Ruby Tuesday-Apples and More

Red apples are really pretty hanging on the tree!

This unused outbuilding is red, too! The evening sun was doing a splendid job of lighting these every day things. I'm thankful I was walking around with my camera!

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Mother-in-law's Tongue Blossom

Many people I have talked with do not know that this plant blooms. In fact, I didn't, either until my sister-in-law told me about one of hers that did. It is also called Snake Plant. The Latin name is Sansevieria trifasciata.

For more Today's Flowers click here.

Camera Critters

This fawn is one of three which have been hanging around lately--I think the apples falling from our trees have something to do with it!
It's not often that the light and everything work when I try to get a shot like this!

To see more camera critters click here.

Sky Reflected on Water

This is a reflection of a cloud on a lake.
Happy Watery Wednesday and Skywatch Friday!

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F is for Fishing

My husband and I like to fish. Behind Libby Dam in Montana is a long, narrow lake called Koocanusa. It's full of fish. We try to catch a species of land-locked salmon called kokanee. We like to eat them. Yum!


These kokanee are not very big but they are very hungry, which makes them fairly easy to hook. However, they are not above stealing your bait and leaving the (empty) hook behind! They may fight when you reel them in, or you might not know they're on the hook until you reel it in.


It's fun trolling around the lake. You can catch something unexpected--like your spouse's line! Or a thunderstorm (I love thunderstorms, as I have said before!) will build up making it prudent to get off the water.


Sometimes the wind pushes the boat around and you have to work to get anywhere. Other times it can be perfectly still. In a few hours the weather might change several times!


When our time on the lake is done, we bring our catch home. My husband likes to smoke some of them. Then, whatever we don't eat right away I either freeze or can.

Fishing is fun!

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Ruby Tuesday-New Orleans, Louisiana

This memorializes the destruction of New Orleans
by hurricanes Katrina and Rita,
August and September 2005.
It is located in the Lower Ninth Ward, where the devastation was greatest.
Notice the empty chairs.

The sign in the window of the memorial vows that they will rebuild.

But after three years, in May 2008 when these were taken,
There was still much to be done.

Don't believe when you see on the news that New Orleans is fine now. It isn't.

For more Ruby Tuesday click here.

Summer Stock Sunday-Family Fun

This is one of the best things about summer-getting together with family to enjoy the sun, have a picnic, and play in the water. The occasion this time was a birthday party (hence the balloons!) but other excuses, or no excuse, are just as good!
To see more Summer Stock Sunday pics, Click on "Around the Island" in my list of good reads in the sidebar.

Bench of the Week

This is actually a picnic table--but it has benches! It comes apart like a puzzle so it can be stored flat or carried in your vehicle. It's not very big, but it is handy! To see more benches, visit Visual Norway.

Mt Shasta Sky

Mt. Shasta, California, USA

I took this last November while we were driving to visit family in California. The view is from the north.
According to the informational sign, the peak of Mt. Shasta is 14,162 feet above sea level. If I did the math correctly, that's 4,357 meters. The mountain is one of the southernmost volcanoes in the Cascade Range. The last eruption was in 1786 and was witnessed from sea by explorer La Perouse.

To see more Skywatch Friday pictures, go here.

Sunny Raindrops

Last time you saw raindrops on water, this time it's raindrops in the sun. Both these pics were taken from our boat, on Lake Koocanusa in Montana.
See more of Watery Wednesday here.

E is for Entrance

To a business in town

In the French Quarter, New Orleans, Louisiana

To my brother's house in northern California

Check out more ABC Wednesday.

Rosehips for Ruby Tuesday

These are wild rosehips.
I like wild roses
They bloom independently

Check out more pictures at Ruby Tuesday.

Apricot Crisp-ilicious!

I bought a lug of apricots yesterday. They were ready to be used then, but I didn't get to it until today, owing to an unplanned trip to get steps for our camper and a fishing pole & reel for me. Worthy causes, both!

So today was a canning day. I still have fruit to process, but I canned 8 pints of apricots and made 9 jars of apricot jam. They are cooling on my table as I write.
I knew I didn't have time to do any more canning today, but I wanted to use more of the fruit, so I decided to make a crisp.

Apricot Crisp

Filling:
5 cups cut up ripe apricots
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup tapioca
1 Tablespoon lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice*

Topping:
3/4 cup flour
3/4 cup brown sugar
3 Tablespoons butter, melted

Mix the filling ingredients together, put in an 8x8 or 9x9 square pan. For the topping, mix the flour and brown sugar together in a dry bowl, then add the melted butter and stir with a fork until it forms moist crumbs. Sprinkle the crumbs on top of the fruit. Do not try to cover the top evenly, just let the crumbs fall to mostly cover the top. Put the pan in a pre-heated 350 degree oven, and bake for about 50 minutes. The time will vary; the crisp is done when the filling is bubbling well in the middle of the pan. Remove from the oven and cool. Enjoy plain, with milk, cream, whipped cream, or ice cream. Delicious!

