends, the perennials, and trying new plants and configurations with the annuals. It becomes a subject matter for me to photograph.
Today for example, I’ll be admiring the first gardenia bloom. Such an exisite flower. The white of a gardenia is so rich, and the fragrance is a delight. Mother Nature is the defining artist with her creations.
Noonan @ 73
No rain? Wow, sure looked like you folks were going to get some last night; looked like the jetstream has drawn a line over Lake Michigan to keep us from getting any on the Michigan side. Jetstream must have pushed southwest again.
Wish it would keep the 90-plus degrees away come Monday and Tuesday, but I don’t think our luck will hold out that long. Puts the pressure on us to get the strawberries in the next 48 hours.
Christy — thanks for posting the freezer jam recipe. I generally make one batch of freezer, and then several batches of canned jam. Much easier to do canned now that I use the inverted jar method for sealing with jams/jellies (no hot water bath, very fast). While the freezer jams do taste just like a mouthful of summer, they use so much more sugar than canned — not good with a diabetic in the house (and he would sit down and eat a whole container in a sitting). I hide the freezer jam at the bottom of the freezer until we have guests or until most of the canned has been used up, just to keep DH in check. ;-)
I remember picking WILD strawberries in early July with my mom in the Upper Peninsula every summer; what a bugger!! The berries are small, frais de bois, although they are packed with intense flavor to make up for their puny size. They were scattered across the field, not all in one area for convenience sake; I have the sneaking suspicion my mom reveled in having us chase them for her since we were more nimble and closer to the ground. I can’t imagine an adult picking enough inside an hour for a batch of jam. But the jam. Ah. There is nothing like it, no words to describe it. Breathtaking, sunshine and mossy glen and wood thrush calls packed in a jar.
perris @ 21
Morning Christy. Glad you’re having a good one.
Morning Perris. Absolutely nothing for you to apologize for. Keep preachin’. One day, maybe folks’ll wake up, hopefully ‘fore it’s too late.
Celebrated our son’s 5th birthday at Hershey Park yesterday and will spend the day today at the Celtic Fling festival at the Renaissance Faire (my husband is playing all day for the dancers). Picture perfect weather here in the middle of PA. Cool at night, upper 70s in the day with a nice breeze. Hoping to pass through some farm stands on the way home on Sunday.
any recommended recipies for canned strawbery jam?
[…scheming about a drive to the Upper Peninsula next weekend, to make the kids pick wild strawberries…]
So many trips down childhood memory lane on this thread- thanks to all for sharing.
Growing up in the wilds of NW Maine, the onset of summer usually meant a lot more chores (you kids are off school now, so time to clean out the attic/cellar/sheds). Remembered good times: sleeping in a kid pile on the back porch to avoid stifling humidity inside, then getting up w/the cooler air @ dawn to take an early walk down dirt roads glittering w/mica. Blueberry picking & of course eating them from the pails, getting pushed accidentally into a blackberry bramble so thick my legs still bear some scars (well, good time might not actually describe that last one). Dragonflies, fireflies, learning how to make strawberry rhubarb pie from my aunt Jeanne who grew enough of same in her back yard to feed an army…all wonderful memories of summer.
Rayne at 82 – I have a recipe for a lower sugar version of the strawberry freezer jam. Maybe this would work for your diabetic one?
Rayne @ 86
707!
Bliss is enjoying the beautiful writing from a lot of you pups here this morning. Thanks all :-)
My favorite strawberry jam recipe calls for a quart of strawberries, two cups of sugar and a squeeze of lemon. No pectin necessary — just mash the berries, add sugar and boil to 220 degrees. It makes a good jarful and keeps beautifully in the refrigerator for as long as it lasts….
Marie Roget @ 87
I attended a military HS/boarding school where my mother was librarian. Anytime I had a weekend leave at home (same schedule as all the rest of the cadets), she would start as we were leaving campus with “a couple of things I need for you to do this weekend.” The fifteen miles was pretty much back country roads and took half hour or so and she would still be listing things when we pulled into the hometown.
What usually wound up happening is I would go downtown on Saturday morning and stop in the men’s clothing store I worked at periodically over the years where they would put me to work for the day.
But she never stopped giving me those lists on every drive home.
I have to share this one with everyone. We are taking The Peanut to Disney World in December — this is going to be our big family vacation trip and Christmas present rolled into one. We let her pick what she wanted to do and she wanted a princess trip — so, that’s what we are going to do. Anyway, I’ve been looking for a princess outfit to take with us — because I booked a character meal with lots of princesses for her — and I found this gorgeous dress this morning and ordered it. Isn’t that lovely? (I know, momma gushing, but she is going to be so pretty in this, I just can’t help it.)
I love Saturday mornings at the Lake.
Late again, late again. It’s going to be a hot day here south of Tucson, so I must fly out to the barn to work with my horses. There’s some morning bliss for you!
It is hot here in the summer, but it’s so dry (till the monsoons start) that the heat is like being in a sauna — very cleansing and invigorating. And the nights are so soft and joyful.
