TRIP TO ELLENSBURG ~ IN THE FRONT YARD ~ BABY QUAIL UPDATE ~ SIGNS OF AUTUMN ~ PARTING SHOT

TRIP TO ELLENSBURG

Linda and I decided to take time off from our usual yard work last Friday and take a day trip to Ellensburg. This small town is only about 30 minutes away, and we like to go there from time to time just to walk around downtown and see what's new. On this trip we really didn't find much new downtown, but we did visit their Goodwill store for the first time. Linda was delighted to find a few books that were on her "want" list, at a reasonable price. After a chilly, windy walk through the downtown (we even had to wear jackets!), we headed to the destination that was the REAL reason we made this trip. Several months ago our local newspaper, the Yakima Herald-Republic, published their list of the best pizzas to be found in and around Yakima. Topping the list was Cornerstone Pie (<--link), located in Ellensburg. Ever since I read that article I have wanted to go there, so we did just that on this trip. Let me tell you, it did not disappoint. First of all, this is a pizza place in a college town, so you know it has to be good. And they have a lot of outdoor seating plus a small venue set up to have concerts. Secondly, the sound system was playing rock songs from the 60's (yay!), and there were framed vintage posters all around from that era. You can even buy them if you want, but just so you know, the one that Linda is pointing to in the picture below was $1500.

Thirdly, they offer personal-sized pizzas, so we were both able to get whatever we wanted from their wide variety of fire-roasted pizza. Linda had the "Tre Fungi" pizza, which consisted of tomato sauce, loads of mozzarella cheese, and three different kinds of mushrooms. Being the Southerner that I am, I was intrigued by the "Carolina Pulled Pork" pizza. I opted for that one even though I knew it would not be authentic "pulled pork" like I was used to. Nonetheless, it was very, very good. The pizza had a Kansas City-style sauce (sweet) called "Bourbon BBQ Sauce." This sauce was very tasty, with just a hint of bourbon and heat. The crust was nice and chewy, which is the way I like it. Let me pause here for a moment to educate everyone on Eastern North Carolina Barbecue and the accompanying sauce. The sauce is made with vinegar, cayenne, black pepper, crushed red pepper, hot sauce (usually Texas Pete, which is made in Winston-Salem) and sometimes water is added. This sauce is constantly mopped over the whole pig while it is being cooked in a huge smoker. It is also served on the side in case you want to add some to your plate. And while I am at it, let me just say that the meat is always, always chopped, and is called "barbecue," not "pulled pork." But that is the way it was made just in my region of the state, as there are other styles and types of Carolina Barbecue. There are probably as many different kinds of barbecue (or pulled pork, or whatever you want to call it) in this country as there are states. Having said all that, suffice it to say that this particular pizza was excellent, in my opinion, and I definitely want to go back.

On our way back from Ellensburg we decided to take a detour and ride through the Yakima River Canyon. This scenic drive is on a two-lane road which runs right alongside the Yakima River. The views are gorgeous and there are numerous places to pull off the road and enjoy the scenery if you are so inclined. Below are a few pictures that I took with my phone.

View of surrounding hills from the Canyon

It was a perfect day for rafting and canoeing on the river

Gorgeous views

High desert beauty

IN THE FRONT YARD

After our day off on Friday, we returned to our yard work on Sunday. Linda was still hard at work transplanting flowers in the front yard and watering them in, and I helped her briefly with moving some rocks. Then I turned my attention to taking pictures for the blog. I usually take my pictures in the back yard, because that is where the vegetable garden is located. But on this day I decided to take some in the front yard for a change. Linda suggested I take some pictures of the Snapdragons, since we have so many different colors in our yard.

Snapdragons on display

On the last picture I took, I got a surprise. Just as I clicked the shutter, a bee flew toward the flower I was photographing. If I had known he was coming, I would have focused on him!

This flower had a visitor

While roaming around the front yard, I got a few more flower pictures. I seem to get more comments on my flower pictures on the blog than I do on anything else. So I am assuming that is the favorite feature. I like to take flower pictures anyway, so rest assured there will always be plenty of them on my blog.

Yellow Gallardia

Sunflower with bee

My favorite flower has got to be the rose, and we have several in our yard. The two pictured below are somewhat special. The one on top is called the "River Rose" because one of Linda's students (named River) gave it to her.  The rose below that is one we have named the "Dad Rose" because it came from Linda's dad.

