Last night's sunset...

.

And today's peach pie.


So I got some gorgeous peaches from the Fruit Truck that sells at Steamboat Island road, across from the school. They go to the east side of the mountains, load up and come back and sell the produce. Great stuff. Tried the trick of dropping the peaches into boiling water for one minute and then wiping off the peels. A bit messy but very effective. Not sure if it is an improvement on peeling by hand or not. Also used Martha's suggestion of freezing your lattice work crust before setting it in place. Makes it much easier to handle and it thaws quickly for sealing into the edge. I put it together on a piece of waxed paper then slide it onto a cookie sheet to go in the freezer. 20 minutes and it's ready to go on the pie. So much easier than trying to pick it up loose.

Keep your fork - there's pie!

Spring is here and the flowers are really coming on now. Here's a few... and a pie!








I really love the daffs. It's not spring for me until they start opening. I have several that need to be relocated that I plan to move to Daddy's grave site in the woods. The low spring sun comes in under the evergreens there and will be enough to allow them to thrive and spread.

End of January...

... and winter is still here, but signs of spring are everywhere. The cyclamen are blooming and there are bulbs nosing out of the ground all over the place. Some of the very early shrubs are showing signs of new buds as well.


We're heading to Kevin & Adam's place tonight for dinner so I baked a cherry pie. This is the first time in years I have managed to get the lattice work to come out perfect. Isn't it beautiful?!

Ugh, I ate too moishe...

Thanksgiving

The Guest list:

Daniel and I
Miles
Terry
Joey and Wes

The menu:

Roast turkey
Roasted garlic mashed potatoes
turkey gravy (from scratch, natch)
Stuffing (as good as grandma's!)
Sweet potato souffle
Green bean casserole
Cranberry compote
Whole wheat rolls
Apple Pie
Pumpkin pie with freshly whipped cream
Many bottles of fabulous French wine








The result:

A great feast with great friends, and a very memorable day. The turkey was late but worth the wait - so moist and juicy. The gravy was a bit thin but so tasty. Joey's souffle was amazing. The pies were perfect and the wine was to die for. I'm thankful to have such good friends. Hope yours was as good!

Beautiful days

What an unseasonably beautiful November we are having. The last few days have been warm and sunny. We've yet to have a killing frost, tho a few light ones have been thru. I finally (!!!) managed to get my Kleinsorge bed expanded and a new one created next to it. This is going to make a big difference in a few years as the lilacs and the vine maple grow in. And in the meantime all my Kleinsorge irises are in one place together.


Miss Gracie was outside with me all afternoon enjoying the sun. She's brought in a few rodents today (leaving bits of them scattered about the back yard - yuck), but unfortunately no more moles yet. They are tearing up my terraces something awful and making a huge mess and I sure wish she would kill a few more.


Here's Mr. Pansy in his favorite chair again. Paws up!


And finally a raspberry tart I made a few weeks ago. Not the most attractive but it sure was delish.


Friends are coming for Thanksgiving. Hope yours is a happy one!

Mmmm... Cherry Pie

Awww... apple time

Oh I just love it when the apples hit the market. Here's an Apple Gallette, a kind of open-faced apple pie. It was delicious!

Fresh pics

It's been awhile since I downloaded my camera and went thru the pics. Here's some recent shots from around the place. Not much is happening due to lack of funds to adequately deal with the weeds, but we're doing what we can.

Here's a shot of a not-so-lovely but quite delicious Apple Tarte Tartin I made from a Cuisine at Home recipe. It is basically an upside-down cake.


I love kniphofia. this bright yellow-orange one kept the hummingbirds happy for awhile and sure made a bright spot of color in the garden. The deer leave it alone so I'll probably get more of these.


Sempervivum 'Mount Usher. Gorgeous coloration.


A wonderful pelargonium Joey got for me for my birthday - isn't it just stunning? I'm hoping I can keep it alive thru the winter so I can enjoy it for years to come.


Here's Mr. Pansy looking quite adorable, and hiding a heart filled with badness. The little stinker got mad the other morning when he didn't get to go out and peed on my shirt that was laying on the vinyl couch - right in front of me! I think we have solved the mystery of who peed on the bed in the guest room and destroyed the mattress and a pillow. What a bad kitty. It's a good thing he is so cute.




And finally two shots of recent sunsets. We've had some really stunning ones lately. Not sure what is going on to color them up so well. One looks like a forest fire and the other was so neat - the clouds started melting like a watercolor painting, with long trails fo mist falling slowly down just as the sun was going down. Very neat effect. Click on the pics to see larger shots of them.


Until next time, happy gardening!