Bountiful August...65º

I love taking photos of our garden produce and sharing the over abundance...Herb and I eat sliced Patty Pans and Zucchini everyday for dinner but can't begin to eat all that grow in the garden...I'm thinking I will make another pan of brownies/cake and freeze for later...Thankfully we have friends who don't cringe when I offer zucchini and are overjoyed at the sight of the Patty Pans...This little squash brings a smile to my face as it lights up every photo, and every plate...It is good raw, lightly sautéed, stuffed and baked and a myriad of other ways, just check it out on the Internet for new recipes...I think it is tastier by far than the crook neck squash.

Zucchini, Patty Pans and Cucumbers

Santa Rosa plums are falling from our tree across the road...Since they are so high in the tree and ripen sporadically, we harvest them as they fall...I carefully wash and trim each one and we eat as many as possible...They are juicy, sweet/tart and have to be eaten over the sink as juice goes everywhere...I slice them off the pit, freeze in quart bags (enough for a batch of jam) to make later in the season...I might have enough to make a couple of quarts of juice, that also later, will make lovely jam and pancake syrup.

Santa Rosa plums.

Today I must roast tomatoes...The stitches are out of my hand and with the help of "food safe" gloves I should be able to core and slice tomatoes to fill 3 sheet pans...My mouth waters now as I anticipate the flavor of these tasty morsels.

We had a brief rain storm this morning, lightening and thunder included...Wasn't enough to hardly wet the ground, but did cool it off just a bit...Enough blathering for today...Hugs To All...OWAV:)

Tomatoes...60º

  

This recipe uses roma tomatoes but any ripe tomato will work.

Fall is always a busy time of the year and especially if you have a garden...Our garden is small but it generates a fair amount of produce, plus it is time to roast tomatoes...I ordered 3 25# boxes of tomatoes...They are almost ripe enough to slice, season and cook in a slow oven, until they are concentrated yummy goodness, ready to freeze and use all winter..The following is a rerun or a previous blog, it contains directions for roasting and also a recipe using the roasted tomatoes along with the prolific zucchine...Click on Recipe....Hugs To All...OWAV:)

Comforting Thoughts and Food...46º

I wasn't really thinking when I posted my blog a few days ago, just in a blue funk and feeling sorry for myself...So to all of you out there who voiced concern and those thinking good thoughts for me I send a big Thank You...It was heartwarming to hear from my family and friends and much appreciated.

Moving forward, on Sunday, before my fall I had made a new recipe for Brownies...I chose this recipe because it called for lots of grated zucchini, the amount of sugar was less than flour and the cocoa (I use Penzy's Cocoa, dark and delicious,) was a goodly amount...Of course true to form, I adjusted the recipe, using more zuke, less sugar and spread my own variation of frosting on the hot brownies...I was a little disappointed when the finished product looked more like a cake than brownies but oh well, it was chocolate...I cut the cooled cake/brownie into small pieces and after the first bite was no longer disappointed, it wasn't the texture of brownies, but it was dense, moist and so "choclatey" that I almost swooned on the spot...It has been many months since I've had a good chocolate fix.

After the ER trip, and before I carefully placed each small piece in a Tupperware container, destined for the freezer, you guessed it, I had another piece, this time, covered in cream...(Just like when I was a child.) I definitely needed comfort food...Hugs To All...OWAV:)

Hot Chocolate cake with frosting soaking in.

Cake with pieces missing as I get ready to freeze

so I don't eat the entire cake!

Summer So Far...61º

It seems that this summer has been one glorious day after another...Mostly sunshine and blue skies, with some smoke thrown in...Good and bad altogether, Herb and I are able to keep things green and growing as we head into the cooler days of late summer in Wallowa County and count our blessings everyday.

So where am I headed with this?..I try to keep things light and optimistic on these pages but the past couple of days have dampened my spirits...Sunday evening I was in the garden checking on the prolific zucchini and moving the water one last time...I evidently made a misstep, tried to catch myself, and found myself lying on the ground, a painful knee and a bleeding hand...It took me several minutes to catch my breath, access the situation before I was able to get up and walk to the house...Taking just one look at my hand (between my thumb and pointer finger) I knew that stitches were in my future...In the kitchen I ran cool water over the "gash" and called to Herb, "Come in the kitchen, I need your help."..He had no idea anything was wrong...After a quick look at my hand, it took no time at all to get me in the car and off to the emergency room...I came home sporting two blue stitches in my hand and the good news that I hadn't severed a tendon or done any major damage...My knee was bruised but the kneecap was in place, no major damage there either.

A little background here for people that might not know about my lack of balance...Basically I am "Unbalanced." 😀  Some 20 years ago a viral infection wiped out the balance function in my inner ears, so now when I trip, stumble, twist an ankle, miss a step, I go into free fall...One minute I'm upright, the next second, flat on the ground.

I spent time on the deck Monday watching the eclipse and babying my hand while Herb tended to the yard and gardens...Tuesday morning found me in the dentist chair having my teeth cleaned, all looked good until the annual xrays showed cavities under or near my "crowns," calling for major work...DAMN, I didn't need that...The dentist was totally blown away when comparing last year xrays to this years and the drastic change with no apparent reason...Who knows what caused this.

I've had time to think about all this and know that it is just a bump in the road, I will survive, we are both in decent shape for our ages, so far we have avoided the dreaded Cancer word and other things much worse than a bruised knee, stitches and cavities...Carry on we must!

