Way Down South in Birmingham

Way down south in Birmingham
I mean south in Alabam'
There's an old place where people go. . .

That's the opening of "Tuxedo Junction," a  jazz song co-written by  Birmingham Native Erskine Hawkins,   played by his orchestra and later recorded or covered by many famous orchestras and   solo performers, including the Glenn Miller Orchestra,  Duke Ellington, Ella Fitzgerald and The Manhattan Transfer.
 Tuxedo Junction is a real place in the Ensley Section of Birmingham, in the 1700 block of 20th. Street. Once a busy business hub and the site of a jazz and blues club at a streetcar crossing, there is little physical evidence remaining to attest to the vibrancy of the area depicted in the song.  The building, now  an office building re-named the Nixon Building, still stands, and little more than a historical plaque and  the memories of a few folks who lived in that era mark the spot where musical history was made, but  there is evidence that those memories are  becoming stronger and are being passed on, because  every summer, the "Function in the Junction" celebrates the musical heritage of the area with a parade,  music, food and activities celebrating the history of  Tuxedo Junction. I was fortunate  to attend one of the very first revived "functions" and  really do have the t-shirt to prove it!

Birmingham  has gotten a lot of bad press over the years, much of it well-deserved. But Birmingham today is a  very different place from the Birmingham  people saw in the news during the news coverage of the Civil Rights Struggles of the  1950s and 1960s. We still have a lot of problems, but we have moved forward in so many ways. We have so many beautiful places,  talented, vibrant and caring people of all races and  socio-economic groups who believe in Birmingham, its potential and its future. And we have an  artistic climate  encompassing art, music, theater and all the rest  that can well hold its own with  any place that is considered among the best. And beer-  we  have some very good beer!
I visited two of  my favorite areas in Birmingham today:  Pepper Place  in the  Lakeview area, and Avondale,  a newly revitalized  and thriving area of  Birmingham with a long and varied history.

Today was a beautiful, sunny day- a little on the chilly side, but  not anything to complain about. My first stop was at Pepper Place,site of  several specialty shops, antique stores and a thriving   Saturday  Farmers Market in the summer.  Rod, owner of Owl's Hollow Farm,  braves the winter weather to set up a stand  there to display his  hydroponic veggies plus eggs, pork, cheese,  bread, honey and jams and jellies  from Owl's Hollow and several of his neighboring farmers. I came away with eggs, spinach, onions, sweet potatoes and red potatoes.  I got so involved  talking, though, that when I got home, I discovered that the  beautiful stalk of Brussels  sprouts  didn't make it home with me- I must have left them behind.  Drats!

After loading the goods in the trunk of the car, I  went round the corner to Charlie Thigpen's Garden Gallery.  There are so many  wonderful,  whimsical  things  there that I  wish I could buy one of everything, but I settled for a  few lovely botanical  notecards and some seeds.

From there, I headed for Freshfully market in Avondale, a  newly  reopened and renovated store that carries products made in Alabama- with a few out-of-state  items like  Florida strawberries for those (Me!, Me!) who find it very hard to be total locavores in the dead of winter! Their renovation  includes a lovely  wall   with the  store logo, painted by   local   high school art students. Today the wall was serving as a backdrop for a sushi class that was being  set up  while I was there. Lots of stuff happening at Freshfully- tomorrow, there's a yogurt -making class!

From Freshfully I drove to V. Richards, where I was  lucky enough to park close to a beautiful camellia bush in full bloom. The camellia  is Birmingham's  official flower, despite the fact that it isn't  a native plant, which is a shame, since we do have  many  perfectly wonderful native plants..  But the camellias are a beautiful sight, blooming their hearts out in the winter.

 V. Richards has a  wonderful selection of  poultry, meat and fresh fish, plus an extensive  wine and beer selection and a good selection of produce, much of it local. Today, they  even had edible orchids! So pretty.  But I passed, since edible orchids are not on my menu plan for the coming week. They were lovely, though.

 
  I did buy  a nice flounder fillet,,which we  had for supper tonight, dipped in  egg, coated with  french-fried onion crumbs, sauteed in peanut oil and served with anchovy butter.  Yummy!


