mears garden: October 27, 2019 on the road

It is quiet here.

It is not cold or hot.

It is not Iowa.

It is not work.

Julia and I have run off to Chincoteague for a 5 day time away from everything.
So far, with a few technological bumps, this is good.
Chincoteague, as some of you may remember, is a little island off the shore of the part of Virginia, that is on the east side of the Chesapeake Bay.

My father was born here. Indeed we stay in the house where he was born.
We have been coming here every year for something like 43 years.
When you visit someplace like that there is so much that is familiar.
There is so much to remember.
And it is different from just living someplace for that long.
In Iowa City we do not take a drive to see what is new in different parts of town.
We do not drive by the house where relatives stayed when they joined us when their children were young.

Chincoteague is an island that is protected from the ocean by another island, called Assateague. A bridge was built to Assateague in the 60's. Fortunately the government acquired Assateague so there was/is no private development. Today it is managed by both the National Parks Service and the Fish and Wildlife Service. (I looked the Fish and Wildlife Service up. Apparently the current nominee to manage that agency is someone who used to work for Monsanto. I do not make this stuff up.)

There are not as many birds here in late October. We did see a large group of cormorants flying around yesterday.
They fly in the familiar V shape. You can tell they are not geese because they are silent.
I have a picture. But the image is too hard to see.
But there must have been 50 of these birds.

Back in Iowa

Before we left the leaves were turning color. These two lovely trees were actually planted by our neighbors only about 10 years ago.

The zinnias continued to provide photo opportunities.
While we have been gone a frost/freeze probably has toasted them.
There had been a 28 degree temperature that was forecast for the last several nights.
Those inside plants that were still outside are back in the garages until we come home.
Then I get out the shoehorn.

To eliminate any uncertainty this coming week will have temperatures in the mid 20's.
The worry at the moment, and there are always worries, is that the ground will freeze before I order and plant that order of spring bulbs I am putting off.
Maybe today. From Virginia.

The fall crocuses lasted 3-4 days, coming out when the sun was out.

This is one of the tillandsias we have at the moment. The collection is growing. It had a marvelous flower months ago. The new growth should bloom again before spring,
What is happening is that plant interest is starting with the inside symphony of plants.

Here is a little fuzzy cactus that will bloom all winter.

I had to take this picture of hosta Victory that has stuck with the garden until the season's end.

Hosta Confused Angel also still looks just fine.

Julia's Recipe

Basic Brownies

Betty Crocker knows her way around the basics especially desserts. Pie, cookies, cake, shortcake, cobbler, pudding - she's got you covered. This is a recipe for basic brownies, chocolate-y and chewy, mixed in one pan and ready in maybe 45 minutes (although they do need to cool off).

Here are the ingredients: 4 squares of unsweetened chocolate; 4 eggs; 2/3 cup shortening; 2 cups sugar; 1-1/4 cup flour; 1 teaspoon EACH baking powder and salt and 1 teaspoon vanilla.

Plus cooking spray to lube a 9" x 13" pan.

I started by melting the chocolate and shortening in a saucier (sauce pan with slanted sides - no corners) over low-medium heat.

You could use butter instead of shortening. I think you might want a bit more (say 2 tablespoons) flour because butter is a little watery compared to shortening.

I turned the oven on to 350 degrees and lubed up the pan.

When the chocolate and shortening were melted, I stirred in the sugar (which has the effect of cooling the mixture a bit), right into the pan. Then I added the eggs, one at a time, stirring each one in before adding the next. I used a whisk at this stage.

Next I added the dry ingredients and then the
vanilla. The batter became too thick to whisk so I turned to a wooden spoon.

I spread the batter into the pan and put it in the oven. I began checking for doneness at about 25 minutes. The brownies were done at about 30 minutes.

Here they are. You could add walnuts to the batter if you like. About 1 cup. I am not a fan of nuts in brownies. You could also frost them with chocolate frosting. I don't do that either. Just brownies.

Here are several attractively arranged on a little plate. The texture is kind of soft and kind of chewy. Edge pieces and corner pieces being the chewiest. Basic brownies are like almond cake in texture, which is a good thing.

Odds and ends

While on vacation (even one that is short) you learn things.
You realize that how you feel often depends on how many failures you have with the local technology.
Can you make the WiFi work?
I am embarrassed to say that we had to do that for no less than 2 different devices. There was my phone and the laptop. There are only the two of us, and we have 2 devices. Some getting away that is.
Then I could go on about TV remotes that you do not know or understand.
On the other hand I have a wonderful long book that I am consuming in the evening, or at the rest time in the afternoon.
It is one of those rare books that you have mixed feelings about reading it a lot. You would prefer that it go on for days.
But this book is just the first in a trilogy. So there will be more. But I did not bring the second one with us.
There is a nice bookstore, and a farmer's market (on Saturday). As in Iowa City this week is the last Farmer's Market for the season.
But Iowa City now has a market all year. If you live in Iowa City remember the market at the Fairgrounds, that goes on all year. But check to see which week it happens.

One constant between Iowa City and Chincoteague is the deer.
We always find it interesting that there are wonderful rose gardens several places on the island.
I do not do roses. The really nice ones take a lot of time.

Here is a little produce market, harkening back generations. In addition to the produce there are roses.

The owner did say that the deerhad eaten many of the rose buds.

Here is one.

Here is another.

Does anyone know this plant/bush?
Sometimes when you are elsewhere you find things where you just have no clue.

So here is the picture of the cormorants. They are hard to see. They are just about in the middle of the picture. I was not going to show you the picture but then I realized what a great picture it was, just showing the sky.