Once the rains start, it’s a lot cooler.
Christy Hardin Smith @ 93
I can just picture it with flowing curly red hair — take lots of pictures!
Eureka Springs, I’ll trade you the rooster next door for your two cardinals
ruffian — I don’t think you can go wrong if you follow the instructions for strawberry jam included in a box of Certo (my personal favorite in pectins). Never had a bad batch.
I cannot recommend the recipe from Martha Stewart magazine, I am sorry to say; it uses no pectin, is more like candying strawberries, requires long cooking time which changes the flavor of the jam. Try this site if you haven’t made jam before, looks pretty thorough — but I recommend following the recipe included with pectin or the Ball Blue Book.
My best friend adds a small amount of lavender blossoms to her strawberry jam after it has started to foam during cooking. Yum. She’s also tried thyme, which is also quite good, but I prefer the lavender. Being very brave she’s also experimented with jalapenos; it’s a nice condiment served with a cheese plate, but I’d rather have pepper jelly in this case.
Christy — thanks for the recipe, I see it’s from the Michigan State University extension office. I might call them on Monday if I can hold off on the freezer jam. They call for “liquid” sweetener; is that Sucaryl? I wonder if they have a recipe that calls for Splenda [tm] which very little if any after taste. Will let you know what I find out. (The Splenda site has cooked jam recipes, just won’t be the same, eh?)
I love working in my yearly garden. Okra, anyone?
Christy_93
Whose eyes will be wider with wonder, Peanuts or yours and Mr. Redd from watching her?
I lived thirty five years before I met anyone who called these anything other than pink droops or just wildflowers. Right now I must have three or four hundred blooming in my yard and yet I cannot help but fill a vase for indoor eye candy every week.
Elliott @ 96
Deal. (thinking BBQ)
Wild red plum jelly, coming soon.
Speaking of lightning bugs, I know what they are. I grew up in Oklahoma. I moved to California the day after college graduation. (CA is in MY DNA, I guess.) Anyway, when my children were young, we were in OKLA, visiting the grandparents, and they saw the lightning bugs at night. They were half-scared, saying, “What are THOSE?” It is amazing what you see through your children’s eyes. They had no clue what lightning bugs were. (We don’t have them in California.) It is amazing what you forget …..
Silver Queen rules!
This summer our schedule is all messed up.
Our daughter has a three month old she doesn’t want in daycare yet, so she “works at home” Mondays, we drive down Monday evening and stay with him thru Thursday evening, and my son-in-law “works-from-home” on Fridays to cover the baby duties.
That leaves my wife working here at the University half-time …Monday and Friday plus too many calls in between. I get Friday morning thru Monday evening to get everything done I used to do in a week (and can’t do on the phone) plus our weekend regiment of tasks and social stuff.
This has been going on for five weeks and will continue for five more and then solid grandson time as we all (plus other children and grandchildren)go to RI for two weeks at the beach.
We never know what day it is.
Anyway, the little guy is terrific!
This is the summer of our grandson.
For those folks looking for good canning and freezing recipes, this book from Ball is one of my all-time favorites. Also, take a peek at this one and this one. (Yes, I am a canning cookbook junkie, why do you ask? *g*)
Shell @ 103
Ah… sweet Oklahoma and fire flys. ;0)
Eureka Springs @ 101
In that case (thinking BBQ), I’ll throw in her two ducks.
Good morning all.
Christy, we are also a very pale family. My son greatly resists sunscreen and always has. So now, every year I buy him a swim shirt that covers his whole torso and shoulders, leaving much less of him to sunscreen up. I believe that they have full length suits for little ones like your peanut.
Speaking of add lavender to something, I made a mixture of pure lamp oil and lavender essential oil this week.
It smells quite nice and the bugs don’t like it.
I don’t have an exact ratio to share however.
Morning, all.
Still early here in SoCal. Clouds haven’t burned off yet, so it’s overcast and cool. This is a one-day weekend for me; flying to Toronto tomorrow for a meeting on Monday morning. So the chore list is already in play. First item of business is already complete, new wireless network is up and running.
The town I grew up in had a huge municipal recreation complex in the center of town: pool, basketball courts, soccer fields across the street, baseball diamonds a block away. When I was in junior high, my friends and I were there before the lifeguards most mornings, playing half-court 3-on-3. The games became full-court 5-on-5 around 10:00, and stayed that way until late afternoon when people who had organized summer league games in the evening would start to drift away. Sometimes in the afternoon, the guys who played soccer would go across the street to kick a ball around while the guys who played football would go off to do whatever guys who played football did (hit on cheerleaders?).
Those were good times …
Enough reminiscing — off to Del Taco for a steak and egg burrito.
Dancer @42……..My parents raised eleven of us on the deep, blue and mostly cold waters of Lake Erie just on the NY/PA state line in Chautauqua County.
We had an apple orchard to right of us and a long, rolling wild-meadow of a lawn with Queen Anne’s Lace, butter cups, and wild strawberries!!!!