I hope your day was as pleasant and enjoyable as mine. The weatherman is predicting quite a few cloudy, cold and rainy days for us  in the coming week with little hope of  sunshine, so today's sunshine and  warmth was a gift much enjoyed  and appreciated..

And if you aren't familiar with "Tuxedo Junction" or even if you are and just want to hear it again, here it is for your listening pleasure!

Seeds of Contentment

They're here!!  Today has been a very good day.  Not only did I discover that our income tax refund had already been direct deposited to our bank account, but  the first order of garden seeds  from Pinetree Garden Seeds arrived in the morning mail!

There are so many good reasons for growing your own plants from seed: economic, environmental, greater choice of varieties and colors, preserving heirloom varieties, avoiding GMO veggies, and so on.  But aside from all those reasons, there is something just so satisfying about the whole process, and  for me, at, least, seeing  seeds break the surface and lift their heads to the light is a wonderful and exciting experience!

I like buying seeds from Pinetree because there are fewer seeds in a package, which means less waste and less seeds I have to carry over from year to year and run germination tests on, since I hate to  waste seeds. After reading Mel Bartholomew's Square Foot Gardening, I began using  his single seed sowing method which made a lot of sense. Sowing  just  the number of seeds I needed  also alleviated the guilt pangs I suffered when thinning out  little seedlings that had struggled  hard to break free of their seed cases and emerge victorious, only to be rudely plucked from the soil and discarded!

Having already made space in the greenhouse a few days ago, and having  disinfected my seed starting  containers, I was ready to  begin sowing. I use  basically the same equipment in the greenhouse that I used  before we had  the greenhouse: A large  black plastic mortar mixing box,  heat cables,  a fluorescent light, a few plastic flats without drainage holes, and  a variety of  recycled plastic containers such as yogurt, cheese, margarine tubs and  some containers that gourmet dog food came in. I punch drainage holes in the bottom of these and have found that they last very well and can be reused several times.

First we  put some sand in the bottom of the mortar mixing box, then bury the heating cables in the sand.

I like to  start my seeds in vermiculite rather than a seed starting mix because I've always had  good luck with it.  The vermiculite   moistens easily and it's very easy to  extract the seedlings  for  repotting without damaging their roots. After making sure they all have drainage holes (I use an ice pick to punch the holes), I fill the   tubs with the vermiculite, then place them in a plastic flat  half-filled with water. Once the  vermiculite is evenly moist, I remove the   tubs and  begin to sow the seeds, using a  Popsicle  stick marked with the seed name and sowing date, and place them in a dry flat on top of the sand.

I then place a piece of  clear rigid plastic, like Plexiglas, over the  mortar box and plug in the heating cable. I keep a thermometer inside the  mortar box to monitor the temperature, which I try to keep at around   70 degrees Fahrenheit. On sunny days the greenhouse heats up and we don't need to  plug in the cables. Even when the outside temperature is in the 20s and 30s, with the sun shining, it sometimes gets so warm that we need to vent or remove the cover. I  keep an eye on the moisture so that the containers don't get too dry or too moist, and water the containers by putting water in the flat so the  the containers are watered from below.  This method seems to help avoid  the seeds damping-off. I don't fertilize at this point, since seeds contain all the nutrients they need to germinate, and once the seedlings  have developed their first true leaves I  prick out and transplant them into individual  containers filled with potting soil and begin to fertilize them. So now, all I have to do is wait for that magic moment when   I see little crooks of green poking up through the vermiculite, ready to greet the world! At that point,  I'll keep the temperature a little cooler and bring on the lights so that they  will develop into  sturdy little seedlings  ready to  move into the garden when  the soil is warmed by the spring sun.

Gorgonzola, Gorgonzola, three cheers for the green, white and blue

I  love blue cheese, except maybe for Limburger, which is a little too smelly, even for my taste. But Stilton, Roquefort, Danish blue, Gorgonzola-- I love them.  Especially Gorgonzola. Last week I had some that needed to be used up, along with some Mascarpone and a package of  Prosciutto.   So I combined them with some linguine, spinach, garlic and herbs and made something  quite  tasty and satisfying.

