One Day, Three Beaches

 It really sounds like we had a big day of beach hopping.  Not so.  We went to Topsail Island and for some reason it is divided into 3 municipalities, North Topsail, Surf City and Topsail Beach.  If they didn't have big welcome signs at each place you would think you are at the same beach.  We enjoyed Topsail Beach the most.  More laid back, few to none walking the beach and dogs are free, no leash from October 1 until May 1.  We kept their leashes with us because you never know what kind of dog might be off leash.  We have encountered a couple big mean ones that have their owner straight armed trying to hold them back.  Dang, why?  That would be far from an enjoying walk with a dog.  Plus, the worry of the damage the dog could do on human or another dog.  Since we walk the beach twice a day at Holden Beach we have learned from afar if it is a dog we need to stay away from.  Usually the beach is wide enough to walk on the opposite side of where Mr. or Mrs. Mean and Nasty is.  Back to the beaches, Holden is our all time NC beach.  We have been to the three I mentioned plus, Ocean Isle and Sunset Beach.  Both of those are beautiful but quite a bit more action and population.  Within a few years I am sure Holden will be right up there as busy and crowded as the others.  Since last winter we have seen the earth moving and businesses going up.  A new RV park is ready to open soon and is huge!  Also a big tall building going up that we heard is going to be a candy store like the one in North Myrtle Beach, 40 minutes south of us.  Build it and they will come!

There is a little bagel shop that also has homemade ice cream.  Yes!  We stopped and the bagels are the best New York style.  They also sell their special flavored cream cheese from different fruits, veggie, bacon cheddar and Jalapeno!  We did get an ice cream cone, also very good.  That is just to close for comfort, 2 miles!  In Clara we have at least a 15 minute drive to town and neither of us will take the bait to go get something we might be craving.  

Yesterday the waves were crashing and so loud we could not hear anything else.  Each day on our way to walk we say, well how will the waves be today.  Just a guess and so far we have not guessed correctly.  For some reason the days that we think the water will be calm and gentle it turns out to loud, crashing with foam and spray going into the air and on the beach.  Living in the hills of Potter County, PA is easy to know what the weather is going to be.  On the NC Coast, absolutely no clue of predicting the weather.  Red sky in the morning here is usually a beautiful day, Red sky at night is the same, another nice day tomorrow.  The one thing I do know if morning or night does not have a red sunset........rain is usually happening or soon will. 

Don't think we are down here for the winter just relaxing and walking on the beach.  Since our son and wife are so kind to let us stay at their beach place we try to do a few things to help them.  This year is was plastering, priming and painting the master bedroom.  Painted the living room, kitchen and hall way. I got to pick all the colors!  How trusting is that?  Friday they will be here to see the make-over. 😜 I am a little fearing!  Kinda like Love it or List it... 

I have to keep busy because.........after a week away I get homesick for Clara, family and friends.  Once we get home I will miss our beach walks, the convenience of Hobby Lobby 10 minutes away plus some other favorite stores.  At Holden Beach every place we like to go is no more than 20 miles away.  A Food Lion is 2 miles from us which makes it nice since it is on our way to the beach.  Even with all this stores it still feels like we are in the country.  Lots of woods, even deer and turkey sightings.  The biggest surprise was seeing 3 sets of deer tracks on Holden Beach last week.  They went right down to the water!  

Old Fashioned Fried Cakes

 For some reason I am always one or two meals ahead of the one we just ate.  I don't like going to the grocery store for ingredients so I have to think of what is in the frig, freezer or cabinets that will make a meal.  Last night I asked, would you like Gramma Carrie's fried cakes for breakfast?  Of course I did and I knew he would.  Nothing better than a homemade fried cake and a hot cup of coffee, well maybe 2 and 2 cups of coffee.  Do you know what a fried cake is?  Just a doughnut or donut that is not made with yeast.  They are heavier and a welcome treat at our house.  Gramma was in her early 90s when she taught me how to make them.  I was maybe 19 and just married.  Thank goodness she lived next door and told me to come over tomorrow she would show me how to make donuts.  She knew how much all of her kids and grandkids loved them.  I was so frustrated and ready to throw in the spoon.  We made 2 batches.  Gramma would take one out of the frying grease, break it open and say..........too much flour, not enough flour, grease was to hot, grease wasn't hot enough!!!!  She believed in hands on and let me do it all until the final, break open the donut.  To this day I break open the first donut hole, half way through donut and the last donut.  My husband stood there watching me when I broke open the first one.....the grease is too hot.  He wanted to know, how do you know.  I showed him just as Gramma showed me.  The very center was not done, still wet.  Needless to say he knows I don't even like him stirring a pot or turning over anything I am cooking.  He didn't even ask if he could help with frying the donuts.  Now, that is real fear of the cook!

Powdered Sugar or Cinnamon Sugar!

