GOOD NEWS FOR A CHANGE

Exactly three years ago, we were down in California at Linda’s Dad’s house, taking care of him while her sister and brother-in-law (Wendy & Robin) took a break from his caregiving. I remember we spent many hours watching sports on TV, which included the 2017 Baseball World Series. It was always fun watching sports with Dad because he could explain what was happening and also give us lots of background information from his many years of following the Dodgers. The L.A. Dodgers were pitted against the Houston Astros that year. We watched most of the final game with Dad, Wendy, and Robin. Unfortunately, we had to leave Dad’s before the game was over to return to our motel room. The next morning we left before the sun was up to return home to Yakima. Sadly, the Dodgers didn’t win the Series in 2017, and it was a shame because they really were good. They were “Dad’s team“, so I am very happy that they finally WON the World Series last night, for the first time since 1988. Dad would have been so happy! This picture below was taken while we were there in October of 2017. Little did we know that we would not see him alive again after that visit. We all so miss this amazing man!

READY FOR THE GAME!

Cold weather has set in here in Yakima now. Sunday night and Monday night the temperature went down to 20 degrees. Since there are no good flower pictures available now (and won’t be until Spring), I decided to post this picture below that was taken three years ago while we were at Dad’s. It is a picture of one of Linda’s Mom’s roses. I think it is probably the most beautiful rose I have ever seen.

MOM’S ROSE

This past week I dug up all of my beets. I harvested a huge bucket full of them, and also got a nice mess of greens out of it. In case you have never hear it, that terminology is how leafy greens are referred to in the South. Any quantity of greens is known as a mess, be it a single serving or a boat load. I don’t think I’ve heard this word used out here in the West. I don’t use it much myself, but back in North Carolina, all the old folks used it constantly. Of course, back there it was usually used in reference to collard greens. Oh, how I would love to cook up a mess of collards!

A MESS OF BEET GREENS

By the way, I cooked up the beet greens and when they were done, I had about a handful. I wish greens did not cook down so much! It was barely enough for us to have one serving each. I needed a bigger mess!

The beet roots gave me a better yield. I was able to pickle a quart jar of the roots, and also cooked up a bunch in my 3-quart Instant Pot. If you find yourself with an overabundance of any kind of vegetable, a good way to preserve it is to pickle it. It’s the easiest thing in the world to do. I always do a “quick pickle” on them, which doesn’t involve any fermenting or canning. These quick pickled vegetables have to be stored in the refrigerator, but that’s okay because they don’t usually hang around long enough to get in the way. Linda is not too fond of pickled anything, so maybe it’s a southern thing.

QUICK-PICKLED BEETS

I also got around to making some hot sauce. This year, since I had so many habanero peppers, I decided to make some hot sauce out of them. When I picked all my peppers, most of them were still green. But I found that if I put them in a bowl with some ripe cherry tomatoes on the windowsill, the next day they would be starting to turn yellow. This way I was able to get all of them to turn yellow so my hot sauce would be a pretty color. I made two small pepper-sauce jars of the hot sauce. It is very tasty and quite hot if tasted just by itself. Used sparingly on top of any kind of food, the heat is not so intense. I still have some peppers left, so I think I am going to make some more hot sauce.

HABANERO HOT SAUCE

Since the temperatures have been below freezing most nights for the past couple of weeks, we are slowly bidding farewell to Fall. The cold temperatures make all of the leaves just rain down off of our Catalpa tree. They covered our back yard in a blanket of green. Summer Girl was a little bit spooked by this sight below after a night of cold temperatures and brisk wind.

I SEE RAKES IN OUR FUTURE

The only thing left of the garden now is the parsley. I need to pick it soon and turn it into Parsley Pesto for Linda. The plants will most likely over-winter and return again in the early spring. I do have a few plants out there that returned from last year, so it will be interesting to see if they return again next spring.

ARBORETUM BIRD BLIND UPDATE

Last week I mentioned a project being conducted by the Yakima Valley Audubon Society on the Golden-Crowned Sparrow. I reported my October 18th sighting of this bird at the Arboretum Bird Blind. The gentleman who is leading the project emailed me back, thanking me for my report and also asking me if he could use my picture for a presentation at the end of the study. I, of course, gave my permission. Linda and I plan to visit the bird blind off and on throughout the winter to see if we can get any more sightings to report.

BANDED GOLDEN-CROWNED SPARROW

PARTING SHOT

Summer Girl has firmly settled into her new favorite spot…my recliner. She has started walking around the house and meowing when she wants someone to sit down so she can get on a lap. Whoever knew she would turn out to be such a lap kitty!

SUMMER GIRL ON MY…EXCUSE ME, HER RECLINER

Join me every Wednesday (barring any unforeseen circumstances) for more from the Southerner in the Northwest.