Special roses: River Rose (top) and Dad Rose (bottom)

Another rose we got from Dad's house

I need to insert a picture from the back yard at this point because this one is my favorite rose, named the "Mary Rose" because it came from a cutting of one of my mom's roses.

Another special rose: Mary Rose

While we were out in the front yard we had loads of bees flying all around. Of course, I can't resist getting a video or two of them, since we love them so much. This guy below looks like he is wearing yellow pantaloons, but it's just the pollen stuck to his hind legs.

Taking the time to photograph things in nature allows me to focus on what's around me. I don't always get the picture or video of what I see because sometimes it just happens too fast. But when I can, I like to stop and look around and just document on record something that catches my eye.

Feather on the wind

BABY QUAIL UPDATE

We continue to see the baby quail every now and then. They are starting to get big now, and they even have feathers that make them look more like a quail. And guess what? They now have tail feathers!! Gone are those cute little pink butts. Oh, well. They can't stay babies forever.

SIGNS OF AUTUMN

We are seeing signs of Autumn everywhere, even though it is still August. It seems like the temperatures are starting to cool off a little earlier this year. We have actually had to wear sweat pants and fleece jackets (our winter uniform) a couple of days this past week. Evidence that it isn't just all in our heads can be found in these pictures below.

PARTING SHOT

While Linda and I were out in the front yard on Sunday, Summer Girl was out there with us, too. She managed to amuse herself while we were busy. Some days she just amazes me with her antics.

That's about it for this week, my friends. I want to leave you with this thought, which I saw posted on the art board at Emily's house:
"Your neighbor is still your neighbor, no matter what has happened."

AH, TOMATOES! ~ BIRDS ~ GARDEN FLOWERS ~ PARTING SHOT

AH, TOMATOES!

Last week I posted that I was hoping to get a tomato sandwich. I am happy to report that I have had a tomato sandwich for lunch EVERY DAY since then. This year I only have two kinds of slicing tomatoes in my garden, the usual Black Krim heirloom (my favorite) and a new one, the Big Rainbow.

Big Rainbow tomato

I couldn't wait to see how the Big Rainbow tomato tasted, so that was the one I used for my first tomato sandwich. Just looking at this picture below makes me want to go fix a tomato sandwich right now!

Authentic Southern Tomato Sandwich

Everyone knows there are only 5 ingredients in a true tomato sandwich: 1) tomato, 2) fresh white bread (no substitutions!), 3) mayonnaise (whatever brand is your favorite), 4) salt, and 5) pepper. That is it, my friends. No lettuce, no bacon, nothing else to adorn this wonderful, pure culinary pleasure!

BIRDS (yes, again)

Before we went on our trip over to Seattle and Tacoma, we had some pretty hot days with temperatures over 100 degrees several days in a row. The birds outside were all panting, it was so hot for them. We made sure to have ample water in our bird baths during that time, and the birds were regular visitors to them. Most of our customers were sparrows, but we have definitely grown to love these little guys over the years. They may not be as pretty as all the songbirds we had in North Carolina, but they sure are fun to watch.

It looked like most of the birds at the bird bath above were youngsters. Some of them didn't really know what to do, but after they would look around at their buddies they would figure it out.

House Sparrow couple

GARDEN FLOWERS

This past week has been really smoky in Yakima due to the fires in Washington state and also from numerous fires in British Columbia, Canada. The prevailing winds are blowing down from the North and bringing us smoke from the Canadian fires. All of this has worked to keep Linda and myself inside the house for the most part. But one morning the smoke wasn't too bad so I decided to get some pictures of flowers in the garden. Not the flower garden, mind you, but the vegetable garden. So, I just walked around the garden and took pictures of all the flowers out there. It was kind of early in the morning and not too many bees were out yet.

Zucchini flower

The zucchini flowers usually have a bee or two on them. The bees head for that structure in the middle of the flower where the pollen is made by the male flowers, called the stamen. The pollen sticks to the bees and then they fly over to a female flower and deposit the pollen on the female flower's corresponding part called a stigma. The zucchini will develop behind the pollinated flower. So you can see why bees are so important to growing food.

