Archive for the ‘Photography’ Category
There’s nothing better than a spontaneous road trip around southern Maine in the Fall. My better-half had a mid-week day off which is reason enough to grab the cameras and hit the road. We cruised around, shopped a little, and enjoyed the day immensely. The sun was bright and the colors of the woods in some areas are really vibrant which seems to be a necessary requirement for a successful Indian Summer.
I also saw my first bus load of leaf peepers driving up the turnpike this week with many, many more to follow. People can’t seem to stay away. Many areas remain green but one night with a hard frost will change all that very quickly.
As we ride around we stop often to take photo’s or to check out yard sales but one of our regular stops is at this small farm to say hello to the horses. Again I forgot to bring apples along and they seemed disappointed but it didn’t stop them from running across the field to say hello. They like checking us out as much as we do them.
I’ve mentioned in the past about how often we see turkey’s in our travels. They’re kind of like big ugly versions of those pigeons you might see in Boston or New York. This photo was a quick shot out of the car window as a flock was attempting to cross the road in front of us. It appeared to be a Mama bird and a line of teenagers following behind.
They seem to be moving around more than normal since the woods are now filled with hunters. I wonder which of these birds will be served up for Thanksgiving this year. It’s a dangerous time for these fellows and I wish them luck, they’ll need it.
Gotta love Fall.
Well, it’s the Ides of October already. Winter will be on us shortly and most of our preparations has been completed already. I decided to take a deep breath today and walk for an hour or so through the woods, specifically in a non-hunting area. I’d prefer not to end up tied to the fender of some drunken hunter’s car who swears up and down I looked like a deer.
The trees are beginning to turn colors and we’re just a couple of weeks from seeing them at their peak. I drove to an area just south of the Great Scarborough Marsh located adjacent to the Atlantic ocean. Most of the birds have headed south already but I did notice a few egrets doing some serious feeding before their trip begins.
The milkweed pods have opened and are spreading seeds everywhere. Next year should be a good one for those plants and the Monarch butterflies that love them so much.
The remaining birds are feasting on berries of all sorts. This area is covered with all manner of them and that tends to keep the birds hanging around until the snow begins to fly.
I returned home feeling a lot calmer and at ease. Communing with good old Mother Nature always has that effect on me. One last thing for you today. The Disk Network Memorial Table that I’ve been yacking about for weeks has finally been completed . . . thank God!
It’s felt good to finally get something in return from a cable TV company other than just one more rate increase or surcharge.
THANKS DISH
My Summer ending activities continue apace. The garden was composted a few days ago and has finally been tilled to await planting in the Spring. I‘m officially done with the garden which will happily require no more labor from me. These final photos will end the year once and for all as far as the garden is concerned.
These next two photos are the final surviving flowers on the property that haven’t been killed off by the cold nights. They won’t last much more than another week so enjoy them.
This sunflower looks a lot like I felt this morning as I rolled out of bed. Able to stand upright but just barely.
Now I can move forward with other projects and chores I’ve been given by my better-half. Her list never seems to end no matter how hard I try. My father warned me this would eventually happen but I wasn’t a believer until it was too late.
I was able to get around to working on my Dish Network Memorial table once again. I knew grouting a bunch of bottle caps would be difficult but it was more like a nightmare. The table was grouted and so was I. I had damn near as much white grout on me as was on the table. Thank god it’s done. I’ll let it dry for a few days and then seal the grout.
‘Step 1’
‘Step 2’
‘Step 3’
The table will be completed right on schedule for my better-half’s birthday celebration that’s coming up soon. She likes me a little and she likes beer a lot so she should love this table.
The weather has finally turned and Fall is here. The nights are consistently in the low forties requiring that we permanently turn on the heat for the Winter. Over the last two weeks I’ve been slowly bringing out my winter clothing and packing away the sandals, shorts, and beachwear. I actually look forward to Fall and the cooler temperatures even though the snow comes along with it.
‘Any good soup requires fresh veggies.’
As the garden and yard work are coming to an end it’s time to look over my Winter inventories. I’ve picked up a good supply of books and other reading material over the last two months which should carry me well into 2016. Add to that the Kindle books I intend to purchase and I’m good to go.
Everything that could be harvested from the garden has been canned, frozen, and dried. The garden will be officially over in three more days and I can put it out of my mind for a few months. My last cooking chore for Winter preparation was the making of a batch of my chicken and rice soup. This recipe I picked up from an old Korean women in 1968 and it’s remained one of my all-time favorites ever since.
