Terri's Garden in Nashville, Tennessee

  

 I met Terri when she was 10 years old. Her mother, Margie, worked with me and invited me home for dinner.  I met Terri and her two younger brothers.  Several years later, a baby sister was added to the family.  Until I decided to move to Miami, Florida, I was a frequent visitor in the home. Through the decades I've kept in touch with Margie and her family.  Today Terri is a grandmother in a community just north of Nashville.  She grows beautiful flowers. Enjoy!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Family fun at New River Gorge National Park West Virginia

 

New River Gorge is famous for being home to one of the oldest rivers on Earth, featuring world-class whitewater rafting, and holding the status of America's newest national park (2020). Ancient River: Despite its confusing name, the New River is estimated by geologists to be tens of millions of years old, making it one of the oldest rivers on the continent.

 

 

 

 

 The last week in July, my nephew James, his wife, Heather, his daughter, Christina, her fiancé, Conner, and his son, Joe, went to have fun at the New River Gorge National Park in West Virginia. He and Heather have shared their photos. Many thanks to my family for sharing!!

 

 

 

 The family hiked, swam, and enjoyed the white water.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 I'm not an adventurous person. In even my prime, which was decades ago, I would have said "Hell no" to bungee jumping!

 

 

 

 

 They had a great time, and Heather celebrated her birthday during this great family vacation!

 

 

 

 

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Easy Cold Cucumber Soup

 

Summer heat and humidity makes it hard to turn on the stove and heat up the house. Today’s recipe is perfect for hot August days, but is easy and tasty enough for any day. Cold cucumber soup is a quick-to-make, refreshing, and flavorful cold soup. and it helps use all those fresh cucumbers from the garden. Perfect to serve as an appetizer, side dish, or for a light, healthy main dish. I’m using Greek yogurt low fat but you can certainly use regular Greek yogurt too. Add lemon juice, minced shallots and fresh herbs and blend. Refrigerate at least 4 hours up to overnight for a wonderful mouthful of cold goodness.

 

 

Cold Cucumber Soup

Use organic when available. Makes 6 servings of 1/2 cup

 

Ingredients

• 2 large English or seedless cucumbers peeled, seeded, sliced
• 2 cups plain Greek yogurt
• 1 shallot minced
• 1 clove garlic minced
• 1/4 tsp ground cumin
• 3 tsp chopped fresh dill
• 1/4 cup fresh parsley chopped
• 1 lemon juiced (or lime)

Instructions

• In a blender or food processor, add cucumbers, yogurt, shallot, garlic, fresh dill & parsley, lemon juice and ground cumin.
• Puree for 1 minute until smooth
• Taste and adjust seasoning, add salt and white pepper to taste
• Refrigerate for at least 4 hours until cold
• Optional garnish of sliced cucumbers, fresh herbs
• Serve well chilled

Enjoy!

 

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Rainy Season Plus Craziness in Florida

 

 

The other day I had an appointment first thing in the morning. Upon my return, tiny sprinkles were starting to blow in the wind against me. A heavy rainfall is expected later, but the moist air felt good on my face.  I captured a few photos of the cloudy sky to share today. Although we have blue skies the majority of the time in Florida, it's not always true in the rainy season.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Summer in Florida is HOT AND HUMID!

 

 

 Now - Crazy Florida News!! 

 Y'all, there is no round of golf worth getting struck by lightning. Remember what happened in Caddyshack? This photo was taken on July 23rd in Venice, Florida. Eventually a course ranger had to bring them back to the clubhouse. Always be safe! Photo Credit: Kathy P McSteen

 

 Now I am reporting on the evil people do to make more money. Two men thought nesting birds drove customers away. The answer was to try to drive the birds away with toxic mothballs. It boggles the mind that they thought adding toxic chemicals to a sandy beach was acceptable. I hope they get jail time as well as hefty fines:

 

 

 The "Mothball Mystery" has led to two arrests.

According to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC), Robert Czyszczon, owner of the Plaza Beach Hotel, and Christopher Monroe, owner of Chris' Beachside Bar, were arrested Wednesday following an investigation into hundreds of toxic mothballs that were scattered across St. Pete Beach earlier this year. Investigators allege the mothballs were placed on the beach to deter protected black skimmer birds from nesting there.

