Morning Prairie Stroll

Farewell Summer is blooming.

These colors are crazy, nature's abstract art.

I intend to learn which grasses are which.

Like snowflakes almost.

Hard to focus on an old iphone with a dog tugging at the leash, but I caught the essence of it.

Lovely diversion. Next time, I'm bringing cameras.

Happy Salsa Surprise

Sometimes procrastination can be a good thing. I was going to immerse that metal basket inside the big basket in boiling water to peel the latest batch of tomatoes, but I got sidetracked and didn't start the tomato processing factory up until this afternoon.

 

And lookie what showed up in my kitchen.

I took him outside and he flew away after a few quick poses.

I decided I'd better check the tomatoes better and I found the chrysalis.

All in all, a very exciting day around here, and all those vegetables? Chopped, diced, cooked and or refrigerated or frozen and I have sauce and salsa to last a long while. Hooray me! Now if I could just get all the mess cleaned up. Maybe later.

xo

Taste Testing

My first three batches of salsa, thanks to the monster plum tomato plant I grew all by myself, in my very own kitchen compost. The two regular tomatoes are ones I grew from seeds from the best tomato I grew a few years ago. I'm a seed saver, but I don't get around to actually growing much from them. All those other fine vegetables came from my favorite produce store. I experimented with several recipes, varying the spices, the peppers, sauces and cilantro, so each one is different, but good.

I've eaten a shameful amount of chips, and I'll be eating a lot more. There is an avocado on the counter just asking to be made into guacamole.

This is my fourth colander full of tomatoes to process, and there's lots more where these came from.
I've already frozen a batch of stewed tomatoes, and I'll probably make one huge pot of marinara sauce this weekend. So far today, I'm not motivated enough to transition from gathering and arranging to chopping and squeezing and dicing and making a mess and a half. Maybe tomorrow.

My back and feet are tired of standing in the kitchen from yesterday, and I'm achier than usual in the neck and low back, and it's worse when it rains and thank goodness it rained.  I don't know how pioneer women ever managed the harvest and the canning. No cuisinart, no dishwasher, none of the conveniences. Speaking of PW, I googled salsa recipes on Pinterest and Pioneer Woman's site came up.  Well, she uses canned tomatoes and now I feel a little bit superior. I also was mystified to watch her on cable while I was on vacation. I wanted to hate her perfect life but instead I was too relaxed to care that much. I was mesmerized by her disregard for fat or calorie content, and my husband said if you work outside on a ranch roping cows all day, you can eat that way and stay skinny.  Amazing, though, to see a blogger make the tv leap. Anyway.
 
In other exciting I grew it myself news, my apple tree has maybe two dozen apples that appear edible. I'd like to make applesauce from them, or maybe dehydrate some for snacking. I'll keep you posted on those pending adventures.

Looks like I'll be living off the land in no time.

xo

And I didn't even cry.

 It's that time of year again. Back to school, which thankfully is only about an hour away.

I was okay with all this change, for a change.

Same roommate, different dorm, only mom to help this year. 

Dad was out of town, Sister at Varsity Volleyball practice. Deja vu, almost.

These two have been friends since middle school, and still going strong. Golf tryouts are this week, and they're ready. 

This year, I was too. It does get a little easier, incrementally, letting go, and waiting to see what comes next.

xo

And it was good.

The last trip of the season was the best. No more volleyball or tournaments or airports or hotels. Just family and a friend and the dog on a roadtrip to our place in the mountains. A real vacation.

The car ride was safe and uneventful - over 30 hours total on the road and only stiff joints to complain about.

The scenery was amazing - magical even. Huge rocks, lush green, mossy, mushroom and flower filled mountains with butterflies by the hundreds, moths by the dozens, rainbows, meteors, a crescent moon, sparkly ground, even a bear - everything but the unicorns.

Regal Moth

Bird Poop Moth or Pearly Wood Nymph

The activities were exciting, interesting and fun. Whitewater rafting views of the mountain valleys were like none I have seen before and I wish I had more than my memory to go on. We hiked ancient indian trails and we and walked and looked and we swam and lounged and we rinsed and we repeated.  We even worked in a college visit, which was a great side trip.

The food was ridiculous - buttery yummy sauces, fresh crisp vegetables, delicious cuisine when we ate out, but among our best meals, and the only one I cooked (!) was breakfast for dinner on the porch: pancakes, bacon, sausage, mimosas - the total package. Healthy? Nah. Yummy? You bet. And the sunset? Perfect.

The quality time was quality. We talked, played board and card and word games, did puzzles, listened to music, and watched very little tv and spent almost no time online. We got off the life treadmill and we relaxed and laughed and were lazy.  And it was good. Very, very good.


Now back to the mayhem of unpacking for good, and re-packing to get the kids ready for school.

I'd ask where the summer went, but I know - it went all over the place and I had a wonderful time. No complaining allowed. I may not be in the mountains, but the prairie has its own allure. I intend to appreciate it.

xo