Growing up there was heaven IN THE SUMMER……….not so much in the winter. Now, I’m on the Gulf of Mexico with six miles of beautiful(still fairly clean and quiet) white, sandy beach.
I have lots of family still on The Great One, as I like to call it, and go back each summer.
Even though I’ve commented often here, no one has ever said welcome, so let me say a warm welcome to you!!!
Millineryman at 93 — Well, I think we will get the better end of that deal, although I’m certain she’s going to love it. At four, it is all things princess and imagination for her these days — we make a lot of blanket tents and pretend they are castles. At the moment, she’s wearing her dinosaur costume (of lucky verdict day fame) and we are watching some Pooh Bear. Life is good. :)
Shell @ 103
Heh. Too funny. Little balls of lightning.
We never had them in Michigan as a kid; I lived in OH until I was 11 years old, remember how thick the evening would be with lightning bugs. We’d catch jars and jars of them, which at night seemed magical, but in the morning was really rather wretched, all those bug carcasses …
But the climate must have changed because we have them in Michigan now, even as far as the Upper Peninsula, although thin in number compared to what I remember in OH. I should ask some of my northern adult friends what they think of them since they wouldn’t have caught them as children. Perhaps they don’t even know they’ve made it this far north; they don’t emerge until after dark, and in middle and northern Michigan, twilight this time of year can last until midnight, especially on the great lakes. I didn’t see the first fireflies last night until well after eleven — and my kids didn’t see them at all because they couldn’t keep their eyes open that long. Poor things, they tried to stay up just to see them, too.
brokenarrow @ 111
Good to meet you!
Since we’re talking about canning, I have a question that’s OT. My 89yr old aunt w/ a 97yr old husband have about 100 of those old style canning jars that they no longer use. I’ve been told that they’re worth selling. True? As you can imagine, they could use the money.
Christy Hardin Smith @ 113
Ah yes, the great thing about being a kid, you can lounge around wearing a dinosaur costume and no one bats an eye. I hope you all have a great trip.
My favorite lightning bug catching memory.. Hot July evenings at Aunt Trill and Uncle Boss’s back yard, under a blooming mimosa tree, just after sunset.. We filled jar after jar, only to release them a hour or so later and come back the next evening to do it all over.
solai @ 116
Very true. I have a friend who buys them on eBay. Perhaps we can get the two of you together?
Shell @ 103
Similar story here when my California brother-in-law first came east. He kept looking around and then looking at us, then looking around. He couldn’t understand why we weren’t noticing all those freaky little flashes of light. He thought he was hallucinating.
Rayne at 114 — never thought about it but your observation is right on about the lightning bugs in MI. I don’t remember them from the fifties or early sixties. First recall seeing them in the early seventies.
1,556DAYZ AND THE KILLIN’ GOEZ ON AND ON AND..
Citizen Hardin Smith and the Firepup Patriots:
This is the time a year when us folks in the heartland a democracy and anus a progress, the great upper Midwest of Wisconsin and Minnesota, really get up close and personal with the climate change that’s stalkin’ us. We have been in a drought for over 5 years and many of the markers like ground water levels, soil temperature and erosion factors match up pretty well with the heart of the Dust Bowl period of the 30’s.
It’s heart breakin’ ta see the effects of this thermal blanket especially on the waterlife and water quality. The forests (what’s left of ‘em) are like kindlin’ wood waitin’ for a spark. The weather patterns as it pertains to rainfall remind me of the high desert of New Mexico and parts a Colorado and Arizona. The great cumulus clouds some of ‘em up ta 10-12,000 feet come rushin’ over the land but the upper atmosphere is too warm for the moisture to condense so they rumble and flash past us until they hit the cool ground air of the Great Lake, then they dump their life givin rain into the lake. It’s much like in New Mexico when the big cumulus clouds rush across the high desert and up the Sandia Mountains until the air gets cool enough ta rain.
The berry crops are still OK since we don’t need a lotta rain for the blueberries and blackberries but the last few years our family has lost a bunch of Azaleas and small apple trees.
I hope this early summer finds you folks closer ta spring than the dog days like around here…anyone who says that the politics of corporate capitalism is healthy for children and other livin’ things hasn’t been in our neck a the woods these last few years.
KEEP THE FAITH AND TAKE CARE OF EACH OTHER, WE’RE GUNNA HAVE A LOT A WORK TA DO TA GET OUTTA THIS ONE!!
Elliott @ 120
[chuckling] Maybe that’s why some of my adult friends here in MI haven’t mentioned seeing them. Too afraid they might tip off others that they were having bad flashbacks from many moons ago.
Wheat’s in and the cotton and Sudan has been planted on our ranches.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IQ9-F_eguoE
Rayne @ 123
that’s too funny!
Rayne @ 114
Sorry for the bummer here, but I’ve understood and read that the lightening bug populations are thinner everywhere than they used to be. I remember them being everywhere in the summers when I was growing up and going to sleep with a jar of blinking lights next to my head some nights.