 I   had  about 4 oz. of  fresh baby spinach from Owl's Hollow Farm, a  hydroponic farm  near Gadsden, Alabama. Even though the spinach is young and tender, I still like to stem it, because I don't like stems in my spinach.  It's an extra step, but I find it a worthwhile one. I love adding Mascarpone to dishes like this for the creaminess it imparts.  I began by stemming, rinsing and drying the spinach, then  putting the water on to boil for the linguine.   You could use another pasta such as penne, fusilli, cavatappi, etc. but I had linguine on hand, so that's what I used. Here's the recipe. Let me know if you try it and enjoy it or have any suggestions for improvement.

1/4  lb. pasta
4-6 oz.  fresh baby spinach, stemmed, rinsed and dried
3 oz. pkg thinly sliced Prosciutto, cut into strips
1/4 lb crumbled Gorgonzola
1/2 Tbsp  minced garlic
1/2 Tbsp  dried basil
1/2 Tbsp dried oregano
3 Tbsp olive oil
3 oz. Mascarpone cheese
salt & pepper to taste
  Cook pasta until al dente according to  directions on package.  While pasta is cooking, heat 2 Tbsp olive oil in a heavy skillet.  Add prosciutto, garlic,  basil and oregano, stirring to combine and cook over medium high heat until  lightly browned, about  two minutes. Remove from heat and add spinach,  tossing to combine. The heat will wilt the spinach. Drain cooked  pasta and return to  pot. Add remaining tablespoon of olive oil,  prosciutto spinach mixture from skillet, Mascarpone and Gorgonzola.  Toss until  well combined and cheeses are melted.  Add  salt and pepper to taste and serve. 

If you, too, are a fan of Gorgonzola you might enjoy listening to this old Leslie Sarony Gorgonzola song from the 1920s:

The fog comes on little cat feet

The fog comes
on little cat feet.

It sits looking
over harbor and city
on silent haunches
and then moves on.

                ~Carl Sandburg

Sometime during the night,  fog crept in, blanketing everything in a smoky mist. Usually, our fog disappears  quite early, but this morning it hung around until  ten or so

Finally,  sunbeams began to break through, and within just a few minutes the sun was shining and the fog had moved on, leaving  dew kissed grass sparkling in the sunlight. It turned out to be  lovely, warm and  bright day, a perfect day to work  outdoors.  But then I thought about my seed order that should be arriving in a few days, about the awful mess the greenhouse is in and how I'd be lucky if I could  clear even a small space to start seeds.  So I decided to tackle the greenhouse. To my dismay, in addition to housing the plants that  spend the summer on the deck, my very small greenhouse seems to have become a repository for all things garden related (and some that aren't) that need a transitional home before being consigned to either  a permanent place or the junk-pile. Thus I was confronted with a  hand truck, a stepladder, step stool,  various rake heads, hoe handles, and sundry broken tools, cricket  buckets,  cracked plastic pots, and the list goes on. I have been turning a blind eye to all this when I  go in to water the plants,   gingerly stepping over and around the mess but it had reached the point where it was becoming a safety hazard.

First, I  dragged out the hand truck and some of  Mr. G's other things and told him to find them a new home. Then I filled a large trash receptacle with  things  to send to the dump. It was looking better already! But now I could clearly see the weeds  that had been   flourishing under the benches and set about  pulling them up.  Then I noticed that  there were signs that little rodent visitors had been scurrying along the tops of the benches, so I began to move all the plants, one section, at a time to clean the  bench surfaces.   It was in the process of moving the plants that I made an exciting discovery!

A tall stem was rising from one of the aloe plants- with buds on top! I have NEVER had an aloe plant send up a bloom stalk before so this was quite an exciting discovery.

I'm keeping my fingers crossed that one day soon I'll go in the greenhouse and be greeted by  sunny yellow flowers on this  stem!

It's been a good day:  The  greenhouse  looks  much better, the seed starting area is  all ready and waiting for the seeds to arrive and be sown and  I may  soon  be enjoying the sight of  my first-ever aloe bloom! 