‘Looks bad, tastes wonderful.’
It’s not terribly difficult to make and each batch is usually good for ten to twenty large bowls that can be frozen and used for months without any ill effects. Basically you take a large whole chicken and drop it into a gallon of salted water, bring it to a boil, cover it, and cook it until the chicken falls completely apart. Add your favorite spices and herbs as well to really get the flavor of the meat to a high level and cook it for a few additional minutes.
‘Even better than pulled pork.’
Fish out all the bones and cartilage, remove the chicken and shred it, and immediately return it in the pot. Add onions, carrots, leeks, or any other veggies you desire. Last but not least add two cups of either rice or barley. I prefer the barley flavor but as a compromise with my better-half this batch will contain rice.
‘The final product.’
This is comfort food of the first order and is always good for what ails ya. With all of the soups, chili, salsas, and breads stored away we can now sit back and enjoy the Winter (except for the snow of course).
I found myself somewhat motivated yesterday after beginning the Fall cleanup of the garden a few days ago. The least favorite task I have in the Fall is the one I completed yesterday. Most of you are familiar with the term “compost pile” but never have had the pleasure of using one. Today was my turn.
After removing the garden fabric as I mentioned in a previous post it was time to get serious. I spent some time yesterday uprooting all of the better-half’s marigolds. They’d grown so large that they completely filled my trailer. I then pulled any additional weeds from the frames and took the combined load to the compost pile set aside for 2017.
I continued in the herb garden by removing the rosemary plants that I cleaned and immediately placed into the dehydrator. I love the smell of fresh rosemary and my hands will probably carry that aroma for the rest of the day. On top of that the downstairs of our house will smell of rosemary for a couple of days at the very least. I then removed the remnants of the radishes, pea pods, cabbages, and carrots from the smaller frames and off they went to their compost pile.
Then the hard work began. I removed the tarp from the current compost pile and began filling the trailer. I have to remind you that as a general rule compost had a bit of an odor. Fortunately the longer it sits the less it smells. This pile was more than two years old and only a little bit stinky.
I took four trailer loads of compost to the garden and spread the contents evenly over the frames. I’ll let the garden rest for a day or so because they’re forecasting rain for tomorrow. I definitely wouldn’t want to be knee deep in wet compost because I’ve been there before. Never again. Once things have dried out completely I can return and rototill the compost into the soil.
One more solid day of work and the garden will be finished for this year and won’t be touched again until May of 2016. I may be forced to wait a while until the weather decided to cooperate which it hardly every does.
I’ve actually been busy this week preparing to deliver most of my once beautiful garden to the compost heap. I posted a few days ago that I pulled most of the remaining plants to prepare for further work that was needed. That work began this week with the removal of all of the fabric from the frames and the collection of more than 100 metal clips used to anchor it in place. I always take my time with this part of the job because missing a clip or two isn’t an option. Two years ago I was happily rototilling the garden until I hit a few clips I’d missed. It wasn’t pretty when those few clips were twisted around the blades of the tiller which then jerked out of my hands when the motor jammed. Fortunately when the tiller hit me in the chest it wasn’t blades first. A close call and one I never intend to repeat. Who said gardening was a safe hobby?
As I pulled the sections of fabric from the frames I got another surprise. Apparently we had a few moles that somehow made their way into the frames and under the fabric. There were a number of tunnels where they were apparently nibbling on the roots of some of my plants. My first stop next spring will be to buy something that will discourage them from returning. Dead or alive is my motto, it’s up to them. You can just barely make out one of the tunnels in this photo.
‘Here are those clips I mentioned. A necessary evil.’
Removing the fabric itself is easy enough and worth every minute of my time. Never having to weed the garden all summer saves me a lot of back breaking work every year. The fabric is a little pricy but fortunately it’s reusable for at least a couple of years. The sprinklers I currently use are removed easily enough and I’ve been using them for five years. A good value for the money spent.
‘I cleared all of the fabric, clips, and sprinklers leaving just barren frames.’
Later this week if the weather cooperates I’ll be filling the entire garden with four or five inches of dark and rich compost which has been sitting under a tarp for two years. It’s rich with all of the necessary nutrients to give the garden a good start in the Spring.
Id like to continue writing but I’ve got more work to accomplish before the weather turns really cold and the ground starts freezing. More to follow soon.
The annual Fryeburg Fair began yesterday in southern Maine. It’s what amounts to a week long farm show as similarly held in many other states. My better-half and I usually visit the event mid-week in an attempt to avoid huge crowds. We’ve never attended the opening day festivities because that would be crazy. Unfortunately this year we lost our minds and got a little crazy.