My old foster dogs take me on all sorts of urban exploration and archeological tours. The day that we walked to the outdoor seal exhibit and a seal and a spaniel recognized each other by their limpid, loving round brown eyes was magical! Tail wags, waves and lots of staring and blinking brought a crowd of seals, a crowd of human bean visitors, and kept the interspecies language sharing going for a long time! That was blissful…
As for princesses, Princess Peanut and her magical gown will cast spells of their own! The ReddHeads are in store for a lifetime of memories from the trip – how exciting is the anticipation, alone! (smiling just thinking about it)
And canning – I learned from the Ball book, too Christy — all of my supplies were bought at Lehman’s Hardware in Ohio Amish country – asked and was taught how to do it by several Amish women with the produce purchased from their farms. Yum. Performance art that you eat!
you know what my bliss is, Christy? it’s right here at the lake. I get the same feeling that you describe of a familiar book once read as soon as I see your name on a new post. same with Jane. btw, today is the 4th anniversary of Scooter and JudyJudyJudy’s little tete a tete about Valerie. How do I know that, you ask? Cuz it’s my birthday!
dakine01 @ 126
My son and his best friend filled a jar 2 or 3 x in an hour one night last month. Central Texas.
Then poked holes in the top and the fireflies just flew through the wholes.
TexB @ 119
I’m a little afraid to ship them.
Happy Birthday Tired Fed! Doing something fun?
Welcome brokenarrow and Happy Birthday TiredFed!
Ooooh, the male cardinal just nabbed some sort of caterpiller and has brought it up to the female on our feeder as a treat. I swear, they are the smoochiest cardinal pair that I have ever seen.
Happy birthday, TiredFed! It’s a beautiful day for a celebration :-)
(mine is on Tuesday ;-) )
TexB @ 129
That’s hysterical! All that work running around in the warm, sticky night air, and the fireflies win.
I think I’ll not tell the kids how big to make the holes in their lightning bug jars — if they ever stay up late enough to catch them. Let’s see if the same thing happens.
TiredFed @ 128
Happy Birthday to you! Here’s a wee giftee to print and use.
mc @ 3
Yes, please! Thanks! I need to get motivated to make myself some brekkie.
From Christy’s Onion link:
Exactly.
Christy, I hear ya on the ocean waves. The best sleep my spouse ever had was at the Best Western in Grand Marais up on the North Shore of Lake Superior (which really is an inland freshwater sea), with Canada not far off. All the rooms face the lake, which is right outside the windows. The lapping of the waves sends him right to sleep.
We always took our jars of lightning bugs to bed with us, they’d be our nightlights.
We killed many a lightning bug, but we didn’t mean to, we always put grass in the bottom of the jar so they’d feel at home and have something to eat, and we’d punch holes in the lid so they could have fresh air, too.
Happy Birthday, TiredFed!
It’s pleasantly warm here in piedmont NC but not as hot as it’s been. At least until Monday when it shoots back up to 95. This morning I’ve been pulling weeds and trimming the hedges. My reward will be to spend the afternoon under an umbrella at the neighborhood pool with a good book, eating a hot dog and crispy golden fries from the concession stand. Hearing the little kids laugh and splash and squeal while the diving board CLUNKS when teenagers spring off it to do “can openers.”
Christy, It certainly is a joy to see you happy on a Saturday morning. What a mountain of work you put behind you this week! And with all that work, you still kept the tone of FDL the friendliest of all the blogs. That is quite an amazing accomplishment.
Thanks much.
Ah yes, the great thing about being a kid, you can lounge around wearing a dinosaur costume and no one bats an eye. I hope you all have a great trip.
And that is one reason why those of us with no kids live in New Orleans…
Sadly our tomato season is about over.(gaspacho was perfect, Christy – many thanks. )
And the cold tomato soup with avocado and cream a friend made was to die for.
Rayne @ 135
They’re old enough now that they just laughed through the whole process along with the rest of us.
Speaking of red heads in sweet outfits, as a boy in CT I went to my friend’s beach house on “The Sound” frequently. She had very fair skin and got painful burns with blisters and fever from even slight exposure.
As kids (from age 5 up)we wanted to run and play so my mother, Carolyn’s mom and grandmom sewed many long legged outfits with stockings and long sleeved blouses and gloves and hats and parasoles of matching materials. Without the parasole, Carolyn could beat me in a foot race. She swam (waded) in the ocean with her parasoles and “total cover” outfits.
She was the first girl I kissed and the prettiest woman I ever met.
We were as close as any brother and sister all thru school years. Everyone supposed we would marry, but she went to VA and I went west and that was that. She is a judge today. We exchange birthday cards.
lb0313 @ 142
Cold tomato soup with avocado and cream? Do you have the recipe? Sounds good with crusty french bread and dipping oil, yum.
behindthefall at 141 — Just wait, there’s analysis of the Walton memorandum opinion coming up at some point today and I’m hoping to get time to dig in on the government’s opposition memo to defense appeal filing at some point. Lots of quality highlighter time…but first, cartoons with The Peanut. :) I love Saturday mornings.
solai @ 130
it would be worth your while to pick up a reference book at the book store or the library or even look around the toobZ. There are some old canning jars that are worth a whole lot more than others are.