Our kids will be home for a visit in 10 days, so that will be a boost to our spirits and reconfirm just how blessed we really are...Hugs to All...OWAV:)

This mornings sunrise through a smoky haze.

Hand is healing quite nicely...Photo is a bit blurry

Early Fall Blooms...51º

It seems that what I think of as my late bloomers, are showing their faces in August, instead of September...But in looking back through last years photos, these same flowers were blooming mid August last year...My mind is playing tricks on me again.

I'm working hard this year to thin out the crowded irises and day lilies, before I add bark mulch to cover and clean up the flower beds...Thinning them out allows me to share starts and it encourages the plants to bloom more next summer...Hard work is usually worth the effort...Both Herb and I are enjoying the cooler days, sun is just now up and the lighting is surreal, so I will add a few photos to this blog and get to work...Hugs To All...OWAV:)

This Clematis is Mr. President, gorgeous blooms that last and last, that is if the deer will leave them alone...It has had blooms for about a month now but so far these are the only ones that have lasted through the night...Maybe the deer have found something else to chew on.

 The purple cone flowers are one of my favorites and the bees (honey I think) really like them as well...I'm digging the new starts and replanting, can't have enough of them.

Four new starts of "Blanket Flower," I bought at the nursery for more fall color, have been eaten off twice by the deer, just as they started to bud...They should be almost 2 feet tall, but instead are about a foot tall and and struggling...They are slowly adding color and the bees also love them.

 Golden Glow came from Mom's garden and is a prolific bloomer, it has to be staked and supported to  keep it from falling over...I read that in the olden days it was called the "outhouse plant," maybe to decorate the outhouse, or provide a cover so the outhouse wasn't so prominent?

In my spare time this week, I played with pie crust and huckleberries and came up with "hand pies." A bit disappointed because they leaked out and left the pies a bit dry...Had to eat them with ice cream...Darn!

Wishing everyone a lovely day.

Crazy Week/Weekend...50º

My week was so crazy....Herb and I normally have a relaxed schedule, very few commitments and we enjoy our home, where in summer we work outside in the morning and mostly relax in the afternoons...Last week found us doing all those things as well as making a trip to Costco, two hours away, planning for overnight guests, plus entertaining guests at a Sunday evening dinner...Also thrown into the mix, a friend text and asked if I could pick her raspberries and I had scheduled our "girls" outing to the Elgin Opera House on Saturday afternoon...I'm hyperventilating just thinking about this.

All went well as I had menu's planned and days figured to do the prep work, groceries were purchased and Herb was always ready to help when ever I said, "Honey, will you please?" Not only were we busy but the town of Joseph had two big events going over the weekend...The annual "Fly In" at the Joseph airport (that is visible from our house) started Friday afternoon with the West Coast Ravens (6 planes) flying low over our house...It startled me and I wasn't sure if I should run for cover or just enjoy the show...They made several appearances Friday and Saturday...Friday evening, music started drifting our way from the Joseph City Park as the annual Bronze,Blues and Brews got underway.

Saturday morning, I cleaned house, sort of, browned and seasoned the ground beef for our Taco Salads, (when we arrived home from The Wizard of Oz)...Herb vacuumed inside and hosed down the deck outside...We were ready, with one minor change, instead of guests for dinner at our house, on Sunday night, a cookout at John and Becky's was on tap.

Everything went well, the play was a smash as usual, we spent Saturday evening on the deck eating and listening to the best Blues music and visited non stop with Sue and Cindy...Brunch followed on Sunday morning and BBQ late afternoon...We were home by 7pm and I was in bed before 8pm...This morning I feel like I've been run over by a Semi!..Actually I feel pretty good and have to get moving, we've had some rain and cooler days are in the forecast...Hugs To All...OWAV:)

Another wonderful show

Daily Posts...58º

My daily blog posts seem to be a thing of the past, as our gardens consume us...With temps in the 80's and 90's, Herb and I are both outside early, tending to the watering, pulling weeds, deadheading, spreading chips while it is cool...By 10am we are back in the house, doors and windows closed tight, keeping the cool air inside...This past week we are reaping the benefits of our labor as we eat stuffed patty pans for dinner, fresh green beans, cucumbers, zucchini patties...Yesterday I picked the first cherry tomato and Herb harvest one huge cabbage to make into coleslaw...Nothing beats fresh produce on the dinner table.

Was it just last week that I spent two12 hour days (including travel time) in a huckleberry patch and more hours over the gas stove (outside) making our winters huckleberry jam and freezing quart bags full for huckleberry pancakes...The old timers are predicting another hard winter and those pancakes will taste so good...I also picked 2 gallons of raspberries at a friends house, more fruit to freeze for smoothies and jam.

Last Sunday I spent a few hours at the 93rd birthday party for our dear friend Margaret...Her family, mostly grandchildren and great grandchildren, who refer to her, with love in their voices as "GG" hosted this event...She is blessed to have such a family and friends from near and far helping her celebrate.

Coming up this weekend is the musical "Wizard of Oz," a group of us will attend the last of the summer musicals on Saturday and they have already announced that "The Adams Family" will be performed in October...These shows always amaze me, as they just get better and better...That's all for today, Hugs to all...OWAV:)

Stuffed Patty Pans

Dinner

Tate spent the weekend with us.