I guess we might as well make this blog all about food.  It is one of my favorite subjects!  We bought some sweet cubanelle peppers a couple days ago and also a jar of spaghetti sauce, made in Italy!  How could you go wrong.  I stuffed the peppers with Italian sausage, mushrooms, onions, garlic and 3 kinds of cheese and lightly browned them in oil.  The remainder of the Italian sausage and mushrooms I had went into the bought spaghetti sauce to have over spaghetti noodles.  A little hot pepper flakes and grated cheese on top finished it.  The left over spaghetti sauce went in the freezer for homemade pizza one night this week. 
 

Saturday night supper.

Spring Things

 In the last couple weeks we had to drive to Wilmington which is about 40 minutes north of us.  On the way back we go through Carolina Beach, Kure Beach and Fort Fisher.  Just little coastal towns.  At the end of the island is Fort Fisher with a museum, aquarium, beach and civil war trails that wind through the area.  It is a very interesting stop  that also gives the dogs time to stretch their legs and........well you know.  The beach is great, they can run free and get plenty tired before we go the rest of the way back to Holden Beach.  Also Fort Fisher/Southport Ferry is $7. one way for the auto, 2 of us and 2 dogs.  We love it and once we get to Southport we are 25 minutes from Holden.  Just a nice change of scenery.  Now, the down fall of the ferry.  This was little Ellie's second ferry trip and she does not do well on the ferry.  Panting, whining, shaking, no talking and petting calms her down.  Once we land and off for the rest of the road trip she is fine.  The end, no more ferry for us.  Hard to believe this little girl rules our life but she does.

              The beach at Fort Fisher, nice spot to wait for the ferry.

Last night we had take out from a little cafe not far from us.  On the Holden Beach website someone asked about restaurants and this cafe was the most recommended.  We have been here since Dec 8, this is the second place we have gone to.  I always say, if restaurants depended on people like us......there would be no restaurants!  Back home the Pizza King in Wellsville and Red & Trudy's is our main stops.  Once in a while if friends invite us we go to Just One More.  We really don't like to eat out.  Maybe because one of my favorite and most peaceful times  is when I am in the kitchen.  Easy to see by the title of my blog what makes me happy.  

Back to our take out last night.  It was delicious, we both had the shrimp dinner with cole slaw, hush puppies, lots of shrimp lightly dusted with a flavorful seasoning.  Dick got onion rings and I got fried okra.  What we decided.......split the next time.  No way could we finish it all. 

                 So much great food from the Surfer's Cafe!

 

Soon it will be February and I am already thinking of my favorite spring things.  By the end of March when we get home it will be time to dig leeks.  A friend will be taking Dick mushroom hunting to his favorite chanterelle  mushroom site.  Now that will make for a great spring supper, leeks, mushrooms and trout!  I bet some of you are thinking, no thanks.  Just the country girl in me that longs for these country foods. 

 Many might remember Vernie Howard that lived on Honeoye St in Shinglehouse.  Aola Maxson was one of his daughters.  When our kids were very young we went to Maxson's camp on Fiske Hollow just over the hill from Clara.  The adult women sat around and cleaned so many leeks that sunny warm spring day.  By early evening it was a ham and leek dinner with all the trimmings.  I can still hear Vernie Howard saying, leeks are a spring tonic.  He was right, especially when long ago refrigeration was not an option and grocery stores had little fresh fruit and vegetables.  By the time spring rolled around everyone was ready for fresh foods.  Leeks being one of the first spring greens.  Then there are the fiddle head ferns, wild asparagus, dandelion greens, cowslip, watercress and of course mushrooms.  I am sure many more but these are the only ones I heard of from my dad and mom.  Mom would take me to the pasture near the Oswayo Creek on our Horse Run farm to find mushrooms.  That night we would have them fried in butter with salt and pepper.  I know many will never try a wild mushroom and you shouldn't unless you are 100% sure you know what ones are edible.  One thing for sure, once you have had the wild ones you will never enjoy the store mushrooms again.  So, I will be anxiously waiting for spring greens, mushrooms and just a couple young trout.  

The four seasons I have lived with all my life are the best.  Each one has a special meaning that can bring back good memories or for making new ones.  There are sad memories in the 4 seasons but those you put on file in your mind and only bring them up when you feel it necessary.  Good and bad, they are all part of learning and moving on. Try to share your memories with your kids and grandkids.  It is the only way most family stories are passed on.  Of course they might get bigger and better as they are passed down.  

The Game Face

I have often wondered in the last few years.......the older you get the better sweet things taste?  In our case the answer is yes.  For some unknown reason I was the one that loved sweets.  Now it seems we both do!  Maybe it is our age and hell, you will be one day older tomorrow if it is to be.  So, give me the good stuff, sweets, coffee with real half & half.  Notice no healthy veggies or broiled meat, poultry and fish.......although we do eat all of that.  Just not on the top of my what I want to eat list.  Also, it seems that  7 pm is the highlight of my day on what is there good to eat? 

                                     so many flavors!

                   Of course a piece of caramel/vanilla/pecan fudge!