TexB @ 143
Mine are nine and thirteen years old; I suspect the older one will laugh, the younger one will whine a bit then laugh it off.
Need to put bug catching nets on my list; we’re moving the last things from our old house this week as we just sold it, the bug nets are still in the garden shed. Maybe they will be more fun to use on fireflies than they were on cabbage moths…when they were smaller, I sent them out on cabbage moth detail every morning. Never really worked — no moths, and not much cabbage later in the season.
LoudounLib @ 10
aw. say it aint so (about the heat coming back manana). dang. I was just getting used to this marvelous weather (Baltimore).
TiredFed @ 128
Happy Birthday, TF!
Phoenix Woman @ 138
In the USAF in Hawaii, I won an award for outstanding Airman that included three days at a cottage at Bellows AFS, a recreation area on the windward side of Oahu (boy did I have them fooled!). Because it was an award, I got the cottage that was RIGHT THERE on the edge of the ocean. For three nights and three mornings I went to sleep and woke up to the sound of the ocean and waves softly breaking ten yards from my head. I don’t think I have ever slept better as an adult.
We’re getting fireflies now as far north as central Minnesota; the lakes around St. Cloud have them on spring and aummer nights.
Phoenix Woman – Trips to Grand Marais were always on the schedule for my family when I was young. Up just past Silver Bay was an old resort with a great restaurant right on the highway. then you would go down this old steep road to a series of cabins that were rustic, charming and each with its own personality. One could then climb all over the rocks or sit and collect stones from the ‘beach.’
Wonderful memories. thanks for the reminder. I went back years ago and some of the cabins were still there, but it has been developed as a private resort I think. The restaurant is gone.
I spent most of my youth on the back of a horse. Riding in the summer morning through fields that seem alive with birds and animals. the horse did not seem to scare any of the critters off, as a walking human would. Wonderful. Pack a sandwich and away I went.
For those in my family and others serving in Iraq and elsewhere.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v…..mp;search=
Elliott @ 147
Good idea. They’ve long outlived their savings. And since they have no children, we nieces and nephews are doing all we can to help them. I’d love to get them some money for something they never use.
My bliss is getting my hands in the dirt and making things grow. I’ve been working in the garden/yard since 7:30 this morning, trying to beat the heat. It’s now 10 AM and 80 degrees in the shade of my porch. The heat is winning.
This afternoon I’ve got to go pick up bait for my Japanese beetle traps. Dad says “Dust everything with Sevin, or spray it with malathion”. Somehow I don’t think he quite gets the concept of organic gardening.
We bathed the dog yesterday morning, but by last night she’d found the mudhole that used to be the deep part of our creek – wish I’d taken pictures while there was still something white on her besides the tip of her tail!
The local churches are meeting this afternoon in town to pray for rain. The farmers are really suffering this year. My dad’s in Alabama, and has city water, but uses a well to water his gardens – and for the first time ever, it’s getting muddy. The wells around here are going dry. Thank goodness we’re on county water now.
Somebody do a raindance, PLEASE! Tennessee and Alabama are growing brown and crunchy…
KestrelBrighteyes @ 156
Please take our rain. We’ve had enough and we’re still under flash flood warnings for the weekend.
lightning bugs
YES!
i’ve been experimenting with playing music and watching lightning bugs blink for a while now……..since there are different kinds of lightning bugs, they blink at a different rate…..smithsonian had a great article about them a year or two ago.
how i discovered it-one night when i lived in the middle of nowhere with a meadow and woods, the who’s baba o’reilly was on the boombox on the deck…the electronic parts of the music went with the bugs so well i was overwhelmed……that’s what started my experimentation with them…so i’ve been playing different kinds of music to them….every kind you can imagine….only group that hasn’t matched so far is crowded house-they have too many rhythms going on, is cacophany with the bugs…
my house is backed up into trees on a hill, so the deck in back is in the treetops, gives way into woods and a ravine………and have a big open space lined with trees along the driveway, where they are everywhere……so i get a lot of them.
is one of my favorite things to do, it is magical, like they are playing and going along playing with the music.
if i ever live somewhere with no lightning bugs, i would take vacation just to see them……
please try it, the first time i realized the bugs were blinkin to the music, i laughed in wonder like a child, been playing with it ever since……can use a walkman if your stereo doesn’t reach, or if you go to a park to try it.
This line from the Springsteen song “No Surrender” Takes me back to the summers of my youth immediately “I can hear your sisters voice calling us home across the open yards” Those memories are so fond. Thanks Christy
Will do. We were getting that way, too. Some people here have well water and were beginning to get concerned. But, the rains came and things are better.
Oklahoma kiddo @ 99
Hey! I’ll trade some bok choy for yer okra. Never got the okra in this year, but… funniest thing happenin’ here this year….
