July 24, 2022 On the road

Welcome

Sometimes there are wonderful things that happen so quickly that very few people know about them.  This was a 5:52 am Friday morning, as we were getting ready to face the day. There was just a very light sprinkle which made this possible. 

What other wondrous things are out there that no one sees?

If you are seeing this, we made it to Chincoteague. This used to be an annual visit. We missed the last two years, for obvious reasons. But we are back.

I write most of this very early on Friday morning. Our flight is early tomorrow. Dawn is coming later as August approaches. It is 5 o'clock, and it is still mostly dark. The first bird announced the day at 4:59. It was another hot day yesterday. I look forward to cooler weather arriving. I know that means that the cold weather is coming after that. But then there will be spring.

Before we left it was still lily season. 

There were the daylilies and the lilium.

This is a nice little daylily called Bright Eyed Doll.

This is Summer Hymns. 

This is actually a double lilium.  I may have to revise my opinion of doubles of this kind.

The coneflowers have started to be a player in the garden. They could still use a little more sun.

I wish I had kept better track of the names.

If the coneflowers go well with the lilies, everything goes well with phlox. 

I really liked this picture, with the hosta as background.

Here is a little video of the front triangle bed. It is something special.

Other pictures

The calla lilies are supposed to look like this one. I am waiting for its friends to show up. Of course that is why I planted them over time, some as recently as a few weeks ago.

I sometimes forget how nice lantana is in August until frost. I must make more room for lantana.

This sansevieria plant must be 20 years old. It reliably blooms over the summer.

Rather remarkable.

 

Actually maybe it is a good time to find the blooming conical sansevieria from last December. You can compare flowers.

Julia's recipe

Broccoli salad

Sometimes a vegetable shows up that has not been planned for, and so one has to think of what to do with it. We have broccoli growing in the garden plot (aka the farm), and suddenly there it was. We are going out of town soon for a week, so the broccoli needed to get used right away. One stalk was weirdly deformed (in front of and to the right of the mustard) so it had to go. Fresh broccoli is tender and flavorful, but it can also present challenges even when vegetable deformity is not an issue. 

Many years ago when we lived on an actual farm, we grew broccoli in quantity. We were full of theories in those days, so we grew it without any attention to pests. Our broccoli came into the house with the occasional cabbage worm. One picked them out while preparing the broccoli or picked them out of the water during cooking. They floated. But one always approached broccoli on the dinner table warily. I am happy to report that this broccoli, despite not being coddled in any way, came to us pest-free. Whew.  

This broccoli salad owes its existence to my memory of a broccoli salad made by my sister-in-law Jane for a summer family gathering some years ago. It was good, with (I recall) roasted sunflower seeds and raisins and a mayo-based dressing. I forgot about it until this broccoli came my way, and this recipe is a variation on Jane's salad, as I remember it. 

The ingredients:

4 cups or so of bite-sized broccoli florets;

1/2 cup of dried currants (raisins or cranberries);

1/2 cup diced red onion;

1/2 cup toasted slivered (or sliced) almonds;

1/2 cup mayonnaise;

1 tablespoon cider vinegar;

1 teaspoon dijon mustard;

salt and pepper. 

I put the almonds in a 350 degree oven for maybe 10 minutes, then I put them in the refrigerator to cool off.

I prepped the broccoli and red onion. My broccoli had thin stems (with a chewy outer layer). The stems were too thin to peel so I ate some and recycled the rest. I used only the heads which I cut into bite-sized pieces. If you have stalkier broccoli, you can peel the stalks and cut them into little matchsticks to add to the florets. 

I put the broccoli and red onion and currants into a bowl.   

Next I mixed the dressing - stirring the vinegar and mustard into the mayo and then adding it to the vegetables and stirring some more. 

All mixed together. I tasted and added some salt and pepper.

At the last, I added the toasted almonds. We had zucchini baked eggs with hollandaise sauce and blackberries with yogurt, for a nice vegetarian dinner.

Odds and Ends

Farm Report

Here is more of that rainbow. I must admit that I went and woke Julia up so she could see it. Mostly I do not do that. Sleep sometimes is so fleeting. But she said wow. Good enough.

Several Night blooming cereus flowers should bloom while we are gone. Bob has said he would try to get a picture.

Be safe.

Wish us smooth and safe traveling, with all those people not wearing masks.

Pray for peace. You would not know it but there is still a war going on.

Philip