 Every morning we take a  2 mile or more walk on Holden Beach.  The fresh air gets us going and also tires the dogs enough that they will sleep for most of the day and not follow us around begging for treats or go for a walk.  Then in the afternoon back to the beach for one last fresh air and tire the dogs.   Wait.......am I complaining that they ask for treats??  Now that is being a little two faced on the treat standards.  If we can have treats  then why would I deny the dogs to want a few nibbles after 7 pm.  Never thought of it that way!

What do we do while wintering in NC besides the beach walks.  Dick is in the shop building bird houses and feeders.  We might need to hire a long haul trucker to get them home!  I knit, bake or read just as I do back at the little cabin.  It is a good 4 months to get my knitting projects done.  From scarves, shawls and socks they will be finished by April 1. I always pick patterns that challenge my knitting.  Most of the time You Tube saves my sanity if I have a hard time figuring out the technique.  In the summer I will make another order of yarn and look for more patterns. The cycle that has been on going since I can remember.  I did sew 3 Baja pullovers made from Army blankets my son gave me.  His was first a couple years ago and then the "I want one"  started.  Another son, grandson and friend of a son all done and only one left to deliver.  They are rustic and look like you should be in the woods roughing it.  Real wool is the best for warmth and moisture wicking.  The only problem I have with wool is I am allergic to it.  It makes me itch and get a red rash so never do I wear it.  While making the Baja pullovers it was itchy hands for a few days.  Anything for the kids and grandkids 😍💥

 

As a little girl my dad wore wool winter clothes.  I always thought the trousers were funny looking because they had wide hips, narrowed down to be snug at the mid calf of his leg.  His leather boots came up high enough so the top of the trousers went over them.  In the winter he walked the pipe lines and checked pump stations for Messer Oil that was on the Horse Run Road.  He also had snow shoes when the snow was deep.  No four wheeler or side by sides back then, just good old foot power.  Off he would go with his lunch box and a thermos of hot tea for the day.  Before he left the cows had to be milked and when he got home they were milked again. 

I found these Woolrich Jodphurs on ebay and they are exactly like the ones by dad wore in the 1950s and probably many years  before that.  He had leather laces to pull them tight around the calf of his leg and over the top of his boots.  

 My mom did the feeding and cleaning the drops.  Do you know what a drop is?  It is a long narrow, about 12 inches deep trough that ran the full length behind the cows when in their stanchions.  It is where the manure went and had to be cleaned everyday in the winter.  In the summer the cows were outside 24/7 and only came in for feed and to be milked.  So, back to the drops.  I guess they were called that because it was where the cows dropped the poop and pee, or maybe because it dropped down about 12 inches.  Who knows, now I am wondering.  There goes that crazy wondering/wandering mind of mine.  Never the mind, it was with a square deep shovel used to clean out the drops, thrown into the shit spreader and then hauled by tractor to the fields to use as fertilizer.  The full circle of food to field, field to table :)

Now you have read one of the many reasons why farmers love their farms.  And that my friends is the truth!

Remember, every morning put on that game face and remind yourself that even though it can be a trying day it must be faced with love and respect.  We are not perfect, our lives are not perfect and certainly we are all facing that morning to put the game face on.  One more thing, pass on the gift of whatever you have.  Be it knowledge how to do something, a book you know a someone would like to read, a cookie, cup of tea or coffee just pass it on.  Shhhh don't tell anyone you gave one of these gifts, it takes away from the true meaning of why you did.

Cook'n at the Beach

Yes , life has changed since my last blog so very long ago.  At 72 one thing I finally learned each day or minute changes in ways I never knew possible.  We have sold our little farm, moved across the road to a cabin we built 4 years ago.  It was 20 x 20 ft @ 400 sq ft. total.  This summer and fall we added on a  16 x 20 ft bedroom and bathroom.  now we have a total of 720 sq ft. of living space.  It was proof for us that down sizing is a joy.  We both sorted, kept, threw and gave away.  I have a feeling in the spring when we head back home from NC we will........sort, keep, throw and give away again.  I like living with only what is needed and what I love.  As far as cleaning the little cabin, that is great too!.  Zip and it is done.  We have two porches to enjoy.  One looks to the hill directly behind the cabin and is accessed from  sliding doors in our bedroom.  I can knit, read or just relax looking at the birds at the feeder or enjoying the flowers.  Little did we know how much we would love our new home.  Our friends gave us a sign that says, little house with lots of love.  How true.  

So after so much work and a kind talented guy that was Dick's Little League player so many many years ago we are settled with only what ever we want to do.  Of course we have a list, screen in the back porch, a few more shelves inside, paint the shed and put up eave troughs on the buildings.  Eave troughs.......lol does that date me or what?  Now they are called gutters...I like my name much better.

Well like the title says, cook'n by the beach.  We are 2 miles from it but if we could walk on water it would be 1/3 a mile give or take a few feet.  The bridge is the only access to cross the inter coastal water.  So drive we must.  Holden Beach is the last of the beaches in southern NC to see development.  In one year the earth (sand) has been moving.  A new campground, homes and businesses.  Soon Holden Beach will lose the old coastal town feel.  Progress.......

