Clouds

Over the last couple of years since we moved out here to our farm, I've become enamored with cloud formations.  Maybe it is because there aren't a lot of houses around us and we can see them better than we could in town.  At any rate, I try to take pictures when I see one that I find particularly beautiful or strange.

I have a little camera that I carry in my purse.  It is about the size of a deck of cards.  I'd show you a picture of it, but then I can't use it to take a picture of itself!  However, it takes great pictures, and since it is small enough to carry in my purse, I have it with me most of the time.  I go to work around 7:00am and, during certain times of the year, I am driving to work just when the sun is coming up.  This time of day lends itself to beautiful displays of sunlight on the clouds that happen to be there.  Last spring, I took the following pictures on my way to work in the morning.

This one was taken in April.

And, this one was taken in May.

Just this last week I took the picture below.  This picture was taken at sunset.   These clouds were in the east while the sun was setting in the west.  One of my granddaughters thinks it looks like a huge bear.  Children have such wonderful imaginations!  If you can picture the bear's nose on the right side and the bear's behind on the left side and the "hole" in the cloud as being under the bear's stomach, then I think you can see this too.

Finally, some clouds are just plain strange!  The picture below was taken this past winter after one of our snow storms.

I'm sure there is some sort of meteorological term for whatever caused this.  I emailed it to KFOR in Oklahoma City, but nobody answered.  I probably sent it to the wrong department.  At any rate, if anyone out there knows what caused this, then let me know!

Altered Skyline

To the east of our property there is a small "wet weather" creek bed.  It only has water in it when it rains a lot.  However, that is enough to have spawned the growth of several huge cottonwood trees.  I love sitting on our back porch in the morning and watching the sun come up above these large cottonwood trees. 

At a certain time in the fall, the sun rises exactly in the middle of a triangular shaped opening between two of these big cottonwood trees.  It sort of reminds me of Stonehenge!  Here is a picture I took last fall of this spectacle.

Last week we experienced what, in the weather world, is called a "downburst".  This occurs when an area of significantly rain-cooled air reachs ground level and spreads out in all directions producing strong winds. Unlike winds in a tornado, winds in a downburst are directed outwards from the point where it hits land or water.   During the downburst, we had 70 to 80 mile per hour winds.

Oddly enough, we had very little damage to our home or out-buildings.  There were a few small limbs blown down and items, like buckets, blown around, but no real damage.  Unfortunately, one of these big old cottonwood trees was unable to withstand the force of the wind and was basically twisted off at ground level.  Here is a picture of the damage.

It is sort of odd, but I have found that the destruction of this tree has rocked my world to some extent.  Just the fact that something so majestic can be brought down by the forces of nature makes me feel a little vulnerable.  Plus, I have a mathematical background and like for things to be symmetrical.  That is no longer the case with the "skyline" to the east of us.  Here is what it looks like now.

Basil Pesto

A couple of weeks ago I shared my "Friday Night Date with Basil".  Well, I don't always sell all that basil at the Farmers' Market, so I have to find ways to use it here at home.  Otherwise, I have to throw it out.  What a waste!

One of the easiest ways to use a lot of it is to make pesto.  Here's the basic ingredients.

You start with 2 cups of basil leaves, 2 cloves of garlic (chopped), 2/3 cup of olive oil (divided) and 1/4 cup of pine nuts.  Put it all in your food processor.

I usually put the basil, garlic and pine nuts in first and give them a pulses to get them coarsely chopped.  Then, I slowly add 1/2 cup of olive oil.  Blend until it is smooth and add salt and pepper to taste.

If serving immediately, stir in 1/2 cup of grated parmesan cheese and the rest of the olive oil. 

If you are not going to serve it immediatly, then put it in an air-tight container and pour the rest of the olive oil over it.  This will keep it from turning brown.  Then, stir the parmesan cheese in at serving time as above.

Sun Tea

I am trying to find some ray of optimism in this awful hot, dry weather we are suffering through this summer.  I find myself getting depressed when I look at the 7-day forecast and only see more days of 100 degree plus temperatures. 

One thing that I can say this hot weather is good for is making sun tea!  And, we've been making a LOT of that this summer.  Here's how we make it. 

1)  Get a 1-gallon glass jar and fill it with water.

2)  Unwrap two gallon size tea bags and add them to the jar.

3)  Screw on the lid.

4)  Find a nice sunny spot and set the jar in the sun.

5)  Check on the tea in an hour or two.  It should look like this.

6)  Fill a glass (or jar) with ice.  Pour in the tea and ENJOY!

