Bye Bye Garden

Over the last two months we have witnessed the demise of our garden. The extreme heat and draught were definitely challenges this summer. However, we still managed to have a full supply of veggies through August. The squash and zucchini finally bit the dust about August 20 which left us a few puny tomato plants and our okra.

Okra is amazing (not so much amazing tasting, but amazing in what a hardy plant it is...) Our okra is still producing, although I anticipate it will be done in the next week. Due to the fruitfulness of our okra, I do not want to eat okra until next year!

Overall our inaugural gardening experience was a huge success and I definitely learned how to improve for next year. Primary lessons learned include:
-Plant the bell peppers behind a tomato plant so they get a little bit of shade. With the direct sun the bell peppers burn before they are ready to pick. :(
-Plant the tomato plants a little further apart, they get really big.
-Hand in hand with this, we must stake the tomato cages on all sides because we get wind from every which way on our property and were continually picking up tomato plants.
-Do not plant moose neck squash. Half the yield was hard gourd type warty squash. Summer squash was MUCH better.
-Plant more red potatoes. By far the easiest thing to grow!

And here's my last big batch of okra....slimy goodness! MMM....

Dog Days of Summer, Reading List

I suppose summer is almost over (yippee for this small cool front in Fort Worth, TX!)

SMU did not offer any courses this summer, which allowed me some time to catch up on the stack of books my mom provided. Most recently, I finished Dog On It by Spencer Quinn. The story is narrated by Chet, a mixed breed K-9 police dog drop out with one crooked ear (it adds character right...?) Chet is the partner to a private investigator who didn't quite make it as a detective with the police agency, but who has a successful track record to fight crime, just like Chet. The story is fun, suspenseful in parts, and Chet's quips and observations of human behaviour will make you chuckle throughout the book.



However, Dog On It does not hold a candle to my all time favorite 'doggy' book, The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein. The story of Enzo the dog and the Swift family is endearing and uplifting, witty, and reflective. Like Chet, Enzo draws many observations about humans, life, and relationships. If you are looking for a novel to add to your list, I highly recommend you add The Art of Racing in the Rain.

New Addition

As if we didn't already have enough furry family members, we added 1 more to the brood. Meet Josie, our newest addition, and our first canine.



Two weeks ago, a past co-worker sent an email to me and several other people advising his daughter's dog had a 9 puppy litter. The mom is a 55 lbs. yellow lab mix, and he suspected the father was a heeler/pit mix. I ended up meeting him and his wife at our work parking lot, and felt pretty sad for the pups. They were all bound for the Lancaster animal shelter the following day.

So, that's the story of how Josie entered our lives. I knew I wanted a female, she was the cutest, and had a full tail (some of the others had bull dog or half tails.) :)

When I took her to the vet, he advised she was a Black Mouth Cur Dog

...Glad we have 7 acres for her to roam as the info states they aren't ideal for apartment life. Geesh!

Reflection

After 40 + days of no rain and soaring temperatures, we received a bit of a respite last night and this morning. I woke up early just to sit and watch the rain (from the comfort of my favorite couch that my mom sometimes hints I should have re stuffed...)

Our hummingbird feeder hangs on our back porch and I've already seen 3 hummingbirds come for breakfast this morning...note to self...refill this weekend. Note to everyone else, sugar and water works better than the store bought food and is basically free. :)

When we were in Wyoming last month, we were able to spend time animal watching. This behavior is very normal for the Armstrong family. Derek is used to spending hours at a time watching deer, and we both like to observe our horse and 3 cats play outside in the evenings. However, our normal observations are fairly uneventful in comparison to what we saw in Yellowstone National Park and Grand Teton National Park.

Moose calf and Momma Moose (to the right) along the banks of the Snake River




And, just for good measure, the driving dog has to be included!

What a Read!

The only book I packed for our vacation turned out to be a great read and I wanted to share. Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford will be a great addition to your reading list this summer.

This book is a well developed tale of friendship, love, loss, and independence. The characters are so easy to relate to, with great dialogue and insight to their internal struggles. Henry is a 12 year old boy struggling to gain independence from his rigid traditional Chinese father. Keiko is a second generation Japanese American citizen from a family who believes in the American dream and whose father is an American educated attorney. The characters paths cross when they are the only two non-white students at Ranier Intermediate in Seattle. The author writes from Henry's perspective and the book shifts between the 1940's and current day (set as 1980's.)