Last year, we had a horrible time getting any choy do do more than just shoot up like a skyrocket & go to seed. Finally got tired of fighting them, so some just went to seed.
This spring, we tilled, then planted our usuals, but didn’t bother with the choy, or so we thot. Now we find an absolute bumper crop, and eat choy, cooked & raw, with every meal – from “volunteers” sprouting all over from last year’s seed. And this year, despite our current, near-serious drought, it’s growing like crazy!
Next year we might just “plan” to ignore them again. Aint nature wunnerful?!
Xtra bonus: i’ve been spreading milkweeds & such all over edges of our property. LOTS of monarchs, red admirals (wow! they’re pretty!), & many other beauties fluttering by as i, ahem, tend the choy & its compatriots…
and, yes, our friendly bluebird & the mrs. yet again have a family growing in the nestbox just 6′ from the garden’s edge, so i’m serenaded as i weed ‘n tend. ;->
[cheneywho???, at least for awhile, *sigh*]
Oh yay! People who do canning. I have a ?
What is the diff between a pressure cooker and a pressure canner? Are they interchangable,or do you need a true pressure canner for stuff like green beans?
Trying to find people who know about this stuff is difficult here(I’m in metro Atlanta hooty tooty suburbia)and with grandma gone I don’t have anyone to ask about this. I don’t want to rely on childhood memory alone. I swear grandma had a big pressure cooker she used for canning too,but I could be wrong.Help!,lol.
Morning pups. I thought, for the longest time, that fireflies were unique to Northern Mississippi. Summers. Learned to eat Southern cooking and to make peach ice cream.
Us “Californinos” missed a lot.
MMMM strawberries. We were in Tarrason, France a couple of years ago in early June, and went to the market to get lunch. There were four kinds of strawberries, each with its own taste and fragrance. My favorite were the lavender….
Coleman used to make an actual firefly lantern that looks like a regular Coleman lantern. Someone got my son one when he was younger,it’s cute.
Christy Hardin Smith @ 147
Looking fwd to the Walton analysis. Thanks Christy.
YES. Enjoy those Peanutmoments. Neither of you will ever forget. Our “peanuts” are in their 30’s now, & best friends w/ us & eachother… time well spent… and still reaping the joys… ;->
dmac @ 159
cool!
Christy Hardin Smith @ 41
potential choking and/or spewing hazard. (we used to call my son “Calvin” when he was little. loved that little guy.)
Summer of 67. This eight year old felt that nothing was as sweet as holding his dad’s hand, while we rushed in the subway, to get to Man and his World. That 67 world’s fair brought the world to Montreal, I played with russians, Senegalese, Youguslavian, Mexican… and the laughs were all the same. I’m about to head out for a walk on the mountain, isolate myself from the cars, and read a good book. Have a good day.
OK Kiddo: My grandfather was a Kansas farmer, and he used to raise what he called “kafir corn.” I think he raised it for silage, but he used to harvest some of the seed and pop it so it made miniature popcorn. Do you know what that was?
GrandmaJ @ 153
Try Cascade Lodge sometime — it’s halfway between Lutsen and Grand Marais and has lovely hiking trails. Plus, they just got wi-fi in the main lodge, but which you can pick up in the nearest cabins, so you have something to do on a rainy day.
That must have been heaven. :-)
Adie…
;0)
This is OT but did you all get a donation request from James Carville? I was actually waiting for an email with his name so I could send a nasty reply. Only problem is I don’t know if replies go through.
Yesterday, I saw a painted bunting and two huge bucks hanging around my horses with spectacular racks. The horses were freaked out by the racks! This morning, I saw one of the bucks again. Just spectacular. I just hope people leave them be.
solai @ 173
I hit the delete button very quickly on that one.
sofistic @ 171
It’s feed for farm animals. Processed through fermenting, done in a silo. ;0)
Sure wish I could send some rain to you folks in AL, TN, GA area! Mr. Doodle is mowing as fast as he can to the beat the showers coming up from the south. It’s been so soggy, we’ve got mushrooms all over the yard (North Austin, hi TexB!) And the Statesman shows rain all week. I’m starting to get webbed toes…
anangryoldbroad @ 162
Your grandma likely had a pressure canner, which is a monster-sized pressure cooker designed to accommodate quart jars. Pressure cookers are typically much smaller, will not have a rack to keep jars separate, and generally do not have a pressure gauge on them. Pressure canning requires very specific measurements of pressure over time to ensure that low acid foods (like green beans) are cooked through thoroughly to kill bacteria, hence the need for a gauge.
For the last few months I’ve donated to John Edwards only. Bought a couple of his ’support the troops…end the war’ t-shirts etc. I know I’ll have to broaden my donating eventually but for now….no.
David Ehrenstein @ 35
Well, they’re right in that Sicko won’t affect the presidential elections in terms of which party wins: We already know it’s going to be a Democrat. The big question is whether Sicko helps boost Edwards over Obama and HRC.
wangdangdoodle @ 178
Where in North Austin? Can you email me through facebook? If not, my gmail acct is supermom413
TiredFed
Happy Birthday!