FWC says surveillance footage, Walmart purchase records, and other evidence—including text messages obtained during the investigation—helped connect the two men to the case.

They are facing charges that include felony commercial littering and attempting to take or harass a state-threatened species.

If these allegations are true, what a bunch of losers. Protected wildlife deserves better than this, and trying to solve a problem by spreading toxic chemicals on a public beach is unbelievably unbelievable.

First reported by Angie Angers

 

 

Black Skimmers:   Each summer, Black Skimmer colonies return to nest along Florida’s beaches, including St. Pete Beach. Though they come back every year, their nesting locations often shift dramatically from season to season. From May through September, these unique seabirds lay 3–5 eggs in shallow scrapes in the sand. The eggs hatch after 21–25 days, and both parents share the duties of incubating and feeding their chicks.

Photo via St Pete Beach.org

For information about How You Can Help, check out stpetebeach.org

 

 

 

                                  

   

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Ginger Garlic Vegetable Stir Fry

 

Summer means loads of fresh vegetables, and that makes me happy. Today’s recipe is a quick, under-30-minute meal for a meatless night or a great side dish to your grilled meats. There are really no rules about ingredients in my recipe. If you don’t like carrots, leave it out. Not a fan of broccoli, substitute asparagus. As I always say, make this recipe your own. Today I’m using a small head of broccoli, carrots, green beans, red onion, colorful bell peppers, and mushrooms.  A cup of chopped raw broccoli will yield 2.6 grams of protein, while a cup of cooked broccoli contains about 1.9 grams. Broccoli deserves its reputation as a “superfood” because it’s high in fiber, folates, vitamin C, vitamin K, and potassium. Flash sauté them for just a few minutes. Combined with the other ingredients, they make a sassy stir-fried vegan/vegetarian dish. Serve with brown rice or over pasta. For added protein, add 1/2 cup of cooked legumes, raw cashews or walnuts, tofu, or other protein.

  

Group the veggies by the amount of time they take to cook. Start your cooking first with the dense vegetables that take longer to cook, such as, onion and bell pepper. Add the light cookers last, and mushrooms fall in the middle of the sequence. Broccoli placement depends on taste, if you prefer it crisp or softer. Obviously, the softer you want it, the longer it cooks.

 

 

Ginger Garlic Vegetable Stir Fry

Use organic when available. Serves 4

 

Ginger Garlic Vegetable Stir Fry is ready in less than 30 minutes using the freshest summer vegetables. Depending on your additions, it fits most diets: Vegan, gluten-free, dairy free, vegetarian.

 

Ingredients

Sauce

• 2 tsp sesame oil
• 1/2 cup vegetable stock or water
• 1 tbsp grated or minced fresh ginger
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/4 cup tamari or low sodium soy sauce
• 1 tbsp rice vinegar
• 1 tbsp maple syrup or honey
• 1 tbsp corn starch
• Optional for spicy sauce: 1/4 tsp of crushed red pepper flakes or to taste

Stir Fry

• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 3/4 cup sliced carrots
• 1/2 cup halved fresh green beans
• 1/2 cup snow peas
• 1/2 cup sliced red onion
• 1 small head of broccoli, cut into florets
• 1/2 medium bell pepper, thinly sliced
• 1 cup sliced fresh mushrooms (3 oz)
• 1/2 cup optional raw nuts, sesame seeds, legumes, or tofu

Instructions

• Whisk together all sauce ingredients in a small bowl and set aside.
• Heat oil in a large skillet or wok over medium-high heat
• Add onion, carrots, and bell pepper and cook for 2 minutes
• Add broccoli and cook for 1 to 2 minutes
• Add mushrooms to the pan and cook for 1 to 2 minutes or until tender
• Add the rest of the vegetables for an additional minute of cooking
• Optional: add nuts, seeds, legumes, or other protein in the middle of the stir-fry depending on the time needed to cook
• Whisk sauce again and pour over vegetables in pan
• Cook until thickened, stirring constantly, 1 to 2 minutes
• Remove from heat
• Serve over steamed brown rice, noodles, or other grain
• Optional garnish with chopped green onions, sesame seeds, or nuts

Enjoy!

 

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