A pair of doves

A beautiful little pair of ringneck doves who have been returning residents at my neighbors yard, decided to come to my yard for a visit.  I might not have noticed, but they have been cooing...loudly!  Early in the morning... right outside my window.  It's pretty hard to ignore!  They've found a nice, thick, pine branch to perch on, and they look so comfortable there.

 Of course, when I've gone out to see what singing is about, they've flown to the roof of the shed or the overhead power-line.

I didn't hear them this morning, though....hope they come back. I have enjoyed their visit...and their songs!

Preparing for the recital

I've "typed" the program for the recital on Friday.  I'll need to get copies printed today.  And I'm rehearsing the pieces I'm accompanying; fingers are flying over the keys, trying to remember all the accidentals.

Oh, and I am playing "Pomp and Circumstance" for the Baccalaureate service for our senior class tonight.  Small church, small class, once through the song...it's a pretty easy gig.  I'm just so happy to provide live music.  In most cases, I much prefer it.

Stitch by stitch...bead by bead...

Slowly, I'm gaining on the Accordion Scarf.  The pattern calls for 25 repeats before knitting the bottom edge.  I'm on the 17th repeat at the moment.  The rows where I add beads go more slowly, but bead by bead, I'm getting closer to the finish line.  When this scarf is blocked, it's supposed to measure 60 inches.  If I have plenty of yarn, and it looks like it might fall short of 60", I may add another repeat or two.  We'll see. 

I've also got the blue cotton shawl sweater going...but it's really slow going.  I'm not spending quite as much time on it.  Once again...stitch by stitch...I'll eventually get the back section completed.

Crazy weather

So, here's a picture of a day of sunshine, warm temps, and bees were buzzing the yellow blossoms on the caragana.  The grass is growing like crazy, and hopefully will fill in the spots where the rabbits were eating and peeing over the winter months...killing the grass!  Not so thrilled about that!!  But that's the way it goes out in the country!

These little guys are getting a big drink of rain water.

I received 10 bare root evergreen trees in the mail from the Arbor Day Foundation.  I barely remembered that I had opted to receive them last year.  But they arrived and needed care right away.  I could not decide where I wanted to plant them, so I dug out old pots of any kind and planted them, placing the pots in areas that were a little protected from the elements. Although you can see the wind yesterday pushed them over a bit; I'll try to correct that. And then...rain.  RAIN?  Yep.  It's been a long time since we've had rain that lasted more than 5 minutes.  It's great!  We need it!  But we can hardly believe it!

They're baaack...

The antelope (from below the hill) are back.  Here they are having breakfast on my lane this morning, nibbling on the new green grass.

It is starting to "green up" around here, but from this picture it's obvious that the trees at the neighbors are just starting to leaf out. So, from a distance, there's only a hint of green today.  In one week, we have gone from brown and dull to green and blooming!  Like everybody else, I'm shaking my head at the crazy weather patterns across the country.

The crab apple trees are blooming in town...and they are beautiful.  I hope to get a picture or two soon.

The aroma was wonderful...

As the artichokes were cooking in the crockpot, the aroma filled the house.  Wow...it smelled great.  I was sure hoping they would taste great too...

I checked them after 3 hours and decided to add another half cup of water.  Then, after 6 hours on LOW, I checked them again, and they were ready to eat.

I heated some garlic butter to dip the leaves in and started picking the artichoke apart, scooping off the good stuff with my teeth.  Oh, yeah...it was good.  Tender. Tasty.  The garlic butter is a must.  I ate all the good stuff off one artichoke. I refrigerated the other one; not sure it will taste as good as the first one did, fresh out of the crock pot, but we'll see.  This turned out to be a good way to prepare artichokes; I'll definitely give this recipe another go.

Me? Cooking??

I'm not known for my flare in the kitchen...

I do alright...I mean, I'm not starving.  My general motto is that if I can't fix a meal in 20 minutes or less...forget it. Since retiring from education, and not eating the main meal from the cafeteria, I have had to "step it up" in my own kitchen.  Also, since purchasing a Bountiful Basket of fruits and veggies every couple weeks, I've eaten more healthy meals and have had to research how to fix some of the items I've received in the Basket.  Case in point: artichokes.  This week I received two. 

Remember Kathy B suggesting we not put away our crock pots for the summer???  OK, I thought maybe artichokes could be steamed in one...so I looked up a recipe on-line.  Sure enough - it's doable!  I watched a great little video about prepping the artichokes (cutting off the tips of the prickly leaves, removing the flowery heart, and cleaning up the stem).  Then, they went in the crock pot with a cup and a half of water, some lemon juice, salt and pepper.  Oh, and one thing more: they suggested adding some garlic.

I remembered that I had purchased a garlic press...but had never used it.  Hmm.  I scrounged through a drawer of utensils and found it...still in the plastic packaging!  Wow...it works great!  Why didn't I use it sooner???  Oh, Nancy, Nancy, your lack of cooking knowledge and experience is a disgrace. Maybe you better not disclose that info. 

I put the lid on, and set the crock pot on LOW for (maybe) 7 hours.  I would have to check them, as they could be ready to eat in 4.

I'll let you know how it went...