This Is On My Mind

I ventured across this wild rose on my recent camping trip.  After the long cold winter and being cooped up I am finding such joy in the little delights nature has for me this spring!

And yes I did stop and smell the roses!  Have a great day!!

The BeheMoth

While I was doing yard work in a friend's yard we found the most beautiful creature.  It was a chilly afternoon and I took him home and made some pictures of him.

He had just emerged from a cacoon that was still attached to the inside depressed part of a sign pole under a silver maple tree I planted several years ago.

I couldn't stop taking pictures and gazing in absolute total wonder at the beauty of this creature.

The "tear" you see is the moth dispelling any fluid left in his body.  He (or she) is preparing to go in search of a partner to complete the cycle.

Although there are literally hundreds of moths I found this one quickly.  Luck or coincidence I do not know.  After reading about this lovely bit of life I will hesitate the next time I recoil from an "ugly" caterpillar.  If you would like to read more about this truly amazing moth click here.  I emailed the author of the site and he emailed me back saying

Hi Mary,



Indeed cecropia moths are beautiful. They are one of my lifelong favorites and are fascinating to observe as they go about their life cycle.


Enjoy your experience and tell others about your appreciating the wonders of nature.


David

This experience made me stop and appreciate how fleeting beauty is in our lives and how we must cherish those moments.

Happy Mother's Day!

Thanks to Rhonda over at Down To Earth  for hosting.  Today I have a photo of my mother to share!  She has been gone nearly 30 years but as you  all know she will never be forgotten.  A thanks to Melissa, a friend for scanning this picture for me.

Happy Mother's Day to all of you mommas out there!

This photo was taken in the early 1950's a few years before I was born.  Momma rarely posed for a picture and the next one is a bit earlier and apparently taken on the farm.  Oh, and I know what she was saying!  Don't take my picture!

Don't you love the dress?  This was back in the day when they made everything.

I won't be blogging for a week or so.  See you all soon!

Kentucky Spring in Photos

I thought some of you might enjoy seeing the world where I spent my youth.  This part of Kentucky isn't mountainous, but has beautiful rolling hills.

This is not too far as the crow flies from where I lived.  That property is no longer in the family (neither is this one but I'm always welcome there as if I were family).

I included a sunset shot over the hills just so you could see the woods before the trees are full.

In the background you can see the maples just beginning to leaf.   The next photo is a typical Kentucky backroad.

Here is a close up through the barbed wire fence.  I still have scars from going through these fences as a kid!  In Kentucky it is pronounced "Bob Wahr" like it is some bad dude that will cut you up if you trespass!!  And it does!

And this my friends is the mighty Ohio River!  My official hometown is located on the banks of this river even though I never lived in town.  Those of you who participated with the Rupert project might recall my friend, this picture was taken in her backyard.

Across the river you can see Indiana, our neighboring state.  The bottom land is treasured by farmers and is very rich and fertile. 

Finally, I give you Rosie.  She resides on the farm pictured in the first image. She is a lucky kitty cat even though part of her tail is missing.

Until next time!  MMMMMMMMMMMWAH!  From Rosie of course!

The Kentucky Derby

If you live in Kentucky or are a fan of horse racing you cannot escape the hoopla surrounding the Queen of all thoroughbred races, The Kentucky Derby.   The small city where I live is surrounded by horse farms and this business is integrally intertwined in our economy and population.  When I first arrived I didn't like the city because it was NOT the country and the rich snobby folks didn't suit me either.  Now that years have passed and I have aged and mellowed out I find this place I live has the best of both worlds in many many ways.  We are small, yet very cosmopolitan (for Kentucky) and in a few minutes from downtown you can be sailing down country roads.

In the past I have remembered a couple of memorable Derbies.  My all time favorite running for the roses (the garland the winner accepts is made of red roses) was when Alysheba clipped the hooves of the horse in front, nearly fell to his knees then got up pissed off and ran to the finish line to win.  Another one was the year Winning Colors won.

This isn't Winning Colors, but a horse near where my brother lives.  I've always admired a gray horse and I nearly always bet on the gray.  Winning Colors was a gray and a filly!  It is always a treat when a filly wins the Kentucky Derby because she has to compete against the boys who are usually bigger.

The Derby is almost always the first Saturday in May but for some reason this year it is on May 9th, my father's birthday.  They may change the date, but they can't change the weather!  Rain, sleet, snow or sunshine the ponies run. 

There is a lot of fuss about Derby Pie around this time, but I favor strawberry pie.  The berries are usually ripe after the derby but now that we have supermarkets I can get pretty nice strawberries now.  I still make the pie like Momma taught me.  As you can see I cheated and bought the graham cracker crust, something she never did.  We crushed the graham crackers with a rolling pin and melted margarine and then packed them in this old old pie pan.  As you see sliced berries were added while the filling was cooked on the stove.

Its simple.  A bit of butter or margarine (or not) and some sugar.  Cook til the strawberries begin to break down and then thicken with cornstarch.

How much cornstarch?  Well add it til when it thickens and you stir you can see the bottom of the pan.  the liquid will suddenly turn very clear too.  Pour it over the sliced berries and that is it.

There is a secret ingredient that my mother put in all her fruit pies, but when I tell people they look confused so now I just keep it to myself.

I once upstaged the hostess at her party with this simple pie.  I felt terrible because you never should do that, and I had been asked to bring a dessert.  This wasn't as beautiful as her fancy cake, but I was informed later that everyone had eaten my pie first.  She was an elderly lady I dearly loved who made the most excellent pies.  I suspect it was a compliment but I respectfully hung my head in shame and blamed it on the whipped cream.  Southern manners you know.

I cleaned out the freezer and used all the old berries.  The end product was the pie and 3 jars of jam!

See the little half full jar on the end?  It used to have blackberry jam in it.  Wonder where it went?

;)