Barn Party

The barn party we went to last weekend was the venue for the previous fire poi post. To be clear, the barn party was a wonderfully pleasant event itself and the hosts are just all around cool people. Thank you, as always, Michelle and Doug, for your generosity and hard work! The barn is always mesmerizing and hopefully these pix do it some justice.
Andy

Summer Flowers

Although we are really bad at gardening we do enjoy flowers, so I try to do a few simple containers around the yard.

~Michele

Cat-Nap Wednesdays

This first picture is Katie's "yes, I know I am cute" look.

This is her "go away, can't you see I'm settling in for my nap," look. And yes, she's in another one of her many boxes! Funny thing is, she has certain boxes that she sleeps in during different times throughout the day.

~Michele

Fire Poi

Yes, a little post processing work in Photoshop produced the above.

Poi hails from the Māori people* of New Zealand and is best described as a performance art of spinning a ball or balls in a pattern. See Wiki here. The use of fire is attributed to Hawaii in the mid 20th century (boy, does "20th century" sound old!  ;-> ). 

Michele and I have the fortune of living among many people that are talented, seem to love life, and share their amazing energy. We attended a barn party last night that proved a primal example. One shared his Fire Poi talents while another his bongo accompaniment. Here are some stills and a 3 minute video. In many ways it was serendipitous. But then, the Buddha claimed that there are no . . . accidents or . . . coincidents.

Wishing you a mindful Sunday.
Andy

*BTW, if you like movies, I highly recommend "Whale Rider". I thought it a sublime spiritual coming-of-age tale of a Māori village reinterpreting itself in the modern world.

Quick Market Post

I've been under the weather so have not been able to post much. Hope to do more soon. Still, we were able to get to the farmers' market this morning and we already took advantage of the fresh produce for pesto, beets and boiled eggs!


Hope you are enjoying your summer and not overheating as much as the mid to eastern part of the continent.
Andy

Cat-Nap Wednesdays

Just simply cute.

"I've got my eye on you and that camera . . ."

Andy

Q's for the ALE Lab

We follow the blog of a friend of ours, the Agricultural Landscape Ecology lab. They are, in short, a lab of Entomologists and can help identify all sorts of bugs. Here are some for them. If bugs don't bother you, click on the image for a larger view.
Andy

A June Bug exoskeleton?

Another angle.

We see these everywhere and do not know what they are??

Harleys . . . for Father Fred

I made this one a little "artsy" in Photoshop.

There is a local charity here called the Father Fred Foundation. It is a great organization and has helped thousands in need over many years. Doing some downtown shopping on Saturday, Michele and I were caught unaware of the "Ride for Father Fred" fund raiser sponsored by our area's Harley Owners Group (aka "HOG"). While we have never been into motorcycles it was quite an entertaining scene to see many hundreds of bikes of all makes ride into town.

What do non-biker "foodies" do in a situation like this? Why, get some locally made gelato, of course, and enjoy the show!  ;->
Andy

Cat-Nap Wednesdays (A day late ... again!)

This is Katie's favorite morning spot. She loves watching the birds who often sit on the porch rail and the hummingbirds who come to the flowers in the hanging baskets.

When the wind blows it's so funny to watch her head bob as she smells the air. I often wonder what she smells??

Soon it's nap time in the window!

~Michele

Day Lilies

Orange is favorite color of mine and Lilies are one of my favorite flowers.

As everyone already knows, we don't have a green thumb. These flowers are cared for by the gnomes and fairies who live on the hill.

Another favorite flower of mine is the Black-eyed Susan. So this is fair warning .... there will be many Lily and Black-eyed Susan's posted in the next couple weeks. Sorry ... but the gnomes and fairies have worked hard on these flowers!

~Michele

Banana Cake

After Andy's Dad recent surgery, he mentioned how much he liked the banana cake, at the rehab center. Ever since that conversation I have been craving banana cake. Yesterday I searched for a healthy recipe and found one here. Of course, I can never leave well enough alone, so here is my version:

Banana Cake

1½ cups spelt flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

dash of nutmeg

1/4 cup organic white sugar

1/4 cup organic brown sugar
2 tablespoons melted butter (unsalted)

2 farm fresh eggs, at room temperature
1 cup banana puree, (about 2 very ripe medium-sized bananas)
½ cup 2% plain yogurt (I used Fage)
½ teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350F. Grease (I use Pam spray) a 9 inch round pan. Mix all dry ingredients in a large bowl and set aside. In another bowl beat the eggs; then mix in the rest of the wet ingredients. Make a well in the flour mixture and add the wet ingredients with a spatula, gently fold until just mixed. (do not over beat). Pour into prepared pan and bake for 20 -25 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool on a baking rack.

Andy served the cake with crushed strawberries and a dollop of lemon curd.

I think when blueberries come in, they would be a great addition to add to the batter.

~Michele

Cat-Nap Wednesdays

We don't know too many things sweeter than a napping cat. And below, yes, is the same box we've posted before that holds her can food and often holds her.

She can't fit, but don't tell her this.

I guess . . . she just really loves her food. Kinda like her owners, go figure.  ;->

Andy

PS One of our favorite wineries (Black Star Farms) is helping raise money for our local Humane Society. What a great cause!

Flowers and Insects

A nod to Dr. Mary G. at The Agricultural Landscape Ecology Lab. Here are some shots of insects and a very nice, large specimen of a Crab Spider (likely a female because of the larger abdomen?). It was in the upper corner of our garage service door and then, sneakily got into Michele's lounge chair to say "hi" when she opened it up!  ;->

We enjoyed our backyard on our holiday weekend and hope you do a little as well from this post.

Happy July,

Andy

Radish Slaw

Gotta love the Brits! Tried this recipe (from the May 2011 issue of  CountryHomesAnd Interiors.co.uk) and thought it great. When possible, I prefer step one to any recipe as:

OK, not required, but adds even more enjoyment to the process!  ;->  Here is the simple write-up; you can decide on exact proportions though.

• 15 grated radishes (we use a food processor)
• 2 processed large carrots
• 3 processed garlic scapes (what else?)
• 2 sticks finely sliced celery
• 1/2 sweet red pepper, thinly sliced into 1/2" pieces
• 2 tbs white balsamic
• 1/4 cup mayonnaise
• 3 tbs yogurt (Fage for us)

 Enjoy!

Andy