Black Swallowtail (Papilio Polyxenes)

Click to see a closer view.

Michele saw this guy (gal?) on one of our plants a bit ago. Striking caterpillar specimen. We didn't know what he was, but luckily have on hand Caterpillars of Eastern North America by David Wagner who identified it as a Black Swallowtail butterfly.


The book pictures are excellent, the write-ups informative, and the process of identification usually takes at least one full pass through all 512 pages. Sometimes it takes two; it goes quicker than you might think though. 

Not as abundant as they once were they can still be found up and down the coast from Canada to south Florida and into Texas. I thought it beautiful and, ironically, just read that part of its camouflage is resembling bird droppings. Go figure . . . ;->


Note the "orange horns" in the top pic. This is their alarm response and I think he got bothered by the camera flash and me twisting and turning the stems to get different angle. After a few minutes of shooting, I left him alone. 
Andy

Click to see a closer view.

Cat-Nap Wednesdays

Katie's morning ritual. Not an outdoor cat, but she likes the outdoors just the same. 
Andy

Wild Turkey Family

Typically, wild turkeys have their young in the spring. Every now and then though they have a late brood of chicks (poults) like this family. We originally saw 6 and now there are 5. While we see them often in our area throughout the year this is the closest we've seen a family; they've been surprisingly tame. We've enjoyed them around the house and hope they survive the winter.

Andy

Cookies for Kids' Cancer

A couple of weeks ago we were fortunate to attend a talk given by Gretchen Holt-Witt, founder of "Cookies for Kids' Cancer," and author of "Best Bake Sale Cookbook." Her story is heartbreaking, but at the same time, uplifting and inspiring. When faced with her young son's cancer diagnosis, she learned how little research money there was for pediatric cancers. Gretchen brainstormed to think of a way to raise research money. Out of her came the idea for a single bake sale, "Cookies for Kids' Cancer" was born.

"The Front Porch" in Suttons Bay held a very successful "Cookies for Kids' Cancer" bake sale last Saturday. Students from the high school volunteered their time by helping out with baking and also taking shifts at the sale.

An amazing amount of baked goods were donated to the sale, which raised nearly $1,500.00.

"OXO" has teamed up with "Cookies for Kids Cancer" and matches the money raised at the bake sales.

Be a Good Cookie (Gretchen's catch phrase) and participate in a "Cookies for Kids' Cancer" bake sale in your town. Information is on their website.

Michele

Cat-Nap Wednesdays

For being an indoor cat with a finite amount of space, Katie has an infinite number of sleeping positions.

Andy

Peach Crisp

Yes, we served this with our Peach Caramel Ice Cream from a few posts earlier!

More peaches!! Just can't get enough of them this time of year. The following is my Grandma's recipe. I often add oatmeal to the topping and use a bit less flour. Also, it's good with any other fruit you might like. When I was growing up I remember the house smelling so good on chilly fall afternoons, when my Mom used this recipe for apple crisp.

Peach Crisp

4 C fresh peaches; peeled and sliced

3/4 C dark brown sugar

1/4 C butter

1/2 C flour

1 t cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350. Arrange peach slices in a greased 8X8 pan. Combine remaining ingredients and sprinkle over peaches. Bake for about 45 minutes. Serve warm with ice cream or whipped topping.

Michele

Stewed Peaches

Every September I begin to anticipate the day our neighbor puts out his peach stand. He grows, what have to be, the world's best peaches. In an earlier post Andy shared the peach ice cream we made. This week I made some stewed peaches .... we ate them in 24 hours. So I made a second batch ... doubling it this time.

Stewed Peaches

8 C peaches, peeled and sliced

1/4 -3/4 C sugar (depending how sweet your peaches are. I used 1/4 C.)

2 t fresh lemon juice

8 whole cloves

1 T cornstarch

1 T water

Combine first 4 ingredients in a large pot. Over medium-high heat bring to a boil; stirring occasionally. Reduce heat to shimmer and cook for about 10 minutes, till peaches are tender. In a small bowl combine cornstarch and water. Add to peaches and bring back to a boil. Boil one minute or until thickened. Remove from heat and fish out those cloves, we don't want any broken teeth! Serve warm over ice cream or pound cake (or both). Refrigerate leftovers. For breakfast, I like to re-warm the leftovers and stir in cinnamon and granola.

~Michele

Cat-Nap Wednesdays

Hum ... I guess Katie's days are pretty routined .... play, eat, get a back rub, sleep ... repeat. Tough kitty life she has!

Although the day was mostly cloudy, she did find a few rays of sunshine and nestled in on Grandpa's blanket.

~Michele

Spiders for Bob B.

Awhile ago, Michele had a discussion about Black Widow Spiders in norther Michigan with a friend of ours. They're here and are considered a species called the Northern Widow. Every now and then we'll catch one in a jar. Yes, they are venomous, but no, they are not aggressive and are, if seen in the right light (double entendre intended), beautiful.
Andy

Schooner Festival - A Study in Sails

I did a photo-shoot a few years back for a dinner sail on the Traverse Tall Ship. Luckily, Michele and I could both go. We had a wonderful time and we highly recommend it.
Andy

Schooner Festival

We had a chance to take in the Michigan Schooner Festival in Traverse City this weekend. It was a gorgeous day and evening filled with romantic ships and good friends. 
Andy

Cat-Nap Wednesdays

Settling in . . . 

Andy

Blackberry Ice Cream

First, thanks always Bren, for your kind words and support! Recall that the last post was peach ice cream with blackberry garnish. Here is the reverse: blackberry ice cream with peach garnish! I think I liked this better and others might too - assuming seeds don't bother them. 

This previous-post-pic is repeated because of its relevance . . . and it's just a nice shot!

• 2 Cups blackberries (about). They're in season locally so we used fresh.
• 1 Cup 2% milk (we use locally produced Shetler's)
• 1 1/2 Cups heavy whipping cream (Shetler's)
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/8 Tsp Grey Sea Salt

Blend berries and sugar. Add in milk, cream and salt and blend again. Chill for a couple of hours and then make the ice cream per your ice cream maker manufacturer's directions. (Recall from previous posts that we use the Donvier.) This makes a little over a Quart.

Look at the simplicity of this recipe. To us it is less defined by what it contains than what it does NOT contain. For comparison, I looked up the ingredients of one flavor from a successful "chain ice cream" store. Note that this post does NOT contain the following: "Nonfat Milk, Whey, Corn Syrup, Guar Gum, Cellulose Gum, Carrageenan, Mono & Diglycerides, Polysorbate 80, and Annatto Extract, BLUEBERRY Corn Syrup, Water, Artificial Flavors, Sodium Propionate, Sodium Citrate, Red 40, Potassium Sorbate, Blue 1, Guar Gum, Xanthan Gum, Red 3."

Enjoy the rest of summer!
Andy

It was also good garnished with crushed almonds!