Winding Down

 

Summer.....

Happy Anniversary

 

To the far Mountains

 

This guy was just creepy...

No elbows!

The kids had planned to stop down to see us on the weekend and then travel up to Lake Placid on Sunday to sneak in some Christmas shopping.

I made sad puppy eyes at Alan (over the phone, and not on video chat either...no mean feat..) and he invited me along.

(I am in the wrong line of work!)

Lake Placid

What a nice time. I love seeing them and getting to talk without miles between us and the shopping was interesting as well....although there is nothing in any store that can compare with the mighty mountains. The air alone will wake you up as if you were an ent and had been sleeping long and deep.

Thanks for a great day guys....it was a lot of fun.

Ninja Heron

 Huntie Boi Green Heron yesterday at Goldman Road Swamp. He is not afraid of me anymore and doesn't fly when I walk down by the water. Nice catch, huh?

Bam!

Fixing the "new" Facebook

 

Sometimes metamorphosis is not all it's cracked up to be

Like else everyone I hate the new format. Saw several articles on this and gave it a try.

Long story short, I love it.

Takes a few minutes to customize, but notifications are now in order with new ones highlighted in color. Timeline now STAYS on "most recent".

No ads.

I could go on and on, but the bottom line is, goodbye to the update from Hell and hello to Facebook Purity.

Freezing Winter Squash the Lazy Way

 

There are many ways to put up winter squash, some of which involve peeling, cubing, boiling and all manner of pains in the neck.

However, many moons ago I stumbled upon an easier way to do it, which requires minutes of prep and very little final work.

First I give the squash a nice scrub. We like butternuts best and acorn second best so that is what we use. Then I place the squashes on a foil lined oven sheet and poke several holes in them with a fork so as to let the steam escape.

Next step is to stick them in the oven at either 325 or 350 and cook until tender.

Let them cool enough to handle comfortably, slice in half, scoop out and discard the innards (if we have pigs they get them and love them or else into the compost bin they go).

Then scoop out the good part with a spoon, mash, and freeze in plastic freezer bags or containers.

It's that easy. I used to dread doing squash. Now I do an oven full every few days and soon have enough for the whole winter.

Later, when the cold winter winds are howling and a hot, fragrant, nutty-sweet dish of squash is desired.... I just put it in an oven safe bowl, add butter and a little maple syrup, cuz we love it, and either bake or microwave. 

It is so good!

Sixty-nine Years!

 

Happy Anniversary, Mom and Dad!

Love you!

The Things you See

 

Please click to embiggen. Sure had fun! Alas, I probably should have stayed home and done laundry, as the big fire in town has caused no water pressure up here on the hill. So sorry for the folks involved.

How much Wood

 

Could a woodchuck.....

Wait a minute, that's not wood!

What's going on here?

At least it's not something I planted...