Puppy Power!

My sister's family rescued an adorable beagle puppy this summer which they named (appropriately enough) "Snoopy!" Just look at his adorable baby face - so cute!

Their boxer, Molly, is looking slimmer and more athletic these days.

Wonder why????

Windowsill Surfing

The Committee Decides: You Can Stay

Amused at my plant threats, Heather from Three Dogs and a Couch shared a book title that it brought to mind. It sounds like one I would like, so I plan to look it up at the library. However I had to confess to her that my threats are actually pretty idle. I dig something up intending to discard it, only to decide to give it one more chance - in a less conspicuous part of the garden.

As I've mentioned before, when you have a German Shepherd, you never face any situation alone. Ever. So Lady and I formed a committee this week to decide the fate of a bunch of half-hearted moss rose that were destined for the compost heap.

"Hmmm... let me get a good sniff and see what I can find out about their intent and potential."

"I think they should stay. What do you think?"

"Hmm. Well, they do look like they're willing to try.
Okay, they can stay."

Wednesday, August 17, 2011: A Milestone!

I've been spammed!! 

I can't believe it!! For years now, I've read other bloggers' tales of woe about the spam comments they receive. From the annoying to the humorous to the utterly ridiculous, spam plagues every blog. Every blog but mine, that is. Sadly, no spammers have ever been interested in me. I got my hopes up last year when informed that Blogger had implemented an extremely effective spam filter, making the extra step of word verification unnecessary. Previously unaware of the existence of a spam folder, I felt certain that's where my spam was going. But when I checked it, nothing.

Well, friends - the day has finally come. My blog has apparently become popular enough to be discovered by the spammers of the world, as evidenced by the helpful advice on countertops that Montanna shared after my last post. Either that, or one of my readers took exception to the photos of my quartz countertops and decided I should have a granite or onyx look instead.

I think it was spam. What do you think? ( :-)

Shoo! Shoo! Everyone Out of the Kitchen!

Well, all the furry ones that is. Time to do some cooking and take advantage of the glorious bounty of ripe tomatoes before they spoil. The days of August dance along accompanied by the cicada chorus, and before I know it tomatoes are piling up on the countertops. Red ones, yellow ones, little ones, fat ones, funny shaped ones, each delightfully fragrant and full of promise. Wasting even one homegrown tomato must surely be one of life's unforgivable sins, so at some point in mid August everything has to come to a halt for some quality time in the kitchen!

(I always make such a grand mess when I cook!)

Last weekend I used the little yellow pear tomatoes to make a batch of Pico de Gallo that turned out as pretty as it was tasty! Just looking at the photo, I can smell the bright aromas of red onion and cilantro. Cilantro grew well in my garden this year for the first time ever! Maybe it sensed that this was its LAST CHANCE. I'd vowed that if it languished and bolted on me again this year, that was it. Next year, its spot in the garden would go to basil, or some other more appreciative and responsive plant.

(Hmm...note to self:  if sweet talking your plants doesn't work, try threats.)

The first photo in this post is Katie sneaking into the kitchen to grab some bits of chopped red onion that fell on the floor. Aside from the fact that onion is toxic for dogs, what dog in their right mind would want to eat red onion?? I told Katie this, but she still gave me a very glum look when I shooed her away.

I also tried a recipe for gazpacho soup from My Carolina Kitchen. For many years I was under the impression that I didn't like gazpacho. However, when I was served chilled gazpacho as an appetizer once, I recall being surprised at how good it was. Even so, it's not a dish I seek out, and I've never made it myself. So this was a bit of a culinary adventure for me, thanks in no small part to the incredible photos on Sam's blog. She could probably photograph and write about Mud Soup with Chickweed Garnish, and I'd be out back with a pail and shovel digging up the ingredients.

It was easy to make - and delicious! 

(Why, even the bowl of compost scraps look pretty. Isn't summer wonderful?)

Happy August everyone!

Lucy! What Are You Doing On The Table??

"Just checking out the day's harvest, that's all!"

Anybody have any good recipes that call for cherry or pear tomatoes?

Unidentified Crawling Object

My niece and I were working on a Jumble puzzle out by the pool one afternoon recently when we noticed something odd. A crumb of debris on the paper was moving...purposefully! Fascinated, we watched as the little object approached the letter g. At first we thought we were seeing things. Was it being blown by a breeze? No, there was no breeze!

I held the paper up for a closer look, and was amazed to discover that the little crumb had legs! Wow. What a fascinating little creature! From the top, it didn't remotely resemble a bug, rather it looked like a little piece of lichen. We hadn't even noticed it until it started walking. With all the hungry birds around here, if I were a bug I would definitely want to look like an unappetizing bit of lichen. Isn't Mother Nature clever?? 

Does anyone know what it is?

If you like our little "lichen-bug," check out this video. It will boggle your mind! Such marvelous wonders of creation inspire, awe, and humble me.