*I actually used a blend of spices I made a long time ago. I don't remember the recipe I used, but I know it contained cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, and I think nutmeg (and/or ginger). Pumpkin pie spice is very similar. I would have used a little plain cardamom if I had some!

Morning Reflection

Early morning is a favorite time of day for me. It's quiet. I value the time because it's mine--no phone, no chores, no TV, no expectations. I love to spend it with a cup of tea and the Bible. It helps me center on what is important. The rest of the day may be hectic, even frantic. But a good start helps me have a better day.

To everyone who reads this I send blessings:

The LORD that made heaven and earth bless thee out of Zion. (Psalm 134:3)

It's Friday! Time for Benches and Sky!

Sometimes I just can't decide. I looked through my photos for interesting sky pics, but none measured up. Then I looked again at this one, which I took only a few hours ago thinking of the bench.

"By golly, it can be a sky picture, too!" I said.

So this bench in the sunshine and the dark, threatening sky behind it are my submissions for both Skywatch Friday and Visual Norway's Bench of the Week!

D is for Dirt!

Here, for ABC Wednesday, is Dirt! A species of dirt usually called sand...

In northern Idaho where I live, sand must be stockpiled for spreading on icy winter roads. That is what you see here. The machine operator starts at the bottom of the pile and pushes it higher, adding dump-truck loads each day until there is enough. I'm sorry there are no people or autos in this picture to give a sense of size, but the machine doing the pushing is about 12 feet tall. (I'm not up on metric measurements, but I believe 12 feet would be a little less than 4 meters.) This pile is not complete, but should be sometime soon.

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Watery Wednesday (2)

This was taken on Lake Koocanusa in Montana during a rain shower, so there are two forms of water for your viewing pleasure!

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How to Make Sun Tea

A few readers have asked how to make sun tea. Thanks! I'm glad you're interested!

1. Start with a clear glass jar, as large as you like. I use a recycled one gallon (that's about 4 liters) jar. Fill it with cold water.


2. Add tea bags of your favorite tea. I like Stash teas (that's a brand name in the USA; I don't know if it's available elsewhere). They come in many flavors, both with and without caffeine. Each bag is good for 2 cups of tea, so I use 8 bags in a gallon. If you prefer loose tea, I'm sure it will work, also, but you will need to experiment with amounts.



3. Put the lid on and set the jar in the sun, either outside or in a sunny window.

(If you click on the second picture you will see the swirls of color from the tea infusing into the water.)













4. After several hours your tea will be ready. Remove the tea bags and discard them. Pour the tea into a pitcher for ease of serving. Serve over ice in glasses, adding sugar if you like.

5. Enjoy!

Hints:
This can be done without the sun on your kitchen counter, but then it won't be SUN tea! :))

The tea can be frozen into cubes to add to the glasses so it isn't diluted when you drink it.

I store what is not consumed right away in the refrigerator for future thirst.

Molly McButter, Finest of Felines

This is Molly McButter. She came to us a grown cat, already spayed and named. We had agreed to keep her while her owner, our daughter's friend, went out of state. When the friend returned, Molly went back to live with her. Finally though, she was ours for good.

The first thing Molly did when released into our house was disappear into the crawl space, and we didn't see her again for about three months! I don't know what she lived on during that time--probably mice--but eventually she got confident (or hungry) enough to venture out to the cat dish. Then she let me pet her, and then we were friends.

She was very soft and silky. She loved to be held and petted, and would purr like crazy and knead with her paws. I still have T-shirts with claw holes to prove it! If I was sitting down, she was in my lap-- usually I didn't complain! She also loved catnip, which is a weed here, and got very silly when she imbibed!

We had this sweet pet for a number of years before she became sick. We enjoyed her antics and her affectionate nature. But it became clear that trying to prolong her life would not be a good idea, and she went one more time to the vet. She is buried now in my flowerbed, and catnip is growing on her grave. I will miss her always.

Bleeding Heart

Ellievellie asked about the plant in my Sun Tea post. It is called bleeding heart. Here is a picture:
It is a perennial that gets rather large, and is very graceful, especially while blooming. However, this is not IN the tea.
I think I misunderstood her question!!

Summer Stock Sunday--Sun Tea

Sun tea is a summer staple for my husband. He carries a half-gallon jug of it to work every day so he can stay hydrated no matter whether he is in the shop or on the road.
For more Summer Stock Sunday pictures, click the button above.

I Defy You

Ray Ortlund at "Christ is Deeper Still" has a great post called 'No, You Cannot.' Read it here.

Bench of the Week (20)

This is a detail from a bench in a local grocery store. I like the flow of the metal contrasted with the lines of the wood. It's a very good place to sit while waiting for your companion to finish her shopping!
Thanks to RuneE at Visual Norway for suggesting this theme.

Kootenai Falls, Montana

This was taken in June 2009. Kootenai Falls is on the Kootenai River, near Troy, Montana, USA
For more Watery Wednesday pictures, click the button above.