We have been enjoying fresh fish and shrimp.  Once a week we drive 3 miles to the Old Ferry Docks and get fresh right off the boats.  We watch the shrimp boats every day that they are out.  Just off shore with the seagulls and terns hovering over the shrimpers just waiting for a free meal.  

So far we have tried several new kinds of fish.  When the fish guy asks what kind he is finally suggesting a white, firm, mild fish.  So far so good he has picked good ones.  Our favorite way to fix the fish and shrimp is in an olive oil, butter, garlic and old bay mixture sauteed in a pan quickly.  Then  poured over linguine or angel hair pasta. A slice of crusty bread to sop up the left over sauce!  Easy to fix and easy clean up.  I know when we get home frozen won't due and it will be another year if we are blessed to come back.

The tall guy that lives with me has a birthday tomorrow.......Off to Southport to the Christmas Store which has everything not just Christmas stuff.  It is in an old Victorian House near the bay.  So many beautiful things to look at and yes, maybe buy.  You probably wonder, does he really like to shop like a woman.  Well, the bait is salt water taffy!  They have over 60 flavors and he LOVES salt water taffy.  A win for both of us.  My favorite flavor is Mango Jalapeno, just the right amount of heat!

This looks like a drone flew over to take the picture.....no it is just one I took with my phone.  The tide had gone out and left these little streams of water eroding the sand back to the ocean.  Now I know why they are continually dredging from off shore and back to the beach.

My exciting find this afternoon.  Never have we found one like this.  And then I turned it over and a slimy little critter pulled back in the shell.  No, I did not keep it.  It would have made me so sad to not throw it back to the home it needed.  So hopefully it will survive.

We pick up trash we find but one think I refuse to pick up is other dog's poop!  I never thought I would see the day my husband would take a bag and pick up our dogs.  LOL  He does and actually we take turns.  There are plenty of garbage cans to dispose of it and trash.  No need to deface earth!

Wait and Wish

 How about it?  Two of the most used words in my lifetime!  Wait......until the temperatures get warmer,  wait.......until the temperatures get cooler, wait......until the leaves change, hunting season, snow arrives, leeks pop through the ground, spring gobbler, trout fishing, get the garden ready, plant the garden, harvest the garden, put the garden to rest for the winter............I can't wait until.......  Then the wish my life away, wish for vacation, family to visit, grandchildren to be born, sons to come back to the USA from deployment, you name it I have wished just as much as I wait for things to happen.  Now, at my age it pretty much has stopped.  Each day is another day to not think of tomorrow or what I want or want to do.  Just take it for what it is.  

Today was the first cool day for us to get some outside work done without complaining how sweaty we are.  I put on my favorite old purple hooded sweatshirt and away I went.  First was to brush hog the fields for one last time this year.  Moving right along and enjoying the ride and view it happened.  A pin sheared which means the hog quits cutting and a new pin has to be put in.  No big deal it was actually time to move on to something else.  Keep a little spice in my life :)  Next I gathered the peas left on the plants to dry.  These will be used to plant in the spring.  Once I got all the dead pea plants pulled Dick hauled them away to the big garden to "wait" for the rest of the garden plants to turn dry and brown.  They will be burned in one big pile and the potash spread on the garden for a little extra nutrition.  Together we picked a bucket of Roma tomatoes that I will can, not sure what.....stewed or plain.   We also had quite a few hot peppers that will be fire roasted and put in the freezer for a great almost Hatch Green Chile Stew.  Not Hatch chiles but will still be might tasty in the cold snowy days of winter.

The dead pea plants that are no more. 

My view, up and down the valley.  It is something I never tire of.

Way down there, is a guy on the garden tractor with a can of paint, paint brush and headed to the upper wood line to paint a bench he made me.  My favorite walk and set on the bench to enjoy the view.

The NC corn is ready to pick.  We didn't think it would ripen but what a nice surprise.  Some ears are over 12" long.  I have never seen such huge white kernels and the best part........it doesn't get stuck between teeth!  The reason I don't like to eat corn on the cob, not the problem with this corn.  Also ready was our grapes.  We look forward to them just to eat.  So sweet and the skins are light and tender with no seeds to spit out.  I wish I could remember what variety but not sure....think they were called champagne grapes.  

One more "wish"......just can't help myself.....RAIN, we need lots of gentle rain for days and days!  The creeks are so low, scary!