Hope it’s a good one.
OK Kiddo: I know what silage is, but I don’t know what kafir corn is. Is it related to corn? And is it used for anything other than animal feed?
You want to talk courage? Michael Moore is truly courageous.
Fresh thread, gang, Phoenix Woman slapping Smilin’ Tim.
anangryoldbroad — that link I used in previous comment? Decent price on that Presto pressure canner; note that the Mirro brand pressure canners at same site don’t have gauges on them, although comparable prices. I’d personally go with the Presto because of the gauge.
brokenarrow @ 112
well, I will say it! welcome brokenarrow. we have something in common – I’m also one of eleven (#6).
anangryoldbroad @ 163
I believe pressure canners tend to be larger by quite a bit, to accommodate the size of the jars. They also should have a rack to fit, holding jars apart from eachother and off the bottom of the canner.
Also, the pressure cock on a canner is usually much more sophisticated, so you have a dial to read exactly what the pressure is inside the thing.
The pressure cookers generally simply have a thing-a-ma-bob that just sits over the pressure overflow hole & jiggles to release extra pressure at just one setting.
Pressure canning is the only way to can low-acid things safely, as far as I know, but it’s not without safety concerns (had a friend/very experienced canner who dashed off briefly once to do what seemed like just a quick lil’ thing in another room, & she returned to find stringbeans all over her kitchen ceiling, ahem – a good thing she wasn’t standing right there to be burned!) Pressure canning is not really difficult, tho, as long as you follow instructions to the letter and pay attention. – i.e., NOT a good time to “multi-task”.
If I were you, I’d check around and see if you have a local Home Extension Office, or whatever they call ‘em these days, or a cooking class locally that helps you get started. Maybe just give a shout out to try & buddy-up with other canners in your area. Such folk are usually really sweet, gregarious and helpful. And yes, there should be plenty such people even around Atlanta, even if it doesn’t seem like it right now, to ya.
One other thing. Not only is it risky to go just by childhood memories, it’s not such a good idea to rely on old recipe books either, when canning. Modern canning methods have changed a bit, due to real safety concerns, especially when canning low-acid foods, such as beans. Someone earlier mentioned Ball canning books to be good. I agree. I love mine. Maybe check on amazon.com???
Sorry to ramble on. Hope some of this helps. Good luck, & have fun. ;->
solai @ 174
Best way to send messages when these come like that is to unsubscribe. Replies usually go to a null account.
dmac @ 159
IIRC the flashing pattern is species specific..and is used to attract a mate of the correct species. Some species of lightning bugs can mimic the flashing pattern of other species and when the other bug shows up, expecting a roll in the zinnias, they are eaten.
(How is it that I can remember shit like this and can’t find my car in the Target parking lot?)
sofistic @ 184
Don’t know if this will be helpful. ;0)
http://www.kshs.org/features/feat997.htm
TexB @ 132
thanks hon. not sure. am thinking there’s a surprise lurking. kids are awful quiet. hehe.
PW at 181, “We already know it’s going to be a Democrat.” Please send me some of your optimism. I am not so sure. I don’t think the polls are reflective of all the secret shenanigans going on. And Rove will make sure his math is more accurate this time around, or he will be out of a job for the next president.
I do believe Rove will follow every president front runner from here on out until he is thoroughly discredited. And how confident are we of the dems? So optimism on the ‘08 prez run is scarce.
N=1 @ 137
haha. that’s a good one. my wife is very involved in avian flu studies (has a one runnign as we speak). guess I should already have this, eh?
Thank You Rayne,my memories are a bit fuzzy,even though I helped with the canning and freezing quite often as a child.
I’m also trying to organize potluck suppers for those of us around here(a small number to be sure)with no competitive sports or church affiliations,ie,the social misfits,lol. I just have to figure out how to reach people and open their hearts a little. It’s quite high school clique-ish in these parts,hard to make friends and keep them.
Rayne @ 179
My vintage stove has a built in pressure cooker in place of a burner. Still have the instructions, but I’m too chicken to try it. They make me nervous.
LS @ 175
oh my! i’m just plain jealous! where are you? certainly west of us. i saw my 1st lazuli bunting on a trip earlier this year, but still have yet to see a painted…
hilarious about the horses’ reaction to the bucks – heh. enjoy them. ;->
And now I’m EPU’d,but I just wanted to say these Sat morning threads are my favorite thing on teh internets,lol. I wish I could invite all of you to my house for a pool party/cookout/potluck supper.
steve at 190 says:
“IIRC the flashing pattern is species specific..and is used to attract a mate of the correct species. Some species of lightning bugs can mimic the flashing pattern of other species and when the other bug shows up, expecting a roll in the zinnias, they are eaten.