Fryeburg is a community with an average population of approximately 3500 people. It’s listed as the 102nd largest town in the state of Maine making it no more than a small black dot on the map. The week of the Fair brings between 350,000-400,000 visitors to town and yesterday it felt like they all arrived at the same time. It made for a rather uncomfortable day for those of us with claustrophobia issues.
‘Jumbo Donuts appear to be very popular.’
At 10 am the crowds were so so thick it was difficult to move around. The entire fairgrounds was packed solid with people and the lines at almost every food vendor were unbelievably long.
One of the most annoying problem for me was the number of people riding around on electric carts. I hate to use a broad-brush approach to people on those carts because some actually do need them but I saw quite a few that looked in a lot better shape than me cruising around, talking on their phones, and wolfing down Jumbo Donuts. It just gives me pause.
I avoided entering most of the buildings due to the large crowds but it was even difficult to take photographs outside. In years past we’ve spent as much as eight hours at the fair but yesterday we left after just three and a half hours.
If we never learn anything else we now know that opening day should be avoided at all costs. Don’t misunderstand what I’m saying. It was nice to get out and enjoy a beautiful sunny Fall day and the Fair food was greasy and delicious as always. We’re actually considering a second visit later in the week when the crowds thin out a little and we can really enjoy ourselves. You can be sure of one thing, we’ll never be there again on opening day.
‘Gridlock traffic in town as well.’
This week isn’t one I ever look forward to. It’s the week every year when I begin to dismantle our garden. It’s been a priority for my better-half and I for the last six months requiring a tremendous amount of TLC and just as much water. It actually began last winter when we sat down at the kitchen table and planned it all out. As with all plans it never seems to workout perfectly without problems of one sort or another cropping up.
First it was the damn stunk that did everything in it’s power to destroy things. It was one lucky SOB because he survived a number of night time surveillances where I sat in the dark on the deck with a loaded rifle waiting to end his life of vandalism and mayhem. He must have a really hardworking guardian angel because I seriously wanted to do him harm. After all of the repair jobs and the new fence we reached a mutual agreement to avoid each other for the rest of the summer. I smelled him a few times at night but never met him in person (Thank God).
The weather was for the most part cooperative but you can always use more rainfall with any garden. After a slow start things picked up rather well making the garden fairly productive. Was it the best ever? No. It was just an average year due mostly to the skunk.
These pictures were taken this morning and as you can see most of the plants have been harvested and removed. All of the herbs we need for the winter have also been harvested, dried, and stored. Beginning next week I’ll begin removing the garden fabric and composting all of the frames. Then it will be tilled under and left to sit for the winter to be ready for planting in June.
Here’s the final tally for the garden and all of our efforts for 2015. The pantry has been restocked with just about everything we need for winter. My one last contribution will be a large pot of my favorite chicken soup which will supply us with at least ten to twelve hardy meals during the winter.
41 Pints of canned habanero hot B & B pickles
13 Pints of Habanero Dill Pickles
3 Pints of tripleberry jam
8 Pints of strawberry/rhubarb jam
3 Pints of strawberry jam
8 Pints of blueberry jam
2 Pints of jalapeño/rhubarb jelly
13 Quarts of Four Bean/Corn chili
14 Quarts of Black Bean/Corn salsa
2 Quad Berry/Rhubarb Tarts
15 Lbs Rhubarb
5 Loaves of Chocolate/Zucchini Bread
4 Loaves of Spice/Zucchini Bread
9 Lbs of Fresh Pea Pods
16 Lbs of Cherry Tomatoes
15 Lbs of Jalapeño Peppers
7 Lbs of Assorted Hot Peppers
20 Lbs of Fresh Zucchini
13 Lbs of Assorted Lettuces
2 Lbs of dried onion chives
1 Lb dried habanero peppers
1 Lb dried garlic chives
4 Lbs of dried and assorted mints
2 Lbs of dried oregano
1 Lb of dried parsley
This just goes to show how easy it is to supplement your food supply from a medium sized garden and a few cheap purchases from local farmers. All in all not a terrible year but next year will hopefully be even better.
As you can see I’m feeling a bit Mexican today. Living in Maine has it’s advantages and I’ve listed them many times before. Unfortunately for those of us who love Mexican food the restaurants in Maine have always left us unsatisfied. Most of the current restaurants that claim to serve Mexican food insist on Americanizing it by cutting back on the heat. The result is a food that’s pretty to look at but has no zing. You know it’s a bad thing when you’re required to sneak in with a bottle of hot sauce to get the heat to a proper Mexican level.