It is Elderberry Time

 Yes, the little dark purple berries are ready.  We picked yesterday and will again on Friday.  This morning I sat and took them off the stem cluster.  Three ways to do this, 1. just rub them between your fingers and the fall right off it ripe enough, (I wear rubber gloves).  2. use a wide tooth comb to pull them off and 3. use a fork.  I like number one method the best.  Two and three tend to get more stems and then you have to pick those out.  The best way is to soak the berries in cold water, the ripe will go to the bottom and the not so ripe, stems, leaves and even a bug or two will float.  Just skim them off the top of the water.  All of the elderberries will go to the freezer until one of those cold winter days.  Cooking jelly makes the house smell so good and brings up a memory or two of the day we picked.  Today when I was cleaning them as always the same memory comes to mind.  On the farm the Leilous family was our neighbor.  Joyce and Linda were a couple years older than mean and their brother Donny a few years younger.  Their mom was a great cook and baker, you could always smell good things when I rode my bike into their yard during the warm weather months.  Their dad worked at Clark Brothers in Olean.  Every August he had his kids  pick Elderberries for a couple Italian guys he worked with.  They used them to make wine and paid by the bushel.  I have no idea how much I helped because it gave me something to do.  Being in the country it was something different and fun to do.  We would spend most of the afternoon picking. There was a huge Elderberry patch behind their house.  So today I went back to those afternoons spent with friends.  It's funny because now I can't even think what we talked about!  Probably the first day of school coming up.  Back then country kids were always excited for the first day of school.

Thinking about the first day of school the weather has it in the air.  Very close to that fall feeling.  Trees are starting to turn from deep greens to lighter, wild apples are starting to fall to give way for some to get a little bigger and few wild flowers except for the dreaded golden rod.  It is starting to show color.  After the predicted rains this weekend we will be walking the forest looking for wild mushrooms.  They love the wet and once the rain comes they will pop up almost immediately.  The other thing that is sought after this time of the year is ginseng.  We find it but don't dig it.  Many do and can make quite a bit of money selling it once it is dried.  

This has been quite a season for the Orioles.  They left, they're back, left and now they are back again.  They might be northern Orioles headed south.  If they are we are surprised they know to stop by our porch for hummingbird food.  We are filling two feeders 2-3 times a day that is equal to 4-6 cups.  This is the best year ever for them!  Every morning and night they are our entertainment.  Even our friends from Olean stop by to watch the show every once in a while.  

One more reason to know fall is near...........the guys are preparing for archery season and rifle season.  Two new huts are being built.  The grandson and gramps have been busy with the final touches on the one gramp will use.  It doesn't seem like a year has past since having this time of year upon us.  Like my mom said, the older you get the faster time goes.  That is for sure!  

The Rain Never Falls

Before I could post this blog the rain did fall for a brief time.  Enough to give everything a nature's drink of goodness.

                                          The first sign of fall, sunflowers.

A few times in the last month we have said, it feels like rain.  It did, the air turned cool, the wind picked up and dark clouds moved in.  Just as fast the clouds separated, the wind quit and the temperatures went back up.  There has been a few storms all around us but none at Cook'n by the Creek.  Soon without rain the creek will have completely stopped flowing.  In the 21 years we have lived here I have never seen the water so low.  Barely a flow going through.  This is why it is so important to protect our waterways.  The small ones feed the bigger and end up to be the Mississippi River.  Fresh water is gold!  The brush grow along the streams for a reason, it keeps the water temperature down so fish, crabs, etc can survive and also stops evaporation of the stream.  Another thing is the amount of rain, cooler temperatures and lots of winter snow.  Snow depth is key to providing water to our streams and springs.  We shouldn't have to be told at this time of  the year to conserve water.   Water is life, just as important as the bees are to our food supply.  So, from this day forward think of cutting back on water usage and planting flowers so the bees can survive and do their very important job.  It is quite scary to think of the little things that determine our survival.  

How very sad to walk over our little bridge and see Clara Creek barely flowing.  The dogs miss playing and rolling in the pool of water that is no more.

We dug potatoes and no not a lot and small.  I saved the bigger ones to eat now and the small ones got canned yesterday.  Eleven quarts to the precious canned foods in the basement.  The canned up beautiful, nice and water with clear liquid.  That is what you want to see when canning potatoes.  Key to the clear liquid is......when peeling the potatoes immediately put them in cold water.  When you have enough for a batch to can bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add the potatoes that the cold water has been drained off, bring to a simmer and when just starting to get tender on the outside drain the water and put loosely in jars.  Pour fresh boiling water over and leave 1 inch head space.  Do not use the water you boiled the potatoes in.  This will make the liquid in the jars after processing starch and not clear.  If you want you can add 1 tsp. of salt per quart of potatoes before canning.  I did.  For safety reasons it recommends only using a pressure canner when canning potatoes.  No acidity is why.

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No porch or deck to work on so it was off to the basement for a good cleaning.  When I start seeing Daddy Long Legs in the upstairs I know it is time to clean the basement and set off a bug bomb.  About twice a year will do the trick.  There was an old medal school table used for computers we ended up with.  A dirty gold color with a fake wood grain top.  Yep, I headed to the the backroom in the basement and found and ivory colored spray paint and a can of Moroccan Red.  Everything was sprayed except the top and that is now a beautiful Red.  It pays to keep "stuff" around for little projects.  Every once in a while I will buy spray cans of paint, polyurethane, sand paper, mineral spirits and paint brushes to add to my stash for times like today.