Cooking Under Pressure

For years, I'd read  and heard about using a pressure cooker to can foods and speed  up the cooking process but had always been afraid to  try it myself.  I had visions of  explosions of green beans and  beef stew splattering the ceilings and  blowing out the  kitchen windows! I had a water bath canner for making pickles and jams and for canning tomatoes and saw no need for a dangerous  pressure canner with its dire warnings about seals and gaskets, valves and pressure settings. One Christmas, Mr. G  even bought me a lovely All American pressure canner with dials and valves but  no intimidating gasket, with the idea that I  could can  green beans and other veggies from the  garden and farmer's market and  put up  jars of chicken stock. I was unconvinced.  That canner has   been sitting, unused,  in its box on a shelf in the basement for several years now.

But then a  year or so ago, I read about  electric pressure cookers, and for some reason, they, with their friendly  digital displays and blinking lights, didn't scare me as much.  So  I bought one, and , with instruction/recipe booklet in hand,  made  one of the  tenderest,  most delicious beef pot roasts we have ever eaten! And in  less than an hour, from start to finish, WITHOUT blowing up the house!. I was hooked! Since then I've cooked soups, stews, chowders,  short ribs, pork chops, chicken with dumplings and many other dishes and have plans  to try out  many other recipes, including cheesecakes and other desserts.

My latest "meal under pressure"  was Sausages with Onions and Peppers, adapted from the Cuisinart  recipe booklet that came with the cooker. This calls for the following ingredients for  4 servings:
 4-6 oz.  Bucatini Pasta or other pasta, cooked according to  directions on package.
1 Tbsp. Olive Oil
1-19 oz. package of Italian sausages,  each cut into three sections (I used Johnsonville Mild  Italian sausages)
2  small to medium green bell peppers and 1 red bell pepper, seeded and  sliced into rings.
 1 large sweet onion,  cut into vertical slices
2 cloves of garlic, peeled and chopped
1/2 Tbsp Italian herb blend
1/2 cup  organic chicken broth or stock
salt & pepper to taste

Cook pasta according to directions on package.

Add olive oil to cooking pot of pressure cooker. Select browning and when  oil is hot, add sausages, being careful not to overcrowd.  If necessary, cook sausages in batches and remove to a plate as each batch is browned. Cook until brown on all sides, about 3-5 minutes.

Add peppers, onions, garlic and Italian seasoning  to pot and stir for 2-3 minutes.

 Stir in chicken stock and cook for   one minute. Return the sausages and any accumulated juices back to the pot and stir gently to mix  in with the other ingredients.

 Cover with the lid and lock the lid in place.  Cook at high pressure for 4 minutes.

 Use  quick pressure release to release pressure and remove lid carefully, allowing steam to disperse.  Season with salt and pepper to taste. Keep warm with lid off until ready to serve.

Serve over  pasta.  Enjoy!

I'm gonna go fishing and catch me a trout

  "...trout that doesn't think two jumps and several runs ahead of the average fisherman is mighty apt to get fried."  ~Beatrice Cook, Till Fish Do Us Part, 1949

Mr. G and I are lucky to live fairly close to  the Sipsey Fork of the Black Warrior River, where the tailwaters below Smith Dam  stay cold enough year-round to support the rainbow trout that have been stocked there regularly since 1974. 

Here's a pic   of our daughter fly casting on the Sipsey when she came  home for a visit last February. 

 
She and Mr. G did manage to catch a few trout then, but trout fishing hasn't been  very good for the last few months because the power company turbines have been running full blast making fishing  difficult, but when Mr. G read that the turbines were going to be off one day last week, he decided to  brave the chilly weather and head for the Sipsey. 

