September-- it has been a glorious month

Bridal Veil Falls.  This was our lunch stop on the Can Am Tour this year.  It is a 15 minute walk to the falls from the parking lot.  It is well worth the up hill climb for all of the 15 minutes.  It took me half an hour, as I had to stop for photos at every stump and clump of moss.  Meanwhile, at the bottom of the climb Pat was having his wedding ring cut off his finger.  He had a bee sting when we left the coffee stop at the Military Museum.  The bee was on the steering wheel, when he grab it to start on ward on the tour. On his wedding ring finger, of course.  Neither one of us thought to take off the ring.  By the time we got to the lunch stop his finger was swollen to twice its normal size.  This ring has a history of some redesigns over the years, not to mention the pins in the finger, itself.  A very stoic man, my Patrick. We will have the ring redesigned again, however he wants it.  I think he could have a diamond added for he is truly a precious gem.

In this photo I am shooting through the windshield of the the 1912 Ford Torpedo.  The title is The Navigator has lost it!    I love the total chaos of the shot.  Or is it double exposure?  :-}

The dahlia photos are from our coffee stop of the same day of the Can Am tour.  We stopped at a bee farm.  The talk about the bees was very informative. There is a wall where we could view the hive live.  The dahlia photos are from the parking area, where the dahlias were featured on a raised hill, with a garden bench overlooking the surrounding area. The flowers were spectacular.

Dahlias are a flower I think about for the cutting garden.  This cutting garden, in my dreams, is where the non-existent vegetable garden is now.  I am still deciding whether to make a cutting garden or a vegetable garden.   At the moment the veggies are winning.

We had 1/2 inch of rain last nite.  The grass area is looking green already.  It was cloudy, but warm today.  A very nice day.  The afternoon would have been perfect to be out gardening, but I spent the time cleaning up my light garden. This clean up was long over due.  I really need to re-pot and add soil to the plants soon.  The African violets look superb... they are all in bloom, now.

I brought in 2 plums today and they are the last of the plum crop.  The fig tree has a few more figs that need a few more days of ripening.  The grapes are full of fruit.  The apples are rather small, this year.  All of the garden needs weeding. .  . but it is not too bad.

I spent the morning making a beef stew, and the afternoon cleaning up the light garden.  Yesterday, I made the minestrone soup, which we had for lunch today, and it was given the OK for dinner guests.  It really is quite yummy,.  The freezer is full.  Next project is baked beans.
Minestrone Soup

1 1/2 lb. shin beef, with bone
1 cup dried navy beans, soaked over night
5 qt. water
2 tbsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
2 cups chopped onion
1 clove garlic, minced
1 1/2 cups diced carrots
1 1/2 cups diced celery
2 cups finely shredded cabbage
1 Tabsp. parsley flakes
1 medium potato

1/2 lb ground beef
1 1/2 cups sliced zucchini
1 1/2 cups broken spaghetti
1 cup frozen cut green beans

I cannot believe this receipe has no tomatoes.
I added:  a can of tomatoe soup
and 4 chopped tomatoes as well as
Oregano and fresh basil all at the end of the cooking.

Grated Parmesan cheese
Basil

Put shin beef, beans, water, salt and pepper in large kettle.
Cover and simmer 3 hours.  Remove meat from bones, add to soup.
Add onion, garlic, carrots, celery, cabbage, potato and parsley.
Brown ground beef and add to soup.  Cover and simmer until
vegetables are tender, about 30 minutes.
Add zucchini, green beans and spaghetti.  Simmer until spaghetti
is cooked, about 10 to 15 minutes.  Top with cheese and basil.
Makes about 7 quarts.  May be canned or frozen. 

I managed to get the waterfall running again, today.  I like how the pond looks covered in duckweed.


Megashot.net is looking very good recently.  Come see us there.