 

 I know it is way too soon to be thinking of days like this but...............It is my favorite time of the year and I couldn't resist when I was going through some old photos to post it on the blog.  Dreaming 💖

Just a Little Sad

 Like all things there is a beginning and an ending.  Each year as the garden winds down and the beautiful lush green of young plants turn to yellow, brown and wilted mature and past their time I always feel a little sad.  The joy of waiting for the first young plant coming through the ground, rows beginning to show is our morning walk to check on the progress.  Then the harvest  and what comes next is what makes me feel one more year has gone by so quickly.  I realized yesterday as I was grinding the paint and stain from the back deck with 2 boards left that again a little sad it is coming to an end.  It kept me occupied for the last two week working on the front porch and back deck.  Yes, there were days I thought I just don't want to get the old work clothes on, get all dusty, wear a mask for 4-6 hours.  Those days went by fast and what better way than to take the air hose, blow off most of the dust and then a glorious shower to relax and think of all that was accomplished that day.  As of 4 pm Thursday it was finished.  Except for a trim board that needs painted.  It is on the end our grape vine grows up to.  Until the grapes are harvested that board will just have to wait.  When I told my husband it makes me a "little sad" like the garden ending..........he didn't miss a beat with a come back!  You are not kidding me Cheryle, you have a next project already brewing in your mind........well maybe 😂 For now it is finish the canning and then some fall camping trips are on my mind with reading, knitting, crocheting, hikes, a couple wineries and just good old take a break resting.  

Accomplishments in ones life is key to being satisfied with what has been.  No matter what it is, from grinding paint off, knitting socks, baking something delicious, cleaning or whatever it is a good feeling to look back and say, there I did it and proud of it. Little joys of life can turn into the best things to remember.  

I am also a little sad, the corn needs water.  One type has ears but small.  They will be ready in a week if the drought doesn't take its toll.  They other type is a not going to even get ears.  It grew at least 14 ft tall and tasseled out.  Not one ear!  The potatoes are another failure.  I have been digging them to save what is there.  Not many per hill.  3 -5 and not as big as my fist.  This is the first time raising potatoes that they come out of the ground clean of dirt.  It is so dry nothing is sticking to them.  Tomorrow I will can most of them and save some for our annual corn roast to roast in the hot coals.  Quite a different garden year.  We normally get 100 to 150 pounds of potatoes.  Let's hope the potato and corn farmers have better crops for the market.  The cukes were doing great and we were enjoying them daily until one morning we went out and the vines showed signs of the blight!  By afternoon the vines were flat on the ground.  Our 2 types of peppers did not produce a healthy looking pepper and not many.  Again, strange garden year.  

Next weekend we will travel to Keuka Lake, one of our favorite rides.  Not far is the Windmill Market and down the road is a wonderful Mennonite vegetable, fruit and greenhouse.   If you haven't been to the Windmill it is a fun place to walk around.  They have outdoor and indoor stands and sell just about anything you can imagine.  The Mennonite market is the place to buy though.  Very reasonable prices.  I will be hoping to get a couple bushels of tomatoes, peppers, mild and sweet, peaches and pears.

  

A Morning at Cook'n by the Creek

 My morning starts between 6 and 7 am and Jamaican Me Crazy coffee is waiting for me thanks to the tall one.  While enjoying the early morning quiet and coffee I check the world and local news.  Next FB,  do a little knitting or crocheting.  Finally by 8 am it is get the breakfast going.  Today it was over by 8:30.  As I was cleaning up in came a fresh basket of summer squash and a great surprise.  The rhubarb decided to take a late season spurt.  There was enough for 2-1 gallon freezer bags full.  While Dick was watering the garden, yes it is so dry and the corn's leaves are curled for lack of rain I washed and prepared the squash and rhubarb for the freezer.  Then off to the blueberries that had the branches drooping with so many berries on them.  As I was looking them over for bugs and missed stems I decided to make a Lemon Blueberry bread.  I doubled the batch, one loaf for the freezer and one for now.  

Rhubarb ready for the freezer,  very nice and a colorful red on the inside this time around.  I believe we are going to try rhubarb wine once we get the garden tucked away for winter.

Thank you Robins, you left us a lot for winter!  They are nice and juicy!  

Time to set, relax and sort blueberries.  I watch youtube while sorting.  Always something I can learn.

2 cups for the lemon blueberry bread and 2 qts for the freezer.  I just love seeing our fruits and vegetables saved away for those cold winter days.

