Just Watchin’ the Flowers Grow

We haven’t posted since June 5 because we really haven’t been doing much except growing flowers and vegetables. The pictures below are evidence of our work. Check out the before and after photos of the herbs and veggie garden, The first picture was taken June 3 and the second June 24.

   

   

Next, check out the tomatoes and flowers.

   

   

Hanging ferns on coach house.

The swallows that built the nest in the corner of the deck roof on a beam, have fledged. But the funny thing is three out of the four come back at night to where the nest “used” to be. I moved it to a tree after noticing that they didn’t come back one night. I figured they were done with the nest and I wanted to move it and clean the area-they do make a mess. Well, they are still coming back. We guess they are so young and don’t know where else to go to sleep. When I moved the nest I was so amazed at how intricate it was built. My surprise was there was an egg in it. It was probably one that didn’t make it to hatch. After they fledged I cleaned off the deck so that almost all of the bird droppings were gone. We don’t want any more nests in the coach house area because they make big messes. Plus, we are afraid they might get into the ceiling fan and kill themselves. Now the only thing we have to be a little concerned about are the rabbits that are going under the deck. We know they are there because Kozmo smells them and is on point before and after our walks. She just loves going on “rabbit hunts” even though she just looks at them.

You know we have to eat to survive, so we have still been going out about three to four times a week to our favorite places. Since Annette’s’ Café was closed for vacation for 11 days, we got our fix twice this past week on Wednesday and Friday. Last night I grilled some chicken and had crispy, fried okra with a salad. It was so delicious! Today, Sunday, we went to La Cabana in Dillard. It is a Mexican place that we haven’t been to this season. We shared chicken fajitas for two and they were very good.

I got very motivated this past week and made homemade bread. On Monday, I made a white bread. It came out small but it was good. On Wednesday I made two loaves of Amish White Bread and reduced the amount of sugar to 1/3 of a cup instead of the 2/3 cup it called for and it was absolutely delicious!

Amish White Bread

When we toasted it, it was out of this world. But, of course, I must try my hand at honey wheat bread which is healthier for us in the next day or two. As you can see by the picture, the bread looked great! I used to make bread in my bread maker when we lived at the Valrico house. No room for a bread maker in the rv. I made beer cheese bread, rye bread and of course white bread with it. It always seemed to not last due to getting spoiled. But with this bread that I knead by hand, it has lasted four days and has not gone bad at all. Any frustrations that I have can be taken out on the kneading, which is hard on the hands for ten minutes. But, the outcome is worth it.

I finally went to the tie-dye activity on Saturday here in the park. It costs $2 to use their dyes and I bought my own white t-shirt from Fred’s Discount Store that cost $7, so I got a good deal. As you can see from the picture, I didn’t do too badly.

   

I read on the internet some other methods that I might try next time. The only stupid thing I did this time was to put my bare hand in the dye and not use a latex glove. After one of the work campers told me she had gloves, I put them on and wore them. But my right hand was all purple. She said it would eventually go away within two days. Well, after using soap and baking soda, and also bathing Kozmo yesterday, the dye is gone. About 10 people showed up to make the shirts and it got very hot from 10am to noon. I actually had to stop and towel dry my face because the sweat was just running down onto my glasses. We are amazed that it is that hot up here, like 93 degrees in the mountains. But, we wouldn’t trade it for Florida because even though it is hot it is not humid. We enjoy sitting on the deck in the evenings and with the ceiling fan on, it is quite comfortable.

Jeff will be DJ’ing on July 3 and July 7. He is going to do a Name That Tune game on July 3 by playing about 10 songs or so and people have to guess the songs. A prize will be awarded for the winner(s). On July 7, he is playing for three hours from 7 to 10. We hope there will be lots of people around for the activities.

We hope the weather is fine for your travels or wherever you are parked for the summer. Right now we are concerned about our friends in Florida watching Tropical Storm Debby create havoc.

‘Til next time……