October 2 to October 19, 2015 (yet another catch up)

The weather here has been wonderful,  very fall-like.  The only thing is we need rain.  We are beginning to have some fall color but it isn't at peak yet.  I hope the dry doesn't hinder it.

My Sis and BIL came down  for a couple of days the first week of October.  We had a wonderful visit.  They brought us three of their young Red Star hens and enough tomatoes that I processed 36 pints of various things with them. I was delighted.  My garden tomatoes were a complete bust this year.  Many others in the area complained  also.

I forced a pumpkin on her.....she isn't quite the glutton for work  that I am.  I think her BIL (DH) shamed her into it.  I have harvested several  more and the vines are finally starting  to die.

The beast that lives under the propane tank is still getting his share though.  When we set the trap outside the hole on the back side,  he created a new entrance/exit  on the other side.   I discovered this when I waded into the patch looking for pumpkins.....there was one hanging right by the new hole half eaten.



It is a large hole and seems very deep.  We will move the trap around the tank tonight.

I certainly have enough pumpkins.

I dug the sweet potatoes and they were very disappointing but still  enough for the two of us.

I did my yard tour this morning in a jacket and took a few pictures.

This is the grass miscanthus by the cellar.  I love how the sunlight shows up the plumes.


This just shows I haven't been completely idle.  This poor gate was barely hanging together.  I screwed the corners, renailed the  wire and rehung it and it should last a while.



The spirea has turned to fall,



Another little job, I got rid of most of the tall weeds and hand cut the saplings growing behind the shop,



There is not much left of flowers but this little self-seeded vignette still looks nice.  It is a native aster and gomphrena,



I took one cow picture:  It is the two milk cows and Willow's calf....where did those horn buds come from?



Enough for now.  I hope to do better blogging.

From the Swampy Ozarks

I have lost track of the running total but we have had another 2.25 inches over the last two days.  You go squish, squish walking through the yard and the chicken yard is standing water here and there.

More rain predicted over the next four days.

A side benefit to this weather is the way it sharpens my arthritis pain and discomfort!  I will say no more, but am thankful for Tylenol and Coated Aspirin.

I was up at my usual early time this morning.  I always read for a while and then do breakfast.  This morning it was scrambled eqqs and a new recipe from Allrecipes for Cinnamon Danish.  We think it is a keeper.

Original recipe makes 15 rolls Change Servings

• Dough:
• 1 cup warm milk (110 degrees F/45 degrees C) warm milk (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
• 3 (0.6 ounce) cakes cake yeast
• 6 1/2 tablespoons butter, room temperature
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
• 2 tablespoons white sugar

• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 4 cups all-purpose flour, or as needed
•  
• Filling:
• 2/3 cup butter, softened
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 2 tablespoons ground cinnamon

• PREP
  1 hr
• COOK
  10 mins
• READY IN
  1 hr 40 mins

Directions

1. Pour the warm milk into a mixing bowl and mash in the fresh cake yeast. Mix in 6 1/2 tablespoons of soft butter, eggs, cardamom, 2 tablespoons sugar, salt, and 3 1/2 cups of the flour. Use a wooden spoon to mix the dough. If it's very sticky, mix in the remaining 1/2 cup of flour. Cover the bowl and let the dough rise for 30 minutes.
2. Cream together the 2/3 cup butter and 1/2 cup sugar. Stir in the cinnamon.
3. Transfer the dough to a floured surface and knead it until it's firm, about 3 minutes. Divide the dough in half; roll each half into a rectangle no more than 1/2 inch thick. Spread each rectangle with half the filling.
4. Stack one layer of dough and filling on top of the other rectangle of dough, filling-side up. Roll the dough up, starting with the edge closest to you, to form a long log. Cut the log into 1 inch-thick slices.
5. Preheat an oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, or grease a baking dish or two cake pans.
6. Place the rolls on the prepared baking sheet, spacing them about 3 inches apart. If you like pull-apart rolls, arrange them in a greased baking dish or cake pans, spacing the rolls about 1 inch apart. Place the uneven end pieces on the baking sheet cut-side up for the best presentation. Let the rolls rest 20 minutes before baking.
7. Bake the snails in the preheated oven until golden brown, about 10 minutes. Pull-apart rolls will take longer to bake: after 10 minutes, reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) and bake the rolls until the sides are set and browned lightly.

I also made two loaves of oatmeal bread from Williams Sonoma's recipe for old-fashioned white bread.  I liked the recipe but next time would add less oatmeal (I subbed l cup for l cup flour) and more sweetener and less salt.

I put a pot of pinto beans on this morning.  That will be lunch/dinner.

We have lost 2 of our last 4 chickens lately, even after the new pen.  But Max didn't lock them up at night a few times and we paid the price (or they did).
We set the live trap but didn't catch anything for several nights.  Yesterday morning he took pics of the varmint we finally trapped.    It looks like a raccoom but has no 'bandit' eye patches.  Whatever it is, it is no more!

 

The rains have not helped the veggie garden or the flowers.  The pole beans seem to be enjoying it:



I like to encourage anyone, especially if you are an older gardener to give this method a try.  It is a hoophouse arrangement made from two cattle panels bent between steel t-posts.  I stand in the cool shade underneath and grab handbuls of beans.  There are a few I have to collect from the outside, but not many.

I have also harvested several eggplants and will try my Sis's method of cooking on the grill, cooling and freezing individually and bagging.  She then reheats them in the oven and says they are very close to fresh from the garden.  I like them better than DH, but he will eat  them.


This is enough for now.  I have taken a few more of the flowers but will do that later.