Did you know there is an art to picking blueberries, even raspberries and blackberries?  First of all, start at the bottom of the bush and pick from the bottom of the berries not from the top.  There is less chance of those little round jewels slipping from you fingers and hands to end up on the ground.  Work your way up the bush, one branch at a time starting from the outside of the branch and working in.  I only pick 3-5 berries at a time.  The more I try to get the more I tend to drop, defeating the purpose of picking more at a time.  Now that I think about it, it just might be 71 year old hands vs young ones.  If you are near my age you probably notice dropping things seems to be the new norm.  My theory, the more I drop the more exercise to bend over and pick stuff up......just a kind way of saying.......time is taking its toll on the old gal!  But.......I can still do it so no bitching here 💕   Back to the blueberries and other berries you want to freeze. NEVER wash them.  You just can't get them dry enough to put in bags for the freezer.  Take a rest and go through the berries looking for leaves, stems........bugs or little worms.  Once that is done you can either put them directly in freezer bags, into the frig to get them cold and then the freezer or you can lay them out on a baking sheet lined with parchment, put in the freezer. Once they have frozen solid then put them in the freezer bags.  I have done it both ways and the put in freezer bags, frig and then freezer is my choice way.

Lemon/Blueberry Bread Recipe:  I doubled it for two loaves but this is the single loaf version.

1. 1/3 cup of melted butter (real butter)
2. 1 cup of sugar
3. 2 beaten large eggs
4. 1/2 cup of milk
5. 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
6. 1 tsp baking powder
7. 1/2 tsp salt.......................................beat wet ingredients until fluffy add dry ingr.

Add 3 tsps. of lemon juice and a TBSP of lemon rind and mix thoroughly.  I also added a 1/2 tsp of almond flavoring just because I like the smell and taste after baking.  

Fold in 1 cup of fresh blueberries.  I can see using blackberries and raspberries too :)

Grease and flour lightly a loaf pan, bake at 350 degrees for about 40 minutes or until the top springs back when pressed lightly with your finger.  While still warm, drizzle with a glaze using 1 cup of confectioners sugar, TBSP of melted butter and a tsp or two of lemon juice.   If needed add a little milk so you can drizzle it on.  

As Bugs Bunny says........That's all folks!  Remember Pass it on and enjoy the great outdoors!

Summer Suppers and a Little Deck Work

What the summer suppers are......fresh picked squash fried, cucumbers and onions in a vinegar brine and spaghetti with fresh made basil pesto.

 

The green beans and garden peas are only a memory until a jar is opened or brought from the freezer.  I worked on summer squash and kale for the freezer this morning.  Everything grew so nice this year and seemed to be spread out for harvest time that is was not overwhelming picking and putting up.  Some years everything seems to pop at once and by the end of the season we are saying......smaller garden next year.  Not so this summer, we are actually planning bigger and more care friendly.  The bailed square bales worked great for the rutabagas and spaghetti squash.  Next year the cucumbers will be added to the bale garden.  We came up with the idea of putting the winter squash in a long narrow strips.  Let them run away and no going into the other vegetable rows.  Every year we think, there they are far enough apart and every year they just spread farther.  We'll fix them!!

Looks like the corn is doing great but that could change with the weather.  Rain is predicted for Wednesday, we sure need a couple good soaker days.  Clara Creek could use quite a bit.  The lawn has gone brown dormant from lack of rain but that is usually what happens in August.  The nights have been cool with a breeze which is great for a good nights sleep around here.  The coyotes have also been quiet but they will soon make the circle back around one of these nights.

I sat on the deck relaxing while  Dick put the stain on.  It was one of those days that it felt like fall just around the corner.  The cherry trees are dropping their leaves and with the soft breeze they were floating softly to the ground.  What a peaceful moment, like watching snow flakes float down in the winter.  

And so it begins......the back deck, 49 boards, 14 steps to grind the 4 layers of stain and paint off.  The front porch looks great, took about a week so I am estimating the back deck will take 2 weeks if the weather and heat cooperates.  Not looking at the big picture.  As of now all steps are done and new stain along with 14 deck boards.  Going to be too hot for the next couple days but maybe evenings will cool off enough to do a few boards.  I love the new look and the porch rails are all painted.  Thanks to Mugs Jones for recommending Behr porch and deck paint....I got the high gloss and it is amazing with coverage and the gloss finish.  The dusty road we have put up with does not stick to it.  If it does we take the air hose and blow it off.  Simple solutions :) I love them.  Clara Rd has now been resurfaced and the dust has been much less.  Hoping in another week there will be no dust.  Dick is the stain and paint guy and I am the grinder.  For some reason all of my life I like to work outside and with power tools.  If I was as strong as a guy there would be no stopping on the tools I could use!  Maybe watching my dad do so many things, who knows, I am just one odd gal!  

My favorite seat for a week.

If you don't like the cloth masks this might work for ya!😂

30-45 minutes then off it comes for a break.

Fair Weather

I am not talking about the weather being fair but Millport Fair weather.  Hot sunny days and cool nights.  We sat on the back porch the other night and both of us thought this is Fair Weather, of course it is.  The fair just didn't happen this year.  We live in a rural area where the year is not complete without certain things.  Fishing season, leek digging, spring gobbler, gardens, woodchuck hunting, buying a fishing  and hunting license, sending for doe permits, fall foliage, small game, archery season, doe day, holidays, the first frost, first snow, first sign of spring, etc.  The list can go on and on.  This is country life, days, weeks, months and years ruled by mother nature or man made events.  I love it here and I really missed driving by the fairgrounds and seeing cars parked in fields, people on the midway and smelling the food stands.  We only go once during fair time but it is enjoyable and always see a few people we haven't seen in years.  So this year that part of the full circle of our life is missing.  