Customer Satisfaction

One of the things I enjoy most about our farmers' market is the interaction with our customers.  It took several years to develop a clientele.  But, now we have quite a few people who seek us out.  One of these is an older woman named Jill.  She always wears a big brimmed hat as protection from the sun.  For a couple of years, we just knew her as the "lady with the big hat".  We aren't too good at remembering names, especially if we are having a really busy day.  So, it may take several times for someone to introduce themselves before their name imprints itself on our brains.  But, at some point, we came to know Jill as Jill.

As I said, Jill is an older woman who lives alone.  She has some family or acquaintances in Switzerland because a couple of years ago she asked us to babysit her African violets while she went on a 2 week trip to Switzerland.  I was pretty nervous about this because I'm not that good with houseplants.  If they survive my care, they can probably survive anywhere.  At any rate, she brought them to the market with her one Saturday and we took them home.  I set them on my kitchen counter by the window and checked them every day, worrying that I would water them too much (or not enough) or that they would be attacked by insects or disease while they were in my care!  I breathed a sigh of relief when the 2 weeks were over and I was able to return them to their rightful owner none the worse for wear.

Jill has certain favorite items that she buys.  She loves sweet peppers, especially banana peppers, and she likes parsley.   One of the reasons I've been so frustrated about my parsley not producing this summer (see July 18th entry) is because I hate to let Jill down.  So, whenever I am able to harvest a bag full, then I save it for her.

As I mentioned in the July 18th entry, we are having the hottest summer in decades.  Days and days of 100 plus degree temperatures.  The last few years it has gotten to where I have a hard time tolerating the heat.  This must have been very apparent a couple of weeks ago when Jill was at our farmers' market booth.  I usually wear t-shirts and shorts in hot weather.  Jill, noticing my attire, told me I shouldn't wear t-shirts because they were too hot.  She pointed to the cotton blouse she had on and said it was much cooler than a t-shirt.  I told her I'd have to see about getting some of them, but promptly forgot the conversation after she left and we got busy again.

You can imagine my surprise when the next week, she brought the following item to the market and gave to me.

Needless to say, I was very touched by her kindness and concern for my well-being.  And, I wore the blouse the next week.  Sure enough, it was a lot cooler than a t-shirt!

Friday Night Date with Basil

At this time of year I am up to my ears in basil.  I mainly grow Genovese (sweet) basil to sell at our farmers' market.  I harvest it on Fridays, usually in the early evening.  I harvest it by grabbing a bunch of it in my hand and cutting the bunch off with a pair of scissors.  Then, I stuff it in a plastic bag.  I continue on in this manner until I've harvested all the plants in my herb bed.  I usually end up with 2-3 bags full.

Harvesting it is only half the work though.  After that, I bring it inside and package it to sell.  Here is what my kitchen table looked like last night.

Most of it goes in sandwich bags like this.

These will keep for several days in the refrigerator if you put a folded paper towel in the bag to absorb extra moisture and then mash most of the air out of the bag and seal it.

I also like to take some of the basil with longer stems and put it in cups of water like this.

Several of our local eating establishments give free plastic glasses when you buy a drink.  These fit nicely in a dish pan and are just the right size to hold a nice bunch of basil.

Here is what my basil harvest looked like after I was finished.

If I have an extra large harvest, then I put the extra in Walmart bags (or other brand) and sell it "wholesale" to people who want a large amount with which to make pesto or to dry.

It makes for a pleasant evening's work to drink a glass of wine and listen to music while packaging up the basil.  Plus, the kitchen smells heavenly.

Death Valley Days

The title of this blog entry aptly describes my feelings about this summer.  We've had almost 30 days of high temperatures over 100 degrees with very little rain and there is no relief in sight.  This is taking a toll on our garden.  Here is some mint that I had growing in a tub.

Tom has exhausted the water in his big 1500 gallon water tank in which he catches water from the garage roof.  It was full and running over this spring.  We have a well, but we have to be somewhat careful about watering from it for fear of running it too low and picking up sediment.

Our tomato plants look pretty good, but they are not producing any fruit to speak of because, even though they bloom, the blossoms will not "set fruit" and form tomatoes above 95 degrees.

Of course my basil is doing fine.  It loves hot weather, although I think it is getting a little tired of this extreme heat too. 

Most of the other herbs in the herb garden have gone dormant and probably will not start growing again until cooler weather arrives this fall.  However, I am perplexed about my parsley.  It should be producing better.  Here is a picture of what it looks like.

Even though I water it, it just sits there.  So, I rigged up a shade cloth over it thinking that if I can keep it a little cooler, then it might be happier. 

I'll keep you posted on whether or not this works.