July 22, 2018- more rain

Thursday morning- I woke up to a gentle rain. It had been going on for a good hour when I took this little video. Here is the view out the second floor window.

It rained all morning, giving us at least 2.5 inches. With that rain it also seems as if we have left the very hot weather behind.

Saturday- After that rain the weeds came up so easily.
We also took a trip up today to the hosta nursery called In the Country Gardens. It is a few miles east  Independence, Iowa. That was about an hour north of Iowa City. I had been there one time several months ago, on my way back from a case in Dubuque. (I am a lawyer.)
It was wonderful. The hosta were good, but the succulents were the best.
The bonus was that they had a great display garden next door to the greenhouses. I will certainly look forward to taking cases from that area in the future.

It really is interesting how there are these great plant nurseries out in the middle of nowhere. Someone should make a list.

Pictures from the week

This is an orchid that regularly blooms this time of year. It is called rhynchostylis coelestis. It is actually a good deal earlier than last year, when it bloomed in mid August.
I have noticed that some of the fall blooming anemones are early this year. I expect them to bloom in early September. They are budding up now.

I moved some daylilies to a new bed by the back garage maybe 3 years ago. It was an area that now is getting mid day sun because some trees had come down. It is just the place for some daylilies. It has taken about those 3 years for the daylilies to get organized after being moved. This gorgeous flower for the moment is unidentified. I know I really like it.

This is Oriental lily Sumatra. We discovered it in a flower arrangement while we were in Chincoteague maybe 15 years ago. We went to the florist and learned the name. It was just made available for people (as opposed to florists) in 2005.  When it became available, we got some. It is supposed to be one of the darkest red lilies available.

This is Pizzazz, the lily. Actually it is an Orientpet, which is a cross between an Oriental lily and a Trumpet lily. Many of these lilies hang down, making photography difficult.

The night blooming cereus bloomed again Thursday night. There were three flowers this time. It was fully open a little earlier in the evening than two weeks ago. That was a little after 10 o'clock. That reflected the fact that the sun sets a little earlier each day.

This is Tiger Kitten, the daylily. Where do they get the names?
We have crossed the line so that late blooming daylilies have started. They are much appreciated as many of the plants are now ending.
I find it interesting how sometimes a differently cropped picture strikes my fancy. I just liked all that green foliage highlighting the bright color of the flower.

Bonus Pictures

Blackberry lilies
Here are some of the varieties currently blooming.  I plan on getting more.





Cactus group

Flowers are coming. At least five plants have at least one bud.

Julia's Recipe

Wendy's Chicken Salad

Here is  the link to the other blog with all of Julia's recipes that have been published on this blog.

https://mearskitchen.wordpress.com/

As I recall, our old friend Wendy introduced us to this chicken salad. Wendy and I met in 8th grade, and our paths converged and diverged and converged again forever after until she died several years ago. For several years when the children were young, she lived in the apartment in the lower level of our house, and she often ate dinner with us. She told a joke that the children, at a literal-minded age, did not get: "Call me anything but don't call me late to dinner" and when one of them said they didn't like something that was on the dinner table, she would smile beatifically and say, "More for the rest of us!" A wonderful friend and occasional recipe contributor. And while she lived with us, the adults outnumbered the children, an excellent ratio.

Chicken salad as the main course is a staple for us in the summer, and we make several versions. This is the oldest and maybe the best. We serve it with moist corn bread, a green salad and some kind of melon, which makes a nice supper.

Here are the players: cooked chicken breast, radishes, celery, scallions, red pepper, almonds, a can of sliced water chestnuts, and green seedless grapes.

And for the dressing: yogurt, mayonnaise, pesto, salt and pepper.





First, I prepped all of the vegetables/fruit. I washed and cleaned everything. Then I sliced the radishes into rounds (about 3/4 cup), sliced the celery on the bias thinly (about 3/4 cup), sliced the scallions in half lengthwise and then across (about 1/2 cup), diced some of the red pepper (about 1/3 cup) and cut the grapes in half (about 3/4 cup). I toasted 1/2 cup of almonds in a 350 degree oven, checking after 5-7 minutes. They should start to smell good, but not turn color. Nuts burn easily. I cut the chicken into medium-large chunks (a little more than 3 cups) and opened and drained the can of water chestnuts.

I put everything but the nuts into a big bowl. Then I made the dressing in a little bowl: 1/4 cup each of the plain yogurt and mayo, plus about 1 tablespoon of cilantro/mint/parsley pesto that Katie made when she was here a couple of weeks ago. You are unlikely to have this pesto, as Katie made it up. If you have any kind of pesto on hand, add a tablespoon or maybe a little more. Plus 1/2 teaspoon of salt and 1/4 teaspoon of pepper.

I mixed up the dressing and poured/plopped/stirred it into the salad. Just before serving, I added the almonds, which had cooled off by then.

And here it is, waiting for the nuts to cool. The salad can be made early and refrigerated. Don't add the nuts if you are going to refrigerate. Take the salad out at least 30 minutes before you eat it as it tastes best at room temperature. Add the nuts just before serving.

Astute observers will note the absence of the usual number of pictures. It was a busy time in the kitchen, and picture-taking fell off.

Variations: I think that radishes, celery, grapes and almonds are essential. I like the other ingredients for color (red pepper) or a bit of bite (scallions) or crunch (water chestnuts). Feel free to suit yourself. And the proportions can vary too. More chicken is fine (say 4 cups instead of 3). You should aim for having as much chicken as the total of other ingredients.

Odds and Ends

I splashed color around the front porch garden yesterday morning.

Here is the area getting ready to receive the big red caladium.

These are the caladium that never would come up. The last 15 sat on the back driveway waiting to emerge for the longest time.
Now the leaves on some are enormous. They may have been slow, but they will bloom until October, providing color when it is needed.

The experiment of growing morning glories from seed in pots has worked so far. Now I just want them to bloom.













That is about it for this week.
Find that cool air.
Where did I put my jacket?
Philip