Private garden, Prairieville, Louisiana
DO this...
Sign the petition.
From IONARTS
Most cell phone and Internet service in Burma has been disrupted, and the government is now going after bloggers, but there are many resources to follow the events: U.S. Campaign for Burma, the BBC, Flickr and the always thorough Newsgrist.
one of life's treats
figs…
see the recipe below from the inadvertent gardener
Grilled Figs with Rosemary and Honey
(Serves two)
6 fresh, whole figs, trimmed and halved (I used Calmyrna, but Mission would be great, too)
2 Tbsp. honey
2 Tbsp. chopped fresh rosemary
- Grill the figs over medium-high heat for 6 to 8 minutes, turning once midway through.
- Divide between two plates. Drizzle one Tbsp. of honey over each plate of figs, then top each with a Tbsp. of the chopped rosemary.
- Serve. Eat. Sigh.
there was a fig tree in our next door neighbor’s yard that was HUGE – it must have been at least 50 years old – in fact, i think it was planted by the neighbor’s father. anyway, it produced the most wonderful figs – and we would go crazy eating them. i still think the best way to eat figs is straight off the tree, juicy and full of the summer sun.
i would love to grow one here in the hudson valley but don’t think it would survive the winters – sigh.
Late July update
I have been posting lots of photos of the garden – but at FLICKR – so click on the FLICKR box on the side bar on the right and catch up to some of the latest growth and flowerings.
This week – lilies are starting to bloom, the buddelia finally budded and the dwarf blue bush started blooming, the pink bush is dragging behind. Roses are budding and blooming (need to feed!). Monarda and the Delphiniums are making a WONDERFUL showing this year… more photos at FLICKR.
The groundhog attacked again – eating all the leaves of the echinacea and the few buds that had survived – i have cut them all down and will be pulling them at some point when i can stand it. Mr GH also demolished the reviving hollyhocks and they too will be coming out – I AM SO PISSED about them the most. Also either Mr. GH or the raccoons have gotten at the Joe Pye Weed and ate all the leaves – i cut it back and hopefully it will come back sometime. Also ate most of the COSMOS one night - so I pulled most of them out and went to the local nursery (where they were having a two flat for one sale) and got a flat each of dwarf and regular snapdragons to plant in place of the cosmos. Also picked up a few more perennials – some Russian Sage and Veronica to fill in the blue bed. In front of the huge Lobelia and salvias.
Unfortunately Mr GH has dug a hole in the very back corner of the right side of the yard; and that means a trip to HD to get rocks and bricks to close up the hole. He managed to push all the dirt up around the camellias… sigh that is going to be a pain to work in the tight quarters back there. 
Book promo: Dead Connection
Presenting my cousin’s latest thriller in her Ellie Hatcher series:
Published by Henry Holt
July 2007
Mystery / 336 pages
Hardcover / $19.95US
ISBN: 0-8050-7785-5
“In this electrifying thriller, a rookie detective goes undercover on the Internet dating scene to draw out a serial killer targeting single women in Manhattan
When two young women are murdered on the streets of New York, exactly one year apart, Detective Ellie Hatcher is called up for a special assignment on the homicide task force. The killer has left behind a clue connecting the two cases to First Date, a popular online dating service, and Flann McIlroy, an eccentric, publicity-seeking homicide detective, is convinced that only Ellie can help him pursue his terrifying theory: someone is using the lure of the Internet and the promise of love to launch a killing spree against the women of New York City.
To catch the killer, Ellie must enter a high-tech world of stolen identities where no one is who they appear to be. And for her, the investigation quickly becomes personal: she fits the profile of the victims, and she knows firsthand what pursuing a sociopath can do to a cop -- back home in Wichita, Kansas, her father lost his life trying to catch a notorious serial murderer.
When the First Date killer begins to mimic the monster who destroyed her father, Ellie knows the game has become personal for him, too. Both hunter and prey, she must find the killer before he claims his next victim -- who could very well be her.
Expertly plotted and perfectly paced, Dead Connection advances Alafair Burke to the front ranks of American thriller writers.” – from Author’s website
A former deputy district attorney in Portland, Oregon, Alafair Burke now teaches criminal law at Hofstra Law School. The daughter of acclaimed crime writer James Lee Burke, she is a graduate of Stanford Law School and currently serves as a legal and trial commentator for radio and television programs, including Court TV. She lives in New York City.
Scotland
At the beginning of June I traveled to the Highlands of Scotland with a family member who was attending a birding tour. After an overnight flight to Amsterdam, we arrived in Aberdeen and then drove down and over to Royal Deeside to the village of Ballater (near the Balmoral Castle). We visited the area for a few days before driving north thru the center of Aberdeenshire and the Cairngorn Mountains to Inverness and then up to the Fearn Peninsula to Nigg Village where we were to stay at Pitzcalzean House.
As is wont oftentimes on trips, due to unforeseen situations and unfavorable accommodations, we decided to leave the birding tour and thus, the house. Luckily for us we found quite enchanting accommodations at the Wemyss House - a delightful bed and breakfast in the area run by a charming couple An added attraction was that the wife is a singer (formerly performed and taught at university in England for many years) thus seeing the lovely grand piano in the house was a welcome sight!