Lemon Cucumber flowers

Most of the plants in my garden belong to the same family, called the Nightshades. This family includes tomatoes, tomatillos, potatoes, and peppers. The rest of my plants belong to the Curcurbits family, which includes all squashes, zucchinis, and cucumbers. As you can see from the pictures below, a lot of the flowers are similar.

Tomatillo fruit (top) and flower (bottom)

Yellow Squash flowers

Tomato flower

Jalapeno flower

Armenian Cucumber flower

Potato flower

I also found a couple of flowers on some of the salad garden plants. The basil would have flowers except for the fact that I keep them pinched off so the basil will continue to grow leaves. We have so many chive plants that it would be impossible to keep those flowers pinched off. And the lettuce plants are done for the season so I am letting them flower just in case the bees want to go to them.

Chive flower

Lettuce flower

I would be remiss if I did not show any pictures from the flower garden as well. Right now some of the flowers are just too pretty to be passed over. So here is a sampling of flowers from the front and back flower gardens.

Gallardia flower with trumpet petals

This Gallardia flower above is a little different from most of our other Gallardia flowers. It opened up with small green leaves right behind the flower blossom, and the petals of the flower are trumpet-shaped. Below is a picture of what our other Gallardia flowers look like, which is called the Classic Daisy form of Gallardia.

Gallardia flower with daisy petals

A trumpet-petal Gallardia bouquet

My butterfly bush that I bought last year at the Master Gardeners sale has really grown this year and has had some absolutely gorgeous flowers. The butterflies and hummingbirds have really enjoyed going to it. I love how the flower head is made up of all these little tiny flowers, and it's fun to watch the butterflies and hummers go to each one of these tiny flowers getting nectar.

Butterfly bush flower

Is this Sunflower sticking its tongue out at me?

I found this Sunflower above in the front yard. It had one yellow petal coming out of the middle of the seed head. I have never noticed that before on a Sunflower, but I saw another one in the front yard just like it so I'm guessing it happens every now and then. Pretty funny, though!

Rudbekia, or Black-Eyed Susan

The Rudbekia flowers have really been lovely this year. Linda painstakingly transplanted some babies around in different parts of the front yard, and then babied them this Spring. They have rewarded her hard work by producing some of the most beautiful flowers, and the bees just love them!

Snapdragons

We don't have to work at all to get these flowers above in our yard. These Snapdragons just pop up voluntarily every year in a wide array of colors. We don't have very many completely red flowers in our garden, the only other ones that come to mind are the roses. But we did have a few red Snapdragon volunteers this year. Hopefully we will have even more next year because they were so pretty!

PARTING SHOT

Summer Girl came inside a little bit this past week, probably to escape the smoky air outside. We always enjoy it when she deigns to visit us inside during the summer, if only for a few minutes.

That's all for this week, my friends. Please join us again next week, and keep your fingers crossed that the smoky air clears up by then!

FIRST THINGS FIRST ~ VISIT IN TACOMA ~ BACK TO YAKIMA, BACK TO ROUTINE ~ PARTING SHOT

FIRST THINGS FIRST ~ Baby Quail Update

We've had more baby quail in our yard this year than we have had since we got Summer Girl. We have sighted a quail family in the front and back yard quite often lately. They only have two babies, but I believe this is the family that started out with four babies. It’s hard to tell because they all look the same to me. We enjoy seeing them so much, and so far Summer Girl has ignored them. I believe she is getting a little too old to mess with birds!  

Momma Quail surveyed the entire garden and back yard from her perch on the fence, while the babies stayed huddled up a little ways from her. Poppa Quail was behind them, partially hidden by the bushes. I was sitting under the tree with Summer Girl on my lap when I spotted them, or rather heard one of them chirping. I had to take the kitty inside so they would leave off of the fence and go eat under the feeder. The parents are so cautious with their precious little babies, and no wonder because the babies are still quite small. The quail love the cracked corn we provide for them and visit the back feeder almost every day.

VISIT IN TACOMA

This week I have Part Two of our trip over the mountains for the birthday celebration. We went to Seattle first, had our birthday celebration for Linda's daughter and sister, stayed there one night, and then drove about an hour and a half to Tacoma to stay with Linda’s sister and her husband for a couple days. We got a bit lost on the way over to their new house, but eventually we got there a little before noon. They have a nice little patio area out back underneath some tall trees. I found myself out there quite often, enjoying the cooler weather and watching the bunnies and birds. Under the trees there are patches of brier bushes, probably blackberries, which grow wild all over the place in that area. I named one of the bunnies “Bre’r Rabbit” (from the Uncle Remus stories) because he would appear all of a sudden from out of the brier patch. At first I don't think he noticed me, but then he stopped dead still and the only thing that was moving was his nose. I think he could smell me. I took a shower that morning, I promise!