We’ve been visiting on a semi-regular basis a restaurant that’s only been around a couple of years. The food has gotten progressively better as time has gone on which makes us very happy. I’ve eaten good old down home Mexican food in small restaurants along the border in Texas and this place could be one of them.
Yesterday we wanted to enjoy a beautiful Fall day and while we were out we stopped at Casa Fiesta for lunch. I was jonesing for some hot Mexican food and that’s exactly what we got. First they delivered the always delicious nachos and salsa while we waited for our meal. I consider myself a salsa aficionado and make three or four versions of my own on a regular basis. This was without a doubt the best restaurant salsa I’ve had in many years. Super hot and super flavorful.
We went through two baskets of nachos and two bowls of salsa. I could have eaten even more but I was forced to stop so I had room for the entre. I wanted a red wine with the meal and they offered a nice selection. I settled on a delicious Agua De Piedra from Argentina. It was smooth and sweet and was perfect for the meal. I’m not going to bore you with a lot of information that the wine snobs love so much like finish, color, oakiness, and all of that nonsense. I like wine and make a lot of my own. For me there are only three types of wine; Good, Bad, and So-S0. All of that other stuff has no meaning for me. If it tastes good . . . buy it. If it tastes Bad or So-So . . . don’t buy it. Easy peasy.
The meal arrived at the perfect time and was delicious. I feasted on mushroom quesadillas while my better-half had a steak fajita taco salad. Does this look good or what?
I was full of excellent food and wine and my head was sweating like I had hoped it would be. What more could I ask for. We left for home fat, dumb, and extremely happy.
Just so you know my burning mouth stayed with me all the way home. Perfect!
A lot of people that know me really don’t know me as well as they think. I’ve been described by many over the last few years as nothing more than an old fart. While some of them do it jokingly other really seem to mean it. They don’t understand that underneath all of this sarcasm and rapier wit resides a very sensitive person who’s feelings can be easily hurt just like everyone else.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not whining only stating the facts. As of this late date I feel the only people close to me that really “get me” are my two grandsons aged three and six months. They came to visit last night for a few hours while their parents enjoyed a night by themselves away from the madness of child rearing.
‘The house looked like a Toys-R-Us exploded.’
My first job was to spend a half hour with grandson #1 chasing him around the house and generally irritating the hell out of my better-half. For a change I had a partner in crime which allowed me to misbehave a great deal more than usual and to blame it on him. We ran around the house throwing and bouncing balls in every room until he got bored, I got tired, and she got angry. Our fun night was just beginning.
I spent the next hour helping him empty out the toy box which left toys and trucks everywhere. I sat and mindlessly helped him build things and destroy other things. He made me his official play-pal when he gifted me with an honorary plastic dinosaur. The way he presented it to me made me feel like I’d just won an Oscar. He was very serious about it and it apparently held a great deal of meaning for him. I was really honored.
‘And the winner of this prestigious award is . . . . ?’
We then took a break from the action by sitting on the couch with his little brother. That little guy just makes me feel good all over because all he does is smile and giggle. I played a little paddy cake with him which I hadn’t done for more years than I care to remember. I have to admit it felt pretty good.
I’m a person who loves to eat, a true foodie, and when dinner came around I found out we’d all be eating from the three year olds menu. Since he’s partial to fish sticks, guess what, we had fish sticks. The last time I had a plate of fish sticks was more than four decades ago. That first bite took me back to age ten in one giant mouthful. It tasted exactly as I remembered and that was pretty cool.
The six month old downed a mug of thawed out mothers milk and crashed on the sofa next to me. The three year old finally ran out of his endless supply of adrenaline and fell asleep rather quickly on my chair. Even an exciting Mickey Mouse movie on Netflix couldn’t keep him awake. Unfortunately for me I’ll be singing and humming all of those catchy little tunes for the next week. The curse of Walt Disney.
‘An full hour of this is almost unbearable.’
Once they were all asleep my better-half and I returned to our reality, a cold drink and a little peace and quiet. These babysitting nights are always a lot of fun but also a little strange at times. If my mind wanders for just a moment all of a sudden I’m six years old again and playing with my childhood friends. It must be true what they say, everything we experience in our lives is stored somewhere in the brain and comes out when we least expect it.
I look forward to their next visit and the little bit of time travel that it offers.
everyuselessthing.com 