Despite the  cold he had a very good day.  He released most of the fish he caught, but  brought five  (the creel limit) nice trout  home and set about cleaning them.
  He usually butterflies them, removing the  backbone and most of the rib bones, but leaving the skin on. Butterflied  this way, they can be stuffed, baked,  or  pan fried. 
 I decided to  pan fry these. Here's how I do it: I  prefer not to have them stare at me, so  usually  cook them without the heads, but that's a personal preference. First, rinse the fish, then dry them thoroughly to prevent  the formation of steam as they cook. If you have  some clarified butter or ghee on hand, use that; if not, use  regular butter tempered with a little olive oil and heat over medium high heat  until the butter foam begins to subside. Just before  putting the  fish in the pan, I  dredge them in a mixture of  wheat flour and corn flour seasoned with salt and pepper. I prefer  corn flour rather than the coarser corn meal as the fish seem to need less cooking time and turn a beautiful golden brown without being  crunchy. Cook, turning once until both sides are golden brown and the  flesh is cooked through. Most directions say to cook fish until it flakes, but I agree with Julia Child, who said,  “if the fish flakes, it is overdone.” Rather, cook it  until the fish is "springy." You can test this by  pressing it with your figer, but this can be hazardous unless you have asbestos fingertips, so  you might want to gently stick a fork in the fish.  If the flesh is nearly opaque and the flesh separates easily, it is done. Cooking time varies depending on the size of the fish and your stove, but usually takes about four to six minutes per side. 

If you 'd like  some blues music while you enjoy  your delicious fish, here's Dr. John singing "I'm Gonna Go Fishing" Enjoy!.

From Cream to Butter Without Fear

"If you're afraid of butter, use cream." -Julia Child

 I had a half gallon of heavy cream that needed to be used up, so decided it was time to make butter. We buy  milk and heavy cream from  Working Cows Dairy,  an organic dairy farm in Slocomb, Alabama.  The milk and cream from Working Cows is pasteurized, but not ultra-pasteurized, which makes it perfect for making butter, cheese and yogurt.

When I first began making butter, I used  a stand mixer.  That worked well, but was a little messy at times.  Now I use  my food processor- less mess and  much faster.  Here are some pics to show  how it works:

First I  let the cream set out until it reaches room temperature.  Cold cream straight from the fridge  takes forever to break (more about that later) but  if you begin with  room temp cream, it takes less time, which means less wear on your machine's motor.

Next, it goes in the processor.  I keep a separate processor bowl  that I use exclusively for butter, in case  some stray garlic, onion or other smells have managed to work their way  into the  plastic bowl I  keep for general food preparation.

Put the lid on and begin processing.  At first the cream will whip up into a stiff cream:

Then it will begin to form some cracks:

Keep going.  You'll hear a different sound  as the cream begins to "break" or separate. Notice that the cream is  getting yellow and  looks  sort of  curdled, but this is how it's supposed to look:  Process a little more- we're almost there.

Very quickly, you'll  see  that the solids have separated from the liquids- now you have butter and buttermilk!

Let it run until  you have  good separation, then pour off the buttermilk.  I usually squeeze the solids against the side of the bowl to get as much liquid out as possible.  Now you have  buttermilk to use in baking, pancakes or whatever. This is not like the cultured buttermilk you get in the grocery store- it's more watery, with  lovely little bits of butter floating in it. It tastes pretty good just as it is, but I've heard of people sprinkling a little pepper on it before drinking it.

 Now we need to rinse the butter to remove any remaining buttermilk. This helps keep the butter from going rancid quickly. Pour some ice water into the bowl with the butter and process. Pour off the water, add more ice water and pulse a few times.  Repeat this process until the water is clear:

At this point, I pour off the water, squeezing the butter against the bowl, then turn the butter out onto a flat surface covered with  wax paper .  I don't have butter molds or paddles, so I continue to press the butter with spatulas until I've gotten out as much liquid as I can.  At this point you could knead in a little salt, if you prefer salted butter. I don't add salt to mine, since we prefer unsalted butter:

I divide up the butter into 4 oz. segments, form each segment into a stick.  The butter that won't be used right away gets wrapped in freezer paper and goes in the freezer.

And that's all there is to it. Lovely fresh butter from organic cream.



 

Some may dream of a White Christmas, but I. . .

With my heart pounding so hard it scared me, mouth dry as cotton, and feeling totally disoriented in the dark, I reached for the clock: 3:24 AM. I had just awakened from another dream. You know the kind of dream -- or maybe you’re lucky enough not to know. The kind of dream where you find yourself in such a dire situation that if you don’t wake up right now, you’ll never wake up to life as you now know it.