Today is the LAST OF THE BEANS!  Ten quarts to can and hopefully by 1 pm I can officially say  imadone.  

Saturday we did go to a fair, The Frosty Hollow Herb Festival.  If you don't know about Frosty Hollow B&B please google and go to their website.  It is owned by a local gal and grew up in Shinglehouse.  Well, not right in Shinglehouse, she was a country girl from up Honeoye on the Butter Creek Road.  Gail Jackson, she married Joe Ayers from Coudersport and together on Joe's family farm they started their business.  It is amazing, the gift shop is every woman's dream stop to shop, the accommodations are beautiful with that special country touch that Gail and her daughter in law Donell are so good at.  They also have the Big Dipper and Little Dipper that are separate houses nestled in the country side.  If you are coming to our area you will find comfort and relaxation with this wonderful family to make sure all of your needs are met.  Check them out just to see all they have to offer.  Back to the Herb Festival.  I have been going quite often in the past or so many years.  I think now it is for the woodfired pizza they offer at donation cost throughout the day.  We took friends with us and they have already said, they will go again next year.  The pizza is delicious, so much so we even asked Donell if she makes the sauce.  She told us what it was and how she mixes it.  Wednesday I will be using it on our woodfired pizza.  That is just how good it is!  

This week the grandson took Dick out to a great find of Chicken of the Woods mushrooms.  They came back with a plastic bag full.  I fried a sample up for supper and the rest I simmered in seasoned water, cooled and then off to the freezer for some cold winter nights of a taste of summer.

Later I will be out to the garden gathering summer squash to put up for winter.  My niece gave me a great recipe for squash casserole.  It is delicious and this week I will be making it again.  You can add anything you want, always a way to change it up and add variety to the casserole.  The first time I added sliced chorizo.  This time I think it will be mushrooms and chopped Kale.  This also will taste good in the winter!

Yellow Squash Casserole:

vgrease a 1 qt casserole dish.  Using 6-8 small summer squash and 1 onion sliced steam until not quite tender.  Drain well.  While they are steaming whisk 1 egg and 1 cup of sour cream together.  Crush 1 sleeve of ritz or town house crackers.  Using 2/3 in the casserole.  2 cups of shredded cheddar cheese, using 1 1/2 cups in the casserole.   Mix everything together gently, pour into the casserole dish.  Top with remaining crackers and cheese.  Bake at 350 for 35-40 minutes.  

Take Your PIck

I am talking about fruit that is available in the stores, on farms and in the wild for us.  While I was picking a handful of raspberries to munch on it made me think of picking wild berries with my mom.  She knew where the best strawberry fields , raspberry bushes, blackberry bushes, blueberries, elderberries and wild apples grew.   Our jellies, sauces and apple butter all came from berries that grew in the wild.  I can never remember buying anything but bananas on our regular trip to the Red and White in Shinglehouse.  Did you know Doc Simons, aka Willard/Willie/Bill worked there in his high school years?  One trip to the dentist and he told me he has one of my mom's grocery orders in his scrap book.  She use to have me take it in, hand it to the cashier and one of the stock boys will fill the order, take it out to our car and mom would pay them.  She was very shy and did not like going in the stores unless she absolutely had to.  From the time I can remember I was the one to take the list in.  Eventually she started going in.  It must have been very hard to do. 

I got side tracked again from my fruit story!  At Christmas time we had tangerines and maybe grapes.  Back in the 1950s it was not so easy to ship fruit and vegetables.  My grandmother Carrie would get so excited when Etta Hawley would send her oranges, grapefruit, dates and figs for Christmas.  She had cleaned and cooked for Preston and Etta Hawley until they retired and moved to Florida.  They never failed to send her the Christmas treats.  Years ago Dr. Kapp our dentist when I was growing up in Shinglehouse retired and moved to Florida.  The first time we received a package from him of oranges and grapefruit made me smile.  My turn to get the Florida goodies.

Now we can buy fruit and vegetables year round that years ago we never could.  From South America, Mexico, Hawaii and all across the USA they are shipped daily and arrive just like they were picked that day.  School never had fresh fruits, I remember fruit cocktail was the main fruit served to us.  I loved the peaches and cherries in it.  The pears always seemed hard and pineapple is not one of my favorite fruits unless it is fresh. 
 
Well that is the fruit story, take you pick........there are plenty of different varieties.  Or go out in the wild open spaces, find the raspberries and blackberries, they are plentiful, big and juicy this year.  By the looks of the wild apple trees there will be plenty for pressing cider, applesauce, apple butter and canning for pies this winter.  Life is good, go get it for free.  Just remember, take a body guard packing or take your own pistol.  I prefer the tall guy with his rifle, he can see over the bushes better and keep an eye out for a "berry picking bear". 

After picking peas a little raspberry refresher hits the spot!  They are big this year.