Our garden is about 8′ x 20′ and when you are as talented as Faye, you can pack quite a bit into such a compact space. Here are two views, one from each end. Come look, and please feel free to identify as many plants as possible. Go ahead give it a try
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Month: June 2013
Brisket a’ smokin . . .
after an overnight in the fridge under mustard and a rub.
A Universal Law
I would like to share a discovery. It’s a law that is as immutable, as universal, as unchangeable as the sun rising and setting, or that Albert Pujols strikes out from time to time. And that law is:
Every time I want to put something in the smoker, it rains.
Nonetheless, the show (or should I say the smoke) will go on.
Gargoyle
Faye likes gargoyles, so we share our home with several. This fellow ponders life from the vantage point of a shelf on our deck.
Hummingbird
A hummingbird visited our backyard feeder the other evening. As it fed, then paused, then fed again and again I swooped up the camera, removed the lens cap, turned it on, focussed on the feeder, zoomed in tight, tripped the shutter . . . the instant it turned away to fly off. I will keep trying.
Time to rest.
It’s a rough life, being one of our dogs.
Beef brisket
You can take the former Texan out of Texas. There are parts of Texan-ness you can’t take out of the Texan. Faye found a beef brisket at Sobey’s, four pounds worth. Dear, thank you so very much. It’s hard to find brisket in this part of the world. This weekend I will rub or marinate it – have not decided which yet though leaning toward rub – and put it in the charcoal grill/smoker for a long, slow smoke. That is the best, the only, way to do brisket. Y’all who have been to, lived in, or are from, down south know what I mean.
Kendal
Kendal, aka Dr. K, the Kendalator. Fayes’ special man. He is eleven years old now and getting a little gimpy, a little slower, a little more easily tired. And yet he is still up for a walk, some loving, some food – after all, he is a Labrador retriever. Early on I tried to train him in the same way I had trained the cattle dogs and it didn’t work, reminding me that dogs are individuals, and need to be treated accordingly. Once I relaxed and began using other strategies we get along much better. He’s a good boy.
The Internet and the Watch Dog
Our internet has been up and down and unpredictably so. It has been difficult to do much of anything. It seems that our ISP-provided modem has been faulty, so a new one is being couriered.
We are not Freaked Out, Panicked, and Discombobulated by having unpredictable connectivity. While it has been annoying, Faye and I have easily dealt with it. This evening we spent even more time sitting on the deck enjoying this evenings’ episode of BYTV or Back Yard TV. We watched the hummingbirds visit the feeder, heard a few rumbles of thunder, talked about how to store vegetables outdoors in straw bale storage.
As always, Stella is on guard, keeping a vigilant eye peeled for the evil squirrels that would invade the backyard. This out of focus cell phone photo only hints at her watchful demeanour.
Dogs and asparagus
Last night I tried to post a video of the Three Stooges eating asparagus, which they like. I guess that the file is so huge (58mb) that a time-out point occurred. Guess I will have to be satisfied with taking a screen shot and posting that, unless you have suggestions.
The cool spell earlier this week has transformed into a warm and humid morning, and the weather will continue through the weekend with chances of thunderstorms beginning tomorrow and extending through Monday. Summertime weather seems to have arrived.
previouslytexan 