Rainy Days

Click on the image to see it rain on the leaf!

It has been raining here for the past few days - the sky is steely and everything drips. But I never complain about rain. As a former farm girl and an admirer of green things, I would rather have it be a little too wet than too dry.

I bought a book a couple of weeks ago about Starved Rock Park which is just up the road apiece. It is an interesting compilation of photos and highlights of the work that was done in the 1930s by the CCC (Civilian Conservation Corp). The U.S. Army set up and administered the camps which were then run in much the same way as if they were troops stationed in their different locations. Young men were able to enlist in the CCC for six months and were "paid a stipend for a 5 day work week, 3 meals a day, lodging, clothes, footwear, innoculations, other medical and dental care, and, at their option, vocational, academic, or recreational instruction". Since this was during the time of the depression, many of these young men were able to regain physical strength through eating well and receiving medical attention, as well as learning valuable carpentry skills. Most of them sent money back to their families who were helped by this support. The stone work that they built is, I think, especially beautiful and is still used today.

When I was small, we lived near Clarksville, Iowa, which had a lovely walkable stone dam. We would go to Heery Woods State Park for picnics and family reunions where we kids would play on the dam while our Mothers got the food ready and our Dads played horseshoes. I think that the beauty of that park settled in my heart forever and is one of the reasons that I love green and growing things so much.

Graphic based on tutorial by Carver House

Robin's E(expected) T(time of) D(departure)

It is a joyous spring day when I spot my first robin! Robins can smell worms from afar and know when they are beginning to surface again. And this is why they return when they do. Having no appetite for worms myself, I don't know when this phenomena occurs. I just look for the robins who relay that information. Although there are some robins who stay with us year around, I don't see them throughout the winter myself. Which brings me to my next thought.

It is almost time for them to leave us. There was one year, and one year only, when I actually saw the robins gather together and check their tiny suitcases to make sure they had everything before flying off for parts unknown to me. Other than that, I can only surmise when they will leave without as much as a fare-thee-well. I sense that it's about that time now. There's a rumbling underfoot which tells me that perhaps the worms are starting to burrow deeper.

Summer's Fairwell

We've been canning tomato juice and making salsa and while we're busily working, Summer is packing her bags and planning to leave us! I sorrow at Summer's yearly leave-taking. I dislike autumn. Now before anyone throws tomatoes at me, I'm going to explain why. I have some serious allergy microbes nesting in my system which become more territorial every year. When the air cools and the leaves begin to glow with color - my bronchial tubes close down and my nose drips in a steady stream. I move into some serious misery.

Autumn torments me. Not only does she make her presence felt physically, but she also carries nostalgia in her own suitcase and likes to unfurl pictures of the past that make me feel - well - she makes me feel nostalgic. And I don't like feeling nostalgic. I think it was Katherine Mansfield in her journal who wrote that autumn is like sitting in the dentist office knowing that something terrible was about to happen. This is not a direct quote, and it may not have been Katherine Mansfield at all who said it, but it hits pretty close to the mark no matter who said it.

Today is "Laborus Dayus". Giving Latin names to things adds an aura of importance, don't you think? Yesterday we were triple booked with going to church, fixing a lawn mower for a friend (which included a free meal as reward) and then over to another friend's house for a campfire. We got home at midnight totally bushwacked. Today we are going to a picnic for which I do not have to take a thing and for which I am very thankfulus gratefulus. Laborus Dayus is definately a day in which we labor and do not rest.

Salsa Recipe:
12 medium sized tomatoes
2 large onions
2 green peppers
2 red peppers
Jalapeno peppers (I use 2 for mild salsa and 4 for medium/medium hot salsa.)
1/2 to 1 c. sugar (I only use 1/2 c.)
1 cup vinegar (I use apple cider vinegar)
2 tbl. salt
2 tbl. Mrs. Dash seasoning (use red cap for extra spicy or green cap for normal spicy salsa. I use the green cap.)
1/4 tsp. minced garlic

Chop all the vegetables (the food processor, on chop setting, works great for the peppers and onions.) Place in a large dutch oven with liquid and spices. Simmer for one hour, stirring often. Cool and then divide into smaller serving containers. Freeze. Or you can water bath process in jars which is what I do.
Serve salsa with chips or on meat dishes. Enjoy!

Artwork in the graphic is by Mary Englebreit and is used here for nonprofit use only. Graphic is made using a tutorial by Kricket.