Darn creepy crawlies

So something has been eating our new Clematis Armandi, the one that is growing in the trellis in the back yard. This picture shows a pretty good example of the damage. We thought it was snails, so put out some snail bait. Last night, while sitting in the hot tub, we watched a caterpillar, about 2" long, make it's way down the trellis to the plant. So, armed with flashlights, we went back out a bit later to inspect and found several of the critters happily munching away. They were immediately dispatched, and today, the plant will get sprayed with BT to hopefully eliminate the critters.

They've done a pretty good number on the plant, eating off all the growing tips. Oh well - it was on a good run before that happened and hopefully it will pick back up quickly.

Nice fins

My Sister & her family were in town over the long weekend. On Saturday, we drove to Santa Maria to see the California Kustoms car show. It used to be in Paso Robles every year, but this year moved to Santa Maria. It was quite the show, with the emphasis on hot rods & custom cars. There were really some amazing cars there. There were a couple of orange ones that caught my eye for some reason, this being one of them. You can tell that I'm really knowledgeable about cars, as I only know this one as "an orange car with fins."

A bit of excitement

No, the house wasn't on fire. Because of the high winds, the county had a number of power problems yesterday. One of them took place on the next street over. The lines on a pole shorted out somehow, and the top three feet of the pole just broke off. Our power went out around 10:30 AM, and didn't come back on until about 6:30. It really didn't impact us much as we were gone most of the day. The only major inconvenience was having to run up to the market to buy some cold beer around 5:00. We didn't want to open the fridge, so had to make an emergency run. Otherwise, we survived just fine :)

Working on the lawn....still

Well, the 2nd batch of sod has actually done better than the first. And, with the warmer weather, the lawn has been growing very well. However, we still have some dead spots that need to be addressed. We are trying a different approach this time. We have sectioned off a small section of the lawn, removed the dead grass, and have re-seeded with a premium Kentucky Bluegrass mix. Our plan is to leave the section partitioned off for six weeks or so, giving the new seedlings plenty of time to settle in. Once this section has come back to life, we'll move on to a new patch. I just did this patch this morning, but we hope to see sprouts within the week. Keeping our fingers crossed....

We've had beautiful weather the past week and I'm hoping it continues for a while!

A fairly sucessfull pie :)

I used most of the blackberries we bought on the way home from Vegas for this pie. I have to say, it is probably my nicest looking pie. I have no idea how it tastes. It wasn't cool enough to cut by bed time last night, so I'll have to wait until tonight to taste it. I made a huge mess in the kitchen making the thing, flour everywhere! Oh well, I'll report back on the taste later...

Apricots

On the way home, we stopped at a fruit stand between Tehachapi and Bakersfield. We bought some great cherries and blackberries but these apricots looked so good too. Highway 58 between barstow and Bakersfield is a really nice part of the trip. We actually stopped in Tehachapi to see the "historic downtown" and stretch our legs for a bit. About two more hours until home!

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Old school Vegas!

The concert was great. Didn't get enough sleep but came downtown for breakfast and to look for cheap blackjack tables! On Fremont street now ...

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Relaxation

Ok, been sitting by the pool for four hours now. Had a lovely lunch, but thinking its time to go back to the rooms and have a nap. The concert isn't until 8:00 tonight so plenty of time to relax before then! So far lady luck has not been kind but will keep trying...

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View from the room

We are staying at the Mandalay Bay because we got a great deal on the room and this is where the concert is. This the view of the pool area from our room. We just spent the last few hours there. Shower time then off to dinner and some Vegas fun!

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On the way to Vegas

Stop number one, lunch in Baker. Famous restaurant! Only an hour and a half more before pool time. More later ...

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This week's veggies

Here's this weeks haul:

A small cabbage
carrots
fava beans
baby red onions
cauliflower
mustard greens
purple kale
cilantro
purple top turnips

My plan for this week is some Indian food. The mustard greens last week were *strong* so I think they would be good in saag. Maybe I'll put the kale in there as well. I think I'll do the cauliflower Indian style also, we'll see. I have to say, we've probably had enough turnips this year - I think we've had them every week for the past month. It must be nearing the end of turnip season, shouldn't it? The carrots are great just to eat raw. I've been taking those in my lunch instead of baby carrots. And the cilantro is always handy to have around.

Off to Vegas for a few days for a concert & some relaxing. I'll try to get a few posts in while I'm poolside :)

Still life with Whippet and Fava beans...

Remember I said I got some Fava beans in our produce subscription last week? Well, I cooked them up. This is the fruits of my labor. I knew it wouldn't be that many beans - it was maybe 2/3 of cup once they were shelled, blanched, and then "skinned." I tossed them with a bit of balsamic, EVOO and Parmesan cheese. They were very tasty, not like anything else I've had before. But, they were a lot of effort for a little reward. Still, it was fun to get them and try something new. Riley, as you can tell, wanted it to be clear that if by chance I decided not to eat them, he would help out....

Finally, a home for the cookbooks

The cookbooks had all been stacked on top of one of the cabinets since we unpacked them in August. We started the all rolling on a better solution a few weeks ago, and the new shelf was just installed Saturday.

Our builder had some Cherry left from another project, and they stained it to match the Cherry on the kitchen cabinets. Not only does it look great, but it puts them in a much more convenient location. Now I can just grab them instead of having to climb up on the stool!

Veggie Porn

Cal Poly has an organic farm which offers a CSA (community supported agriculture) program. You can purchase "subscriptions" which entitle you to one box of organically grown produce each week. We have talked about doing this the past few years, but decided to give it at try this year. So far, it's been great. The majority of the produce is grown on campus, but some of the items do come from outside sources. Here is this week's haul:

Turnips
Onions
Carrots
Tangelos
Fava Beans
Mustard Greens (I think)
Red lettuce
Kohlrabi - purple and green

I'm excited about the kohlrabi - I haven't had it in years. And I've always been curious to try Fava beans, so now's my chance.

The lettuce actually comes from Growing Grounds, which is farm/nursery run by the county mental health department. They sell plants & produce all over the county. Everything else this week was grown on campus & is organic.

It's been fun so far, learning how to cook veggies I've never had before, like turnips. Turns out they make a tasty curry.

So, if you have a favorite Fava Bean recipe - let me know. Somehow, I don't think I'll be getting many responses to that inquiry though.