Pie

Deserved or not, I have a reputation for baking good pies. When grandson Zachary's birthday came in June I decided his gift would be a pie a day during his visit here beginning on June 30. The first pie was cherry but it was gone before I got a picture. The next day he requested chocolate cream pie with whipped cream topping.


The next day it was Meyer lemon topped with meringue. Last Christmas my friend Chris Theis gave me Meyer lemons from the tree on his Baton Rouge patio. I froze the juice for just such occasions as this.


Zach and his dad, Todd, finished off the lemon pie the next day, and I took a day off.

The next day, July 4, we all went to Grant's goodbye party. I made blueberry and peach pies. From the extra crust, I made a little peach tart in an antique pan that has "Happy Home" stamped in the bottom.



Sad to say, my favorite pie eater and his family have gone back to Colorado Springs. But today I made a rhubarb pie for my neighbor Al who is looking after the chickens while Dennis is away.


So far I've never met a person who doesn't love pie.

Synchronicity

A couple of weeks ago I noticed that my orchid plant, sitting on a side table, looked lonely and out of place. I asked myself where orchids grow in nature - they grow clinging to trees. The orchid needed to be elevated above the table.

Right away I thought of using the vase Carol made in a ceramics class and gave to me. The vase has always cried out for a hat.


The lady has two faces, like one of those awake or asleep rag dolls.



Here's where synchronicity comes in.

That afternoon a birthday package came for Dennis. It was a book from Pia called Kleider der Natur, translated as Clothes of Nature. Amazingly, the book is about people in Africa who routinely adorn themselves with paint and plant materials.


The young woman on the cover certainly can hold her own against my orchid lady, but some of the people pictured in the book seem a bit threatened.

Volunteers

In human society "volunteer" refers to someone who gives her time to do good works. Maybe she sorts books for the Friends of the Lawrence Public Library book sale, or signs you in at Lawrence Memorial Hospital.

In the garden, "volunteer" refers to a plant that springs up from seed dropped by a plant introduced by the gardener the previous season. In this picture of our garden, taken this afternoon, volunteers abound.


The tallest plants are volunteer sunflowers, which dwarf even the sweet corn. Volunteer potatoes sprang up among the green beans, broccoli, corn, and shallots, even though Dennis had cultivated the soil to smithereens. In the foreground, among the shallots are volunteer dill plants coming into bloom.

Why do we leave them? They are inconvenient and untidy. Well, who would have the heart to chop down those elegant, towering sunflowers? The potatoes are a no-brainer; they consistently out-produce the ones we plant each spring. As for the dill...



Black swallowtail butterfly larvae! This is one of several who are munching away on the dill plants.

Mad About Chinese Take-Out

This carton was full of kung pao chicken when I lifted it by the handle. The handle pulled out of the carton and slid through my fingers, impaling the hook three-eighths of an inch into the pad of my middle finger. For a moment I stared in horror, then realized that no one else was home and I would have to pull it out myself. So I did. It hurts like the dickens.

Two days ago I got in my car and pulled the seat belt across my chest. Before I could click it, a bee, which apparently had been sitting on the belt, stung my neck. That hurt like the dickens, too.

What next? I'm going to be on the look-out.

Raspberry Festival

Our black raspberries began ripening five days ago, just a handful at first and then more than a gallon. Here's Dennis with today's picking.

Kathy came for sewing today, bringing sweet potato salad and pana cotta for desert. We covered each panna cotta serving with fresh-picked raspberries and topped it with three teaspoons of the raspberry syrup I canned last summer.


Panna cotta is a lovely, light summer dessert. It's made with buttermilk, lemon, gelatin, and a little sugar. It marries perfectly with fresh berries. Recipe available on request.

Daily Rain, Daily Bread

It's raining again. Mercy, the rain just keeps coming - more than four inches in the past week. But here comes another thunderstorm. Annie was desperate to get in the house. (She's become a wimp since she lost Kazak.)

At only a little after 5:00 p.m., it's so dark outside the fireflies are flashing. Usually they don't begin until eight in the evening! I wish I had the equipment and skill to photograph the fireflies against dark green grass, but I don't.

In the kitchen bread is rising

For several weeks my wrists were out of commission and I couldn't bake bread. I tried many different commercial brands of bread, bread from grocery store bakeries, and bread from two of the better Lawrence bakeries. Not one filled the bill. They were too light and fluffy, or too dense, or too chewy and quick to dry out, or just plain weird tasting. Last week I was able to resume baking, and this is the result.


It's eighty percent whole wheat, with a little honey and canola oil. I'll send you the recipe if you want to try it.

Art Progress

I've made some progress on Grandmother Spider. But how to attach her legs? I don't know yet.



Going To Seed

Remember the cold frame lettuces? (May 9, Cold Frame Gardening.) Here's one of the four remaining plants. I'm letting them go to seed. This one is buttercrunch, a bibb lettuce. It looks very different from what we think of as lettuce. It's going to get downright ugly. I'll post a photo when that happens.



The thunderstorm has passed now. After just an hour there's another inch-and-a-half in the rain gauge. Rain, rain, go away. Come back some hot July day.

Birthday Celebration

Dennis turned 66 today. Carol, Zander, and Grant came this morning to celebrate. Zander has lost his fear of Dennis and, as you see, they are connecting. Carol brought the bouquet of flowers cut from her garden.


Dennis found some amazing information in his new chicken book.

A good time was had by all.