Can you hear it?

This month. Can you just hear it winding down? I did accomplish more posts for the month than last year. My phone weather told me that it would be cooler and rainier today. So far neither of those is true. It is hot. And humid. And no rain, yet.

I was outside a little while ago and got no less than half a dozen mosquito bites. I was pruning back my fennel to give the milkweed some room to grow and seed. I harvested three pods of seeds this morning. I wait until they are dried and splitting before I cut them off the bush. I have put some seeds in pots hoping to propagate them to sell at the Master Gardener plant sale next spring. I don't see anything growing, yet. But we do have 3 out of 4 figs cuttings that have green growth. And. All 4 hydrangea are green with new growth.

We had a good visit with Out of Town Son and family yesterday. His girls are growing. And so very cute. I know I am biased. But they are. Cute.

That is all for now. Must go mix up some cornbread for the man of the house.

Shalom.

Anniversaries, Grammies, and tamales.

24 hours. Our trip lasted about that long. Short and sweet.

 We started with lunch in town. At Harvey's. 

Macho = hamburger. Me = grilled mahi mahi.

You reach a certain point when traveling west in the north part of the state where everything gets flat. 

We called it The Delta. 

Agriculture everywhere. 

I don't remember what little hamlet is the home of this "cotton boll" water tower. 

Harvesting corn.

We did a drive through at Delta State. It was too hot to do any walking outside.

I told Macho the only sweating I wanted to do was from the truck to whatever air-conditioning I was going into. 

Monday night dinner at the Delta Meat Market. It is located in the Cotton House Hotel in downtown Cleveland. This is where we stayed. This was grilled king salmon from the Copper River. It was not as fresh at the one we had in Anchorage, but it tasted good. 

Breakfast at the DMM Tuesday morning. Sweet potato waffles with sorghum butter and maple syrup, bacon, and Dixie Blues Grits. Best grits I evah ha-ed! Really good. Macho didn't like them because they were so creamy he thought there was cheese in them and that kept him from putting sugar on his grits. Yes. I am afraid he eats grits like a yankee. So sad. 

The restaurant it very a-la-carte, which equates to pricey. 

After checking out of the Cotton House we visited the Grammy Museum.

We spent three hours there and thoroughly enjoyed it. 

It is a lovely facility.

Lunch at the local Airport Grocery. 

I ate hot tamales and turnip greens. Macho ate hamburger steak with onions and gravy and mash potatoes. 

Then it was time to find the Po Monkey. This is a locally well known blues juke joint. The proprietor, of the same name, passed away in the last few years. 

Yes. That is an outhouse in the left of the photo, complete with crescent moon on the door. 

It sits right beside a soybean field in the middle of nowhere in Magnolia, MS. 

This place is closed now. 

Blues marker. 

Road going away from the Po Monkey. 

Then a quick visit to McCarty pottery and a few purchases for which I came home with buyers remorse. Oh well. The deed it done. 

The heat index was a good 6-8 degrees above the actual temperature as we drove home yesterday.

Today is much better. High is only supposed to be 92. Much better.

And so wraps up our 42nd anniversary trip. 

We both had fun. 

There are more fun things in the Delta that we plan to see. 

Next time.

Shalom. 

One of our mini adventures!

Macho got to pick the adventure this week. I had been tied up every day with one thing and another...garden club, girlfriend lunch, bible study...Friday was open. I asked him to pick something fairly local. His choice was a not-too-far-away Indian site, Moundville. 

He had been as a child. I had never been. But, liking the native American culture I was a willing adventurer!

A walk in the forest. 

The tallest mound is 65 feet tall. The steps don't look so bad unless you are doing it. On the hottest day. With a sinus "thang" going on. I had to stop twice just to breath. 

We enjoyed the view. There are about 29 mounds in the area but you don't see them all. Some are tucked away in the woods. The original people that lived here pre-dated tribe names and for this time period these people are known as the Mississippians. Mississippians populated the eastern United States. Eventually they became known as Choctaw, Chickasaw, Cherokee, Seminole...and on and on. 

Moundville was a well designed, walled city. The walls were waddle and daub - made from logs, and woven branches, and mud. With a large population (about 1000). It is thought that the mounds were built for the elite of the tribe to live atop. By about the 1400's this place was uninhabited. Natives came back to bury their dead here thinking this place was the portal to the next world. 

Looking down the backside of the high mound. 

Moundville is located beside the Black Warrior River. 

We spent about 2 1/2 hours looking and learning. 

***

This is one of the last Cherokee purple heirloom tomatoes. I will plant this variety again. It is sweet and delicious. Meaty with fewer seeds. 

I brought a yellow meat watermelon at the farmer's market this morning. It was pretty green when I cut into it so now it is outside in the butterfly garden. I hope the hummingbirds and butterflies will enjoy it. 

Also bought butter beans that are cooling to go in the freezer.

Another mini adventure is slated for next week.

Stay tuned.

Shalom. 

Grinding.

Busy week ahead. Working the soup kitchen today. Another funeral tomorrow. Must reschedule hair appointment. Garden Club planning session Wednesday. Regrouping the bible study on Thursday with a potluck. Not sure what Friday holds. Maybe just catching my breath. Got to make it by the library this week to recheck out the book I'm reading - Alaska by James Michener. In between there will be exercise, gardening, and grocery shopping.

Next week a mini-adventure awaits us. More about that later.

School starts this week for the grands.

Be sweet. Shalom.

The weekend grind.

Last year I only posted three times in August. Gonna do better this time. We've got a retirement rut going here. Lots of yard work. Run to town for essentials. More yard work. Exercise. Not much adventure. Until you look closer...

We have this great little group of men and women (mostly men) that sit in a circle at the YMCA in the mornings. They will  and do talk about anything. They tease any passers by - be they old or young. They share their home grown veggies. They eat up any goodies that get left on the table. They drink coffee. I love them. I am them.

My flowers and fennel have attracted the butterflies and the caterpillars are hungry! Two different varieties of swallowtail have been seen in the last two days. Both big. Both beautiful. Humming birds are drinking the nectar I put out faster than I can mix it up. (Not really.)

We've pulled up the zucchini. The tomatoes are still ripening. The peppers plants are still producing some fruit, as are the eggplant.

Last night we broke routine and met Sister Paulette for happy hour and the local summer concert. Keith and Margie. Locals know who I'm talking about. The night air was just right. Friendly moods spilled over and the vendors handed us free beer as we were leaving. Happy times.

The last bit of summer fun is being squeezed out this weekend before students have to report to school next week.

Watching the tropics. That's how we roll.
Shalom.