From this base we drove (over 1200 miles in the 12 days) ALL over the Highlands and northern Scotland. Quite incredible sights were seen - this has to be the MOST beautiful country in the world - certainly the most beautiful I have seen. The views especially along the eastern coast of the North Sea were absolutely breathtaking.
The experience of driving (after the initial day's shock of "wrong side") was quite an adventure. The adjustment was fine but it was the ROADS - hairpin turns on one land tracks oftentimes over a hill or rise - much horn honking to ensure no head on collisions. I felt as if I could apply for NASCAR after this trip!
At the end of the week, we drove back to Ballater for another quick visit to the area and then sadly home from Aberdeen via Amsterdam.
The people of Highland Scotland are the most friendly and delightful that I have ever met while traveling - everyone was helpful and interesting and willing to stop and chat and have a conversation. My attempts at pronouncing was NOT ridiculed or looked down upon. The food was, with only one exception (guess?), beautifully prepared and served - even at the castle tearooms and restaurants in little villages - all well made and delicious! No fast food places!
Castles visited - Crathes, Balmoral, Dunrobin, Craigevar, Fraser, Castle of Mey, ruins of Skelbo, Urquhart Castle (Loch Ness)
Attractions - Handa Island, Achvanich Standing Stones, Laidhay Croft Museum, Loch Fleet, Dornoch Cathedral, Oykel Bridge and Hotel, Storehouse of Foules, Loch Ness, Pictish Stones of Nigg, Sandwich and Hitlton, Nigg Ferry Station, Cromarty Firth, Nigg Bay, The Souters, Old Edderton Church, Windmill farm near Thurso
Villages - Dornoch, Tain, Nigg, Golspie, Thurso, Wick, Lybster, Tarbet, Ballater, Bonchary, Kincardie O'Neil, Aboyne
Photos arranged by each day of the trip with annotations at Flickr here.
A very good companion website is Undiscovered Scotland here.
Happy Independence Day!
A wet and soggy one here along the Hudson River. Our little village cancelled the local fireworks due to construction work being done on the street/bridge which crosses over the Hudson River Metro North line. I contented myself with watching the FABULOUS Boston Pops Fireworks Extravaganza – a really incredible display.
Sad news earlier today when I learned that my next door neighbor (a very elderly man) was found dead on Tuesday evening by his nephew; no news as to when he died and there may not be, will be finding out about funeral etc tomorrow. The deceased’s brother-in-law lives across the street from me and is also rather elderly – his wife is dead and his son (the nephew) is a priest. The deceased was living in the house he was born in – I don’t think he ever married. The house is literally falling down – the back half IS falling down. The back yard has been in ruin since I moved here.
That is the view as I stand on my bench under the pergola and look over the fence at the back corner – there is a huge metal shed that runs almost the entire length of my backyard except for this 6 foot space at the back (which I had plugged up with a fence last summer). I was just eyeing this backyard the other day - dreaming about taking the fence down again and clearing it all up and continuing the garden into this space – I was thinking of approaching Mr. TC about this – and now. Well. It will be interesting to see what happens – the neighbors on his other side (who are friends) say that he has several siblings and that the house was his mother’s but we don’t know who owns it now.
The thing is that in this small village a situation like this is ripe for a feeding frenzy only tempered by the vagaries of the property tax (which apparently is set by no real formula due to the stupid way the NYS law was written). The house really will probably be condemned and then the new owner(s) would have to build anew and the taxes will be sky high because that kind of situation is the one of the few ways the village can make any decent money.
i am glad I rent. At least for now – I have to say that I had entertained notions of maybe renting the house if the time came when he would have gone into a nursing facility and then fixing it up and maybe buying it down the road. Its one of the smaller lots and footprints on the street.
So now I must worry about that shed being pulled down and what that will mean to my garden… although I imagine that may be a little ways down the road – all depending of course that he left a will. And I pray that whomever takes over will put up a fence .
The other news is that my elder cat, Cordelia, has decided to become an outside cat. She had been getting increasingly interested in the outdoors this spring (I spent most of May out in the garden when I was at home) and being a very vocal missy was driving me up the wall.
So first I let her out for a few hours – watching her. And then I decided to just see what happened – she spent the first night out and then came back the next afternoon for food and TLC and then was demanding to be let out again. This all started last Monday.
Most of the week she would be out all night and in the morning I would find her either on the front porch or at the back door.
Monday she came in and slept the entire day only going back out that night – and she hasn’t been back since.
I am a wee bit concerned especially since it poured all afternoon and evening. I do miss her curled up at the side of the bed at night. Her offspring, Katie, has always been a rather aloof cat and keeps to herself; never one to be held or petted which I attribute to the fact that from birth she was in a cage in the waiting area of the vets office and CONSTANTLY picked up with no moment’s piece.
Although I have noticed, in the last week, that she has taken to being either in the same room or near enough that she can keep tabs on me.
Isn’t there a saying that we don’t own our pets, that they own us?
On the other death this week, Charlie Rose was doing a tribute to Beverly Sill tonight – I taped it and will watch later. Here is a specially NY tribute to her from today’s NYT.
News and more coming soon!
It has been a busy several months---yikes where did the spring go?
Look for updates with lots of photos soon
Some hints as to what I have been up to…
sniffle...cough
we will resume blogging
(sneeze)
sometime
(cough)
soon
(we hope).