While the author clearly states the book is fiction, he based the story around the events during WWII when Japanese American citizens were 'relocated' to "safety camps" in inland portions of the country.

This book peaked my interest and I followed up with some research about these events during the 1940's.

I highly recommend the book to anyone interested in an incredible story of strength, and friendship, with a realistic taste of bitterness and loss as well.

Grand Indeed

I just returned to Fort Worth after spending 7 nights in Wyoming. We enjoyed a vacation to Jackson Hole, Grand Teton National Park, and Yellowstone National Park. It was an amazing vacation with the perfect mix of adventure/exploring and relaxation.

Needless to say, I took A LOT of pictures and hope to get my "Top 50" list compiled tomorrow for a coffee table book, but in the mean time, here's a few sneak PEAKS.

That was easy!

When we planted the garden in mid March, I took a chance on red potato bulbs. I only had about 8 bulbs and planted them along a two and a half foot space that remained at the edge of the garden. The potatoes sprouted quickly, and the plant tops grew to almost a foot and a half tall, but began to die about 2 months after I planted the bulbs. I decided to cut the dead parts away and realized that the entire 'plant portion' was basically dead.

I googled potatoes online, and of course read about a hundred different methods to grow potatoes. I decided we mine should start digging and see what happened underground over the last 2 months.

Low and behold, A LOT happened! We had about 20 potatoes! It was extra fun because my mother in law and 2 year old niece were over the day we decided to dig. My sweet niece Baylee had a lot of fun and may now think that when she digs in the ground, she will find potatoes (everywhere)! "Diggin for potatoes??..." (phrased as a question) was the quote of the day!

Let me Count thy Ways

...to cook squash. Squash is like a weed. You can pick it on Monday and in just a few short days you have MORE squash! I previously mentioned the many ways I have prepared squash, but included some photos today.

Stuffed Squash:
1. Boil the whole squash for ~ 30 minutes (until you can somewhat easily puncture the skin with a knife)
2. Let squash cool
3. After the squash cools, cut each one in half (I used 4 squash)
4. Use a grapefruit spoon to clean out seeds/middle part

Stuffing:
1. Follow directions to prepare 1 box of Jiffy cornbread. (I used the cornbread mix, skim milk, 1 egg and cooked in an 8x8 pan so it was a bit thin.)
2. Begin a saute with 3/4 stick of butter, diced green onion (fresh from the garden) and celery (which I was out of so I used green banana pepper from the garden) I think bell pepper would be really good, but ours were too small to pick yesterday
3. Add parsley to the simmer with the butter, onion, and pepper (or celery)
4. Break up 1/2 the pan of cornbread with your hands in a mixing bowl
5. Pour in the saute mix and knead together
6. Add Cayenne pepper or red pepper (I added a bit too much red pepper for my taste, but Derek liked it)



Final:
1. Stuff the cornbread stuffing mix into each squash (Note: I added a little bit of the squash seeds, about 2 spoon fulls, to the stuffing mix to make it a bit more moist as well as another quarter of the pan of cornbread)
2. Option: lightly salt the entire squash once they are stuffed
3. Place in the oven for ~ 13 minutes at 300 degrees before you serve

Produce - ability

The garden has indeed grown! We have enjoyed squash, peppers, and green onions so far. We have our first zucchini that I plan to use for dinner tomorrow night, and I picked a coffee can full of green beans on Tuesday! The squash grows like a weed. We've enjoyed boiled, sauteed, and grilled squash in addition to my squash casserole and stuffed squash (Thanks Mom - stuffed is our favorite!)

I am anxious for our tomatoes to turn red! More photos to come soon!

Fog Magic

I woke up early this morning, unable to sleep. I headed to the barn and between the time I fed Scout (the horse) and the barn kitties, a heavy blanket of fog rolled into our pasture. I decided Scout deserved some play time in the pasture this morning and quickly realized I had better run inside and get my camera to capture the following images.

This mornings photo shoot reminded me of a book that was a childhood favorite. It is called Fog Magic and is written by Julia L. Sauer. I think I may try to find a copy at the library, because I remember my imagination soared when I read this book.

Status Report

Over a month ago, we planted our garden and today was the first day I noticed our first product. A green pepper! I don't love peppers, but I was still happy to see Mr. Pepper...and surprised I missed him. We switched from hand watering to a sprinkler a few weeks ago, so, the lesson learned is that I need to manually investigate more often.

