The Top of the Ferris Wheel...

I'm getting that familiar slightly-panicky feeling.... as I admit to myself that July is now a thing of the past. August 1st... wow! Maybe I'm alone in this feeling that at this time of year, something wonderful is ending, yet something equally wonderful is beginning.

I'm reminded of the first paragraph in the prologue of Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt:

The first week of August hangs at the very top of summer, the top of the live-long year, like the highest seat of a Ferris wheel when it pauses in its turning. The weeks that come before are only a climb from balmy spring, and those that follow a drop to the chill of autumn, but the first week of August is motionless, and hot. It is curiously silent, too, with blank white dawns and glaring noons, and sunsets smeared with too much color. Often at night there is lightning, but it quivers all alone. There is no thunder, no relieving rain. These are strange and breathless days, the dog days, when people are led to do things they are sure to be sorry for after.

Ending are the lazy days of sleeping in and then taking naps... living freely without an agenda...
Beginning are the days of lesson plans, new classrooms, school clothes, marching season... football season... and pumpkin harvest.

It's not here yet, of course... but like that opening paragraph in Tuck Everlasting so vividly explains... we are hanging there in the balance like the top of a Ferris wheel.

I think very near the beginning of the year, we shall study Tuck Everlasting in my 6th grade class... I'm in the mood for it.

WV Capital City and Capitol Building

Our farm is located about an hour from Charleston, WV, which is our state capital. It is the largest city in WV, with a population of about 51,000. In my opinion, the capitol building in WV is one of the most beautiful....

It proudly sits overlooking the Kanawha River....

Its golden dome rises 292 feet high... higher than the dome on our nation's capitol building in Washington, DC.

By the way, am I the only one who thinks it silly that there are two spellings... capitol and capital that are so closely related?

Attack of the Pumpkins!

Upon returning from our nine-day vacation in Colorado, we discovered the pumpkin vines are devouring the rest of the garden!

We reserve one end of our plowed field for the vegetable garden, and the rest is all planted in pumpkins. Next year we may need a different strategy as the pumpkins are swallowing the tomatoes plants and vining up the corn stalks. It is amazing how far they will vine if we don't keep them under control! It's no wonder our tomatoes won't ripen when they never get a glimpse of the sun.

One pumpkin vine even decided to climb up a cage that we had around a tomato plant. (Maybe this is "the little pumpkin who could.")

But I'm not going to complain, because we have PUMPKINS too!! And I love pumpkins. I think they are beautiful.

And we also came home to the corn wearing their head-dresses...

And bearing gifts wrapped in silk packages...

The green beans were ready for picking...

As were the squash and cucumbers...

Colorado was gorgeous, relaxing, and basically perfect....

But we did miss our garden.... REALLY!

Rocky Mountain High = Less Blog Time!

Just a quick update.... I "lucked" into a business trip to Denver. I had NEVER been to the West, the Midwest, the Southwest... I've been no further west than Chicago in my life. So needless to say, I was so excited to experience this different part of America! My husband and I decided to fly to Colorado three days prior to my conference for some site-seeing in the beautiful Rocky Mountains!! I have time to only post a few pictures before dinner.... but I just had to share the breathtaking beauty of the Rockies....

That's all for now... gotta go get that Rocky Mountain High...

Brings tears....

I love this man...

I love to watch him work on the farm that he loves....

He reminds me of my first love, my dad...

Fixin' Squash....

I have a unique way of preparing summer yellow squash. Every time I have mentioned this method of preparing squash to anyone, they are always amused. My version is EASY and delicious, so I thought I'd share my recipe. Well, it's not REALLY a recipe exactly.... us country folk don't do much measuring and fiddlin' with amounts. We just pinch, shake, pour, and dab... and we go a lot on what "looks right." When it looks done, it's usually done....

Anyway ... I use yellow crook-neck squash instead of the standard summer squash for two reasons. One, it's what I was raised on.... what my mother fixed when she taught me to cook. And two, there are less seeds in the crook-neck squash.

I start by cutting the neck in circles, but when I get down to the main body of the squash, I cut around and around, cutting pieces off, like this....

I don't like to use the seeds. And the key is to make sure you have a bit of the yellow on every piece, since the yellow browns better than the inside white flesh.

Discard your seeds...

This is about the right size pieces....

Coat with flour....

Next, dump the squash, lightly coated with flour, into an iron skillet of hot oil...

Fry over medium heat. Turn when one side starts to brown....

Fry until a mixture of golden and light brown...

For a country supper, serve hot with new buttered potatoes, fresh green beans, and sliced tomatoes...

Then sit and watch it get cold while your husband runs late for supper....

Well, you don't have to follow that final step!

A Growing Spurt.....

All day Friday we were blessed with a long, restoring, steady rain which caused our garden to take off on a growing spurt that was almost unbelievable. It sounds like a cliche, but I mean it literally when I report that our pumpkin vines grew a foot overnight!

All of a sudden, the numerous vines are crawling everywhere, so that there is almost not room to walk among them.

Every vine has bright yellow blooms.

And I even found one little green pumpkin!

The rest of the garden is doing well also, considering we planted every thing so late this year. It won't be long until we have fresh vegetables....

Tomatoes....

Corn....

Beans....

Squash...

Okay, seriously did you see those squash blooms? There's gonna be like 30 squash here in this one little spot... I think you need to look again....

And "The Little Pumpkin who Could" is still trying his best to reach the sky...