(How is it that I can remember shit like this and can’t find my car in the Target parking lot?)”
yes, that’s why they go with all different types of music…all blinking at different ‘time’….i think there are four species here, but don’t remember why that number sticks in my head.
don’t remember about the carnivore aspect, but i do remember that some of them do ‘fake’ blink……to ensure that their species survives…..that was in the smithsonian article from a few years ago. i probably blocked the getting eaten part out of my head. ha.
Adie @ 197
I’m 30 miles SW of Austin in the Hill Country. I had never seen a bunting before. The colors were amazing, and I ran into the house and looked it up.
OT..
Roadside Bombs Kill 7 US Troops in Iraq
Saturday June 23, 2007 3:16 PM
http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest…..46,00.html
It’s going to be three 100 Kia months in a row and Bush can’t wait for August.
thanks for all your kind wishes everyone. not gonna go upstairs so I can get some work done today. see y’all later tonight (or maybe not).
angryoldbroad 163
(heh- luv the name)
Another idea for finding other people interested in canning, altho it might not, ahem, bear fruit till next season…
Find local or state agricultural fair(s) in your area. Go straight to the bldg & lovely people you’ll surely find where they have vegetable-judging, and also to the place they’ll set up for judging home-canned foods.
Bingo! Terrific, highly proficient, experienced canners galore should be at your elbow. And don’t be timid about talking to the judges (when they’re not specifically “on-task”) – such people usually enjoy the experience of helping newbies get started. Set yerself down and find answers to all sorts of questions, as well as gain some new friends. ;->
TexB @ 182
North of Rundberg, south of Kramer, between Lamar and Burnet. Don’t know facebook, so will gmail ya, since I am in seriuos EPU territory. Computer’s real hinky lately, so if you don’t hear from me right away, it crashed again. grrrrrr!! (I was trying to do the bills and my bank doesn’t recognize me this morning.)
Steve @ 201
This war was a horrible mistake.
The surge is an abomination.
I don’t think the MSM is covering it nearly enough.
Oh what an awful awful sickening mess our country has wrought.
LS @ 200
We were in Big Bend for awhile (not nearly long enuf! MUST go back!), then on to s.e. AZ. Just loved every minute. ;->
steve at 190
“when the other bug shows up, expecting a roll in the zinnias”
heehee
TiredFed @ 194
This guide is hot off the press – even includes quotes from the HHS Pandemic Flu Leadership “blog” (in the loosest sens of the term blog).
The biggest problem is the complacency and the planning time which has run out. The pandemic is now a matter of when, and not if. Another scary thought – the US is all out of hospital and nursing home bed capacity in normal operations. With waves of critically ill and dying people, those folks won’t even get into a hospital – let alone the problem that the three million US nurses aren’t aware of the coming pandemic, and probably won’t show up to work for their employers. They’ll stay home to protect their children and to try to survive, too.
But Happy Birthday! *g* Didn’t mean to be all gloom and doomin’! Better prepared than scared!
don’t know where to post this but this is as good a place. i’m sorta pised, but not at all surprised. was looking around at right-winger comments about that bogus hitchens piece a few days ago. oh, they loved it. and that fitzgerald guy is just like nifong, doncha know. so i post a reply to this bullshit. note that evryone who’s heard the evidence and had a responsibility to weigh it overwhelming against libby; that there were 5 counts not 3 as hitchens suggests and the jury returned verdicts on all 5 (and quoted some language from the indictmemt-it wasn’t just about misremembering a conversation with russert as hitchens asserts) and quoted some of libby’s gj testimony that was just ludicrous.
i run on.
i went back today to see if anyone posted a response to me. no. why? because my reply was never posted. doesn’t end there. my posting privileges have been revoked. i couldn’t have violated any of the rules, unless it’s against their rules to bring facts to the table when discussing the libby case. no obscenities.
whatta buncha assh*les.
adie 206:
bill o’reilley says they’re covering it too much. i mean 2 whoile minutes nbc devoted to a us airstrike in afghanistan that killed a kid. that way too much. totally unnecessary. says bill o’
he’s never been wrong before.
has he?
I’m EPU’d, as usual.
Summertime in the Pacific Northwest typically arrives in the middle of July, but I’m already enjoying what I love about every summer – falling asleep every night looking at the stars outside our bedroom window.
We also enjoy the fresh fruits and vegetables at the farmer’s markets all over the area. I like making freezer jam with the raspberries we get at the U-pick about a mile away, because opening one of those jars in the dark of a Seattle area wintertime reminds me that summer will come again ;-).
-S
p.s. I also hope there’ll be photos of The Peanut’s big trip to see the princesses!
Christy – What a scene you paint, and how. This lilting and evocative post is akin to poetry. You hit the center of the sweet spot with this one. Write on…
Lindy @ 15
The smell of honeysuckle.
Maybe a little light rain on the tin roof.
Lightning bugs in the yard.
Whip or Wills & chirping.
Maybe a hoot owl once in a while.
These are memories of my childhood, staying at my paternal grandparent’s home (just 100 yards up the road from my parents house.
That was lost long ago when I-79 was built. I’ve felt awkward an somewhat unsettled ever since.