This has been a pretty good year so far for our garden. We have been frying up zucchini almost every day as a side with a meal, there is a big jar of pickles in the refrigerator from our cucumber plant and the tomatoes and peppers are now coming on so fast we will need to start putting some up. As for the herbs the parsley and basil seem to be faltering a bit while the rosemary and chives are growing well. We found that if we let the zucchini grow too big the skin becomes too thick and hard to cut and chew, a problem we had not experienced before. The cucumbers so far this year have been fat and slightly bitter, while the tomatoes and green peppers have been excellent. Barring an extended drought occurring during a heatwave, like last year, this should be one of our best gardening seasons on the acreage yet.
Once a month I highlight a piece of art I have created and posted on my Fine Art America site. This one is titled Finger Of God from the Abstract Art Collection.
Credit: Northwestern University Library, Edward S. Curtis’s “The North American Indian,” 2003. The caption for this photo of Geronimo taken by Curtis reads: “This portrait of the historical old Apache was made in March, 1905. According to Geronimo’s calculation he was at the time seventy-six years of age, thus making the year of his birth 1829. The picture was taken at Carlisle, Pennsylvania, the day before the inauguration of President Roosevelt, Geronimo being one of the warriors who took part in the inaugural parade at Washington. He appreciated the honor of being one of those chosen for this occasion, and the catching of his features while the old warrior was in a retrospective mood was most fortunate.”
At the start of this year I decided to keep track of what shows, documentaries and movies I watched for an entire year, and this list is the total for half of 2021, from January through the end of June. What struck me is how much I watched, which I wouldn’t have believed if not for the list. All of the shows and most of the newer movies we watched together while most of the documentaries and older movies I watched by myself. The bold entries are ones I would recommend watching.
Good Ol’ Freda (2013)
Big Star: Nothing Can Hurt Me (2012)
Alone – Seasons 1-4
The Walking Dead Season 10
Guns Akimbo (2019)
Monsters (2010)
Yellowstone Season 3
Guys And Dolls (1955)
Warrior (2011)
Dial M For Murder (1954)
The Vast Of Night (2019)
The Hunter (2011)
Where the Red Fern Grows (2003)
Tales From The Loop Season 1
Bosch, Whole Series
Blindness (2008)
Fitzcarraldo (1982)
The High and the Mighty (1954)
The Rover (2014)
Fear and Desire (1953)
Echo in the Canyon (2018)
Scotty and the Secret History of Hollywood (2017)
3 Days to Kill (2014)
We Were Soldiers (2002)
Some Like It Hot (1959)
Vivarium (2019)
Nico, 1988 (2017)
The Strangers (2008)
Crazy Heart (2009)
Greenwich Village – Music That Defined A Generation (2012)
Gonzo – The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson (2016)
Late spring and early summer a heat wave came through and now it is cooler but rainy. It has been good for the grass, weeds and garden (not to mention the corn fields that surround us) but has put a stop to burning the fallen brush and branches we accumulated over the winter. One thing that has not stopped around the place is birds mating, eggs hatching and chicks squeaking for food. This is our fourth summer out here and there are more birds than during the previous three. The majority are robins, followed by finches, swallows, a couple of mourning doves, thrashers and a humming bird I recently spotted visiting the hollyhocks. Not on our acreage but in the ditches along our road we see (and hear) beautiful pheasants strutting and calling. Dragonflies of many sizes and colors zip around, then hover and cavort with with each other, and are gone again. Come sundown the fireflies slowly begin to light up and seem to vanish and reappear at different places. The corn is now so high (over seven feet tall) that you can only see a few dozen fireflies at a time against the green walls surrounding us, but when on a higher position (such as the back porch) you can look out over the fields and see thousands of greenish-yellow lights blinking in the summer darkness.
I have been keeping up with a homesteading blog for the last year or so called Willow Creek Farm. It is written by “Mountain Mom” and details the ups and downs of her seven member family while living on their homestead in Colorado. From the About page: “I enjoy being a wife and homemaker, homeschooling mom, farm girl, writer, and helping my husband run our custom fiber processing mill. For 14 years we homesteaded in the high-altitude Rockies, and then in the spring of 2021 we moved and have begun expanding our flocks and building a new farm on the High Plains of Colorado. We breed and raise milk sheep, specialty wool sheep, Nubian goats, chickens, and ducks.”
Alfred Stieglitz is one of my favorite early photographers. While I enjoy viewing his entire portfolio his photos of New York City during the winter, particularly when snowing, are mysterious and fascinating. Check out this site to view over 150 of his photos.
Study Finds “sets out to find new research that speaks to mass audiences — without all the scientific jargon. The stories we publish are digestible, summarized versions of research that are intended to stir debate: We do not agree nor disagree with any of the studies we post, rather, we encourage our readers to debate the veracity of the findings themselves.”
Top 10 Home Remedies “is a health & wellness site that caters to a wide range of topics like helping you maintain a healthy pregnancy to providing you with scientifically-validated home remedies for conditions like heartburn, toothache, constipation, acne, and headache, to name a few. One of the prime motives of Top 10 Home Remedies is to ensure that you stay fit and disease-free. Every remedy on the site is well-researched and reviewed by the relevant health expert. Rest assured, nothing is left to chance when it comes to your health. The Top 10 Home Remedies’ team consists of health enthusiasts with a zest for living life to its fullest and helping others do the same.”
We started growing zucchini in our garden back when we lived in the city, and we thought it did pretty well. Once we moved to the country and tried it in the wonderful, rich black soil out here it was a whole other experience. The blossoms sprouted everywhere along the three and four foot long vines, giving us so many big zucchinis we gave away some, ate a lot, and froze the rest to be used in soup, stews and to make zucchini bread. Our favorite way to prepare fresh zucchini is to fry it in a cast iron pan on the stove top. Melt about half a stick of butter, cut the zucchini into half inch thick slices and fry them on low heat, flipping the slices once they are golden brown. We have used a wide variety of spices over the years on our fried zucchini but the mainstays have remained seasoned salt and garlic powder. Fried zucchini makes a delicious side for about any main meal or stands well on its own as a snack.
Once a month I highlight a piece of art I have created and posted on my Fine Art America site. This one is titled Lloyd from the Faces and Beings Collection.
Off The Back Porch
Stay informed with curated content and the latest headlines, all delivered straight to your inbox. Subscribe now to stay ahead and never miss a beat!
Off The Back Porch 