I plan to try Mr. Pepper tomorrow night....or make Derek try it. :)



Our row of okra...


and French Fillet green beans...


Zucchini (and lots of squash not pictured)


And, hopefully these are still a sign of good luck... :)

2010: A World Win Year

Deltas Foxy Flyer, my 8 year old American Paint Horse gelding, is the reason why I created my blog. I wanted a way to connect with other horse show enthusiasts. I have failed to become a successful blogger due to time restraints (excuses, I know.) But, I fully intend to try to find and connect to other horse enthusiast bloggers this summer (when I have a break from grad school.)

In the interim, I wanted to highlight "Scout's" accomplishments in 2010.

In the Pinto Horse Association of America:

-World Champion Amateur Jr. Reining

-3rd in the World in Open Reining with Johnny Morton





On top of these accolades, I just received a beautiful crystal trophy from the Pinto Association naming Scout the 2010 PINTO OF THE YEAR in Reining. He was featured on the cover of the Pinto Magazine (small photo in a montage of winners.)

In the American Paint Horse Association:

-Reserve World Champion Amateur Limited Working Cow Horse




-8th in the World in Novice Amateur Reining (I learned a valuable lesson, sadly at the World Championship show). I had money in my back pocket, which I did not realize, and when I did my last sliding stop it went flying out of my pocket. Apparently, there is a hefty penalty for littering in the arena....




-Northeast Texas Paint Horse Club:

State Champion in Sr. Reining and Novice Amateur Reining and Reserve State club champion in Novice Amateur Trail (a new event added to our repertoire)

And lastly, we ended the show year in 2010 at the Thanksgiving Classic were I opted to compete in 21 classes across divisions and we ended up winning A SADDLE as the all around amateur high point! This was incredibly exciting for a horse that has never been shown English and managed to win the Hunt Seat Equitation, and also place well in Horsemanship and Trail.




None of these accomplishments would have been possibly without my patient husband, Derek, who hauled us to multiple shows, unloaded, loaded, groomed, carried, cleaned, and lived and breathed horses with me for these events. And lastly, to Johnny Morton who is the best 'up and coming' trainer. I hope that Scout and Johnny continue to excel in the 'pro' level competition at the 2011 World Shows.

Read the Instructions...

Yesterday, I received a suprise phone call from a dear friend of mine. I mentioned that Derek and I planned to plant our first garden later that afternoon. Her words of advise were "follow the planting instructions." Well, I kind of did, but not all the way. I tried to leave ample space between the tomato plants, and rows of various vegetables, but used more seeds than stated on the seed packages, so we shall see.

My mother and father-in-law helped us plant, so I followed their lead. I made a lovely plan-o-gram of our garden for my own record, but here's the rundown:

*10 tomato plants consisting of varieties including Celebrity, Juliet, Porter, and Improved Porter

*1 large row of onions

*1 large row of okra

*4 pepper plants consisting of sweet yellow and red bell pepper, orange bell pepper, and moderate bell pepper

*1 large row of french fillet green beans

*9 mounds for squash and zucchini consisting 2 different varieties of yellow squash (we both love squash...)

*1 row of new potatoes

In addition, I planed strawberries in large planters 2 weeks ago, but no signs of life thus far. Stay tuned!

It's the Small Things in Life...

What a beautiful Spring day it is in Fort Worth. My animals and I have a routine when I come home from work. We all walk to the barn together (including Scout the horse) who walks from wherever he is in the pasture to follow me to the barn. Clearly, this conditioned response is directly correlated to supper time, but, I still cherish my few minutes with 1 horse and 3 sweet barn kitties every evening.

This evening I was able to capture a rare photo op with all 3 kitties actually posed and looking at the camera. Enjoy Spring while it lasts!

Updates about the garden to come soon....

Will the Garden Grow?

Since we've had a stint of incredibly warm weather for February, my fingers are crossed that Spring is right around the corner. Aside from the opportunity to ride more frequently, I'm extra excited because Derek and I have tilled the plot for our first garden!

I've discussed Gardening 101 with Derek's grandparents, and they've already provided lots of guidance ... and ... will hopefully be available for some on sight consultation when we plant.

This weekend Derek tilled the plot for the second time AND we bought all of our seeds. The only thing I'm missing is tomato plants.

Anyone have any suggestions for items I may have overlooked that grow well in the North Texas summers?