This particular dream had to do with my trying to photograph a mother tiger and her cubs. I had sneaked up close enough to get a good shot of the mother, but couldn’t see her cubs. I began to ease closer when the ground under me began to shake. There, in the woods just beyond where the mother tiger stood, was the biggest elephant I had ever seen! It was not a happy elephant. I thought maybe it planned to charge the tiger, but the tiger suddenly disappeared. The elephant caught sight of me. As it charged straight for me, I took off running. I could feel him gaining on me. Heart  pounding, I could hardly breathe. I saw a hill ahead and wondered if I could make it to the top. As I started up the hill, my legs felt like lead; an awful dread enveloped me and I knew I was a goner. Then I woke up.

Was it the ice cream and gingersnaps I’d eaten just before going to bed? Why tigers and elephants? Was it a delayed reaction to the Auburn-Alabama game last week-end? All I know is, it’s a good thing I woke up when I did or that elephant would have trampled me to death in the woods, or chased me right through the gates of hell. I’m still mad that the elephant ran off the mother tiger before I could find and photograph the cubs, though. And what did I do with my camera? Seems I can’t keep from losing stuff, even in my dreams.

Roosterhens are political animals

I just got into a debate with a friend of a different political persuasion, who was taunting me about the “shellacking" the Democrats and Obama  and his anti-business policies  took at the polls on Tuesday. I know the press, pundits, politicians and President Obama himself are calling it a shellacking, but I'm not sure that's what it was. We did lose some good people in the House, but we also lost a lot of Blue Dog Democrats, who were actually more Dixiecrats than Democrats anyway, and who voted mostly with the Republicans, so that's more a loss for the Republicans than for the Democrats.  And there's no guarantee that the Tea Party candidates will fall into lock-step with the Republican leadership at this point. I think both parties and the country at large may be in for a rocky ride.

As for Obama being anti-business, that's a really popular charge with  the conservative radio and TV personalities, the conservative blogs, etc. but if this administration is SO anti-business, how do you explain 1st quarter corporate profits of 1.37 trillion, and companies sitting on over 2 trillion in cash reserves. Google "3rd quarter corporate profits" and you'll find business after business reporting pretty decent profits. They’d have a hard time making all that profit if the administration was as anti-business as it made out to be. And on the other hand, the administration is charged with bailing out banks and business at the expense of the American taxpayer. So which is it? Are they  anti-business or are they  so pro business they're bailing them out? You can’t have it both ways.

What is unfortunate is that while the corporations are turning a profit, they aren't hiring, they're sitting on their cash reserves. So the average American isn't seeing him or herself as part of any economic recovery. Still struggling, often having a mortgage that's underwater, faced with increased costs, no job or no job security, decreasing wages, worrying how they're going to pay their bills or educate their children and having little money to spend, they're seeing CEOs awarded big salaries and big bonuses on Wall Street and in Corporate headquarters around the country. Meanwhile, the economy on Main Street in their neighborhood is at a stand-still, and people are angry. The Republicans and conservatives are extremely adept at exploiting that anger so that it is directed at the other side. And since far too many Americans today have slipped into a state of intellectual laziness, perhaps brought about by the constant stress they're under, they are only too willing to accept whatever cheap tale is sold to them by the slickest salesman. They seem unable or unwilling to question the information with which they are constantly bombarded, and unable or unwilling to filter out the wheat from the chaff. The widespread acceptance of the India Trip Costs are a prime example- the figures were broadcast as true far and wide before anybody felt the need to question information from a single anonymous source. That attitude is what swept a lot of seemingly unqualified candidates to power this week. It saddens, maddens and worries me greatly. I am confident that the American people are resilient enough and smart enough to pull out of this mess with little lasting damage, if they wake up soon enough. And if that sounded like intellectual elitism, so be it. Intellectualism and intelligence,  like  liberalism,  have been given a bad name lately, but they are a threat only to those who seek to confuse and subjugate people to their own ends.