The other one I named “Ole Swivel Ears” for obvious reasons, which you will see in the video below.

I saw a few birds there at the feeder, but it was in a dark area and there wasn't enough light to get any good pictures. I'm sure we will be going back to visit them before too long, so maybe I can get some more bird pictures then.

The next morning, Linda, her sister, and I decided to take a walk at the Chambers Bay Park. This used to be an old Pioneer Sand & Gravel quarry. 

This old quarry has been made into a beautiful park which runs alongside the Chambers Bay Golf Course. Some of the old structures from the quarry are still there. I don't know what this picture below is of, but I call it “Tacomahenge.”

 
Another large structure dominates the landscape. 

There is no telling what its original purpose was, but it now serves to provide a place for birds to build their nests.

Mud nests built by swallows

The main attraction for all the walkers that day was the osprey nest. Two large osprey chicks were making their presence known with their loud squawks. Soon the reason for their squawking became apparent when we saw Poppa flying up with a fish in his talons. I'm sorry I didn't get a picture of him with the fish, but it all happened so fast. However, I did get a video right after he landed on the nest and deposited his fish. It even looks like one of the babies is starting to munch on his lunch.

Of course, after  you eat lunch it's time to take a bath. This little (?) guy was busy doing just that as I watched from below.

I finally succeeded in getting a pretty good shot of the twins sitting on the nest. That's about all they did the whole time we were there, but one of them took a practice flight around the structure and I happened to get a couple of pictures of that as well.

At the shoreline of the Chambers Bay Park there is a beautiful footbridge over the railroad tracks. Linda and her sister took a walk out on it while I was busy with the ospreys.

The interesting thing about this bridge is the large number of locks that people have placed on the bridge cables. They were very pretty with the rays of the sun bouncing off of them. Linda said they are called Love Locks, and you place a lock on the bridge in memory of a loved one, or to commemorate a special event, or just to celebrate your love for someone. The next time we go to Tacoma, we are going to go there and take one of Dad's old locks and put it on the bridge. What a beautiful way to remember someone!

"Love Locks"

BACK TO YAKIMA, BACK TO ROUTINE

We really enjoyed our trip over to visit the family in Seattle and Tacoma, but we were glad to get back home and get back into our routine. I haven't really posted any recipes lately because, you know, it's summer and, well...birds. They do tend to take up a lot of my time, but I have been cooking, don't get me wrong. Today, while writing this blog, I managed to make three Instant Pots full of applesauce to put up in the freezer for Linda. That's the beauty of the Instant Pot, you can just dump everything in it and go do something else. 

This past week I also turned a sink full of parsley into Parsley Pesto and a sink full of basil into Basil Pesto. We also put this up in the freezer. I am hoping to get at least one more harvest of basil, and maybe parsley, to make another batch before it's all over with.

Basil (left) and Parsley (right)

And now I have an update on the most important thing out in the garden...the tomatoes. I am happy to say that there are several of the Black Krim heirloom tomatoes that have red color on them and will be ready to pick before the end of the week. We also have a couple tomatoes on our new Big Rainbow tomato plant, which are turning a yellow-reddish color. Here's a picture of it, and I cannot wait to cut into it and see what it looks like inside...as well as taste it.

I hustled up to Safeway today and got one of the main ingredients for that cherished Southern delicacy that I have been anxiously waiting to make. Can you guess what it is?

Yes, folks, that's right. It is that delicious, mouth-watering concoction known as the Tomato Sandwich. I would show you a picture of one right now but I don't have a ripe tomato yet. You can rest assured that as soon as one is ripe, I am going to make me one and you better believe THAT picture will make the blog. Then I am going to let my friend L.H. know so she can stop by and get a juicy, ripe tomato and enjoy one herself. 

PARTING SHOT

One day this week I looked out the back bedroom window to see this sight. I swear, she can fall asleep anywhere!

On the Rocks

That's all for this week, my friends. Tune in again next week and find out if I ever got to have that tomato sandwich!