Your Monday Photo Shoot: Back to School

From the John Scalzi files...

Your Monday Photo Shoot: It's back to school season. Show us a picture of something that represents "Back to School" to you. Kids on their way to school, a stack of new text books, school supplies, parents leaping for joy... oh, wait, maybe not that last one.

Don't be afraid to reach back into the archives for this one; if you've got a great "back to school" photo from 1975, bring it on. I could show you a picture from my own back to school days -- the one from second grade, when I was dressed in pink denim from head to toe -- but no. No. And stop looking at me like that. It was the 70s. And my mom dressed me. Take it up with her.

Take or scan the photos, upload them into your blog or journal, and come back here to leave a link. And welcome back to another year of school!

Well John, they say confession is good for the soul, but...pink denim? 

Okay, believe it or not I have only one photo (on my computer) fitting of this theme.  I wasn't wearing denim on this day and can't tell if the dress is pink (back then, girls did not...I repeat...did not wear slacks/jeans/pants to school, we always wore dresses); there is something to  be said for the good ol' days of b & w film, ya know.

Lovely pose I've struck there.  And the collar...oh lordy!  Would have been even better had I been wearing saddle shoes.  I did have a pair.  Must not have been saddle shoe day.

Feel free to ad lib in the comment section...I'd love to hear it.  Really, I would.  :o

Clash of the Titans?

So, today I stepped outside and found a little power struggle taking place on the deck.  A praying mantis vs. a yellow jacket. 

Okay.

"Put up your dukes."

I left the dynamic duo alone while I went inside to finish some chores.  When I came back outside some time later, this is what I saw.

"Come on out and fight you yellow-bellied, buzzing backyard bully!"

Yeah, I know, I'm weird.  I admit to being fascinated by strange things, and there are plenty of strange things to grab my fascination.  But I am curious if anyone else has ever seen anything like this.

I like praying mantis.  Never gave 'em much thought until the day I saw one on a plant and I said, "Hi there mantis bug."  The mantis then turned it's head and looked directly at me as if to say 'Hello' in return.  Loved that.

Easy -- Week #20

Sunday was J-Land's 2nd Anniversary (or Birthday).  So Kelly is asking...

"What was the favorite post you've written in the last year"

First choice

Second choice

 

Adventure Idaho, part 2

The helicopter returned as we walked out of the work center and we watched it touch down.  With all the activity on the road between the work center and Cold Springs, we decided it would be a good idea to get out of the way of the firefighters and leave the area ASAP.  Two more semi's pulling showers and the caterer passed by as we waited to pull out on the road.  As we neared Cold Springs, we noticed a rig pulled off the road and some people watching the moose, who by now had stepped out of the water and was standing on the opposite shore.   He almost looks like a water buffalo.

A little farther down the road we stopped at 4th of July Creek, where a large wooden pack bridge spans the river.   Rum and Allie joyfully splashed around on the shore while Sam and I kicked off our sandals and waded into the river.  Ahhhh!  The afternoon temps were pushing 100 degrees and the cold river water felt so good.  While Sam played with the dogs, I wandered around searching for signs of interesting river life.

After the dogs dried off we all jumped back into the pick up, arriving back at our camp by mid-afternoon, just in time for a quick nap.  Woke up in time to start dinner; pot roast slow cooked over coals in a dutch with corn on the nob, followed by dump cake.  Yum!  By 9 p.m. we were stuffed, satified with our memories of a very full day, followed by a very full dinner.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

DUMP CAKE NOTES:  Use a well seasoned cast iron dutch oven.  No need to grease and flour your dutch.  You can use fresh fruit or pie filling.  We added the cinnamon and sugar only because we used fresh apples (and pineapples); peaches are wonderful, as are blueberries, cherries, raspberries, etc!  Other variations include dump chili corn bread cake; instead of fruit, fill bottom of dutch with onions and 1 can chili, add 2 boxes Jiffy corn bread mix, add one can beer instead of lemon-lime pop.  It's very good! 

Cooking time: 45-75 minutes, depending on size of coals and number used.

Sunday morning as we sat around the fire drinking coffee, Rum was feeling a bit insecure and decided to crawl up on my lap.  He still thinks he's just a little puppy, even though he's seven years old.  Sam fixed breakfast (I love camping because the guys do almost all the cooking  :)   what more could a girl ask) and after clean up, it was time to pack up everything and head home.  :(  We arrived back home around 2 in the afternoon and it took the better part of the day to unload and unwind from the trip.

Another wonderful weekend in the mountains.  Oh yeah...

 

~~Nature has been for me, as long as I can remember, a source of solace, inspiration, adventure, and delight; a home, a teacher, a companion.  -Lorraine Anderson~~

Adventure Idaho

This entry's been slow to write.  Don't know why.  Maybe because the photos speak for themselves and for some reason I've just felt uninspired after working all day.

Every year, since 1992,, Sam and I have gone camping someplace in the Clearwater National Forest.  This year, the camping trip got off to a somewhat rocky start when Allie decided to eat two loaves of zucchini bread Thursday night.  To say she was miserable on the ride up would be an understatement.  At any rate, we got up early Friday morning, hooked up the trailer, and by 7 a.m. we were on the road

First stop, McDonald's for some breakfast to go.  Couldn't go through the drive-thru with the 27 foot trailer, so Sam parked in the parking lot, and went inside while I waited in the rig with the dogs.  Rum and I got kinda bored waiting.

It takes three hours to get to the camp site we hoped was available.  On the drive up the smoke from the fire in Idaho County was quite visible.  We heard reports from friends that the fire in Black Canyon was 100% contained and the crews were now mopping up.  That fire was 20 miles from the camp site we hoped to get.  We arrived at our desired spot about 10 o'clock and set up camp.

This place is a favorite with us because it has a little singing creek right along side, so at night with the windows open I fall asleep to the gentle sound of the creek water traveling over the rocks.  Peaceful.  A little bit of heaven here on earth.  There are many small creeks in this forest.

Spent the day kicking back, relaxing and just enjoying the outdoors.  Took the dogs across the road for a cooling splash in Orogrande Creek.  Temps in