Redistibution of Wealth- I'm confused

Today’s newspaper contained a column written by Tom Scarritt, editor of the very conservative Birmingham News. He was commenting on a recent debate  between the candidates running for governor of Alabama, Robert Bentley and Ron Sparks. Sparks is in favor of a lottery to fund scholarships in the state; Bentley is opposed.


Here’s an excerpt for that column: “…remember government has no resources except what it takes from us. There is no such thing as government funding; there is only the redistribution of your money and mine.”

Statements like that irritate me. Terms like “takes from us” and “redistribution of your money and mine” have become catch-phrases of the right, implying that we, the taxpayers derive no personal benefit from government: that our money is spent solely to take from the rich and give to the poor. Such statements don’t seem to take into account that often when we leave our homes (many of which were bought with insurance backing from the federal government) to drive our children on roads funded in part by the federal government, to schools that receive federal funds, we do so without thought to the services our taxes are providing to US and our families. We have roads, schools, libraries, hospitals, small business loans, insured bank accounts, police and fire protection and a number of other benefits paid for by our taxes. So when it comes to taxes why do we continue to hear people using terms like “redistribution of wealth” as though the only people to benefit are people other than ourselves? We are paying for valuable services for us and our fellow citizens so that we all benefit.

On the other hand, in the marketplace, when we pay money for a product and/or service, the price has been marked up to cover not only the cost of the product or service, but the costs associated with the sale and marketing of that product/service, plus a salary for the owners and a return to the shareholders who invested in that product or service. We are paying more than the actual cost of what we’re  receiving. I don’t have a problem with that, as long as the mark-up and profit margin are reasonable. For years businesses told us they weren’t able to make a profit because labor costs were too high, so they laid off their labor force, moved their operations elsewhere and boasted how much less their production costs were now. But for some reason, prices didn’t go down- we ended up paying even more for many products (unless we shopped at WalMart, which is the subject of another blog, later). So it turns out we were paying to cover not only the necessary and reasonable costs of providing the product, but also to pay large dividends to stockholders and obscenely large salaries to corporate executives. But to Mr. Scarritt and those with similar views, that is NOT considered a redistribution of our wealth. I just don’t understand.

The Rooster Song


It's hard to believe that I haven't blogged since Sept. 2008. A lot has happened in the interim, some good, some bad, some happy some sad. One of the sad things is that Sam died last December. A possum got in the coop, and Sam saw this as a big threat. Evidently the two got into it, and decided to fight to the death. The possum was the victor, but Sam got in some blows, too, judging from the blood in the coop. So now, Monique, the Plymouth barred rock is the lone and lonely survivor. Here's a picture tribute to Sam:
Sam, when he was a roosterhen- before he crowed. We named him/her Sam- short for Samantha or Samuel Pepys- whichever turned out to be correct :)

Hitchhiking on my boot

As Sam grew up, he was joined by Emily, Henrietta and Monique, affectionately known as Sam's "girls. He was most protective of them, but would have no part in their squabbles.

Sam grew into quite a handsome fellow. He loved to hop into my lap for an evening treat of couscous.

I really do miss Sam and his antics, although Mr. G says it's kind of nice to be able to go in the back yard without having to fear an attack by an irate rooster. But just to remind me of Sam, I have set the ringtone on my cell phone to a rooster crowing. Sam would get a kick out of it, and it's always cool to see how folks react when they hear it!

So, I won't be blogging about Sam's antics anymore, but I'll be back blogging about other goings on, including gardening, an occasional political rant and my new addiction to kitchen gadgetry and cooking a la Julia Child, so check back.

"Come into my parlor," said the spider to the fly

Last month we were graced with a nightly visitor, a nocturnal orb weaver. Each night, as darkness began to fall, she would begin her work. First she would sweep down from the porch roof to the side of the house, laying her first thread. Then she would begin spinning and weaving: up and down and around, back and forth she would go. When she was finished she had spun a massive web several feet wide and deep.
She would then sit in the center of her creation and wait patiently for some unsuspecting insect to fly into her lair. Then she would pounce, first immobilizing her visitor then wrapping her prey in silk. Sometimes she would leave him suspended and return to her waiting and watching. Sometimes she would devour him on the spot. Every morning, both she and the web would be gone, only to reappear again at dusk. Until one night a couple of weeks ago, as the evenings became cool, she came out, but didn’t weave as usual. Her web was only a few strands, suspended in a haphazard crescent from the middle of the porch roof, and she looked much fatter- I suspect she had an egg sac. I think that small web was her farewell gesture, as that was the last we saw of her. I suppose the mosquitoes and no-see-ums are happy that they can now flit about freely in the moonlight. But I miss her.

I tried several times to get a close-up pic of her and did manage to get a photo of her in her web, but she was too high for me. Fortunately, my son got a good close-up shot of her to share. I’ve googled to find out exactly what kind of orb weaver she was, but haven’t found a picture or description that fits her. If you'd like to learn more about these fascinating critters, the Bug Guide has a lot of info on and photos of orb weavers.

A Purely Political Post

Sam is a feisty rooster, and he has taught me well. So I have decided to be feisty in my own way, and comment on political stuff—something I have avoided until now.
First off- let me confess to my political biases: (1)I am a liberal/progressive. (2)I don’t generally like to be privy to information of a personal/sexual nature concerning other people, including political candidates, unless it directly impacts me or national security. BUT…when candidates campaign or tout themselves as advocates of Christian or other “family values” and attempt to convince the rest of us that they are “right” in espousing values, then I expect something more than lip service from them. Maybe I expect too much, but that's what I expect.
So , when news came out today about Sarah Palin’s unwed teen-age daughter’s pregnancy, I tended to agree with Obama when he said that, “We don't go after people's families. We don't get them involved in the politics. It's not appropriate and it's not relevant. Our people were not involved in any way in this and they will not be. And if I ever thought there was somebody in my campaign that was involved in something like that, they'd be fired,"
Obama also said: "This shouldn't be part of our politics. It has no relevance to Gov. Palin's performance as a governor or potential performance as a vice president. So I would strongly urge people to back off these kinds of stories."
He’s right. Up to a point. And I'm not in his campaign, so he can't fire me and he is in no way responsible for my views.
I believe that while private family dynamics may have nothing to do with a potential candidate’s ability to perform well in a particular capacity, it does say something about something. I haven’t quite figured out what that something is yet, but…
It’s kind of like when I’m in the grocery store parking lot and somebody has their bumper emblazoned with “What would Jesus do?” signs and such. When they unload their groceries, then abandon their grocery cart instead of returning it to a corral, and drive off, unconcerned, I tend to get slightly more upset when it slams into my car than I would have if it had been abandoned by an obvious heathen like me who was observed loading six-packs of beer into the trunk of his or her car. This may be unreasonable on my part, but there it is- it's how I feel.
I guess I feel that if you’re going to put yourself forward as a paragon of virtue with a particular set of values that you try to foist off on the rest of us, then you had better make sure your words and your actions are in sync. I hold you to a higher standard than the rest of us mere mortals. I am going to question and hold you responsible for a lot of what you say. If you publicly and vehemently espouse “family values” I expect you to be one of those rare people who has everything under control and on-board in his or her own family. I remember (yes, I am old enough, unfortunately) that when Adlai Stevenson (one of my very favorite political figures) ran against Eisenhower, his divorce became an issue: “If he can’t hold his own marriage together, how can he hold the country together?” It may not have been a valid question, but it did hurt him, politically. In this day and age, with candidates spouting off moral imperatives, it may be a valid and relevant question for candidates who have chosen to run based on those moral imperatives. So with all due respect to Sen. Obama’s statement, I submit that Governor Palin opened the door, and we, the people, have a right to enter, to question and to receive answers.

An Unusual Sight

The sun was shining. Streaks of lightning were splitting the sky. Thunder was booming and crashing. Rain was pelting down, pouring like a waterfall off the front porch. We've had TWO days with rain- good, soaking rain. I can almost hear the plants sighing in relief!

Sam and Monique, who usually retreat into the safety of the coop when the skies get dark and stormy, were evidently confused by the light. Sam decided to do a duet with the thunder by crowing loudly between the booms, insisting that he be fed immediately and let out into the yard to investigate. So there I was, at risk of being turned to cinders by a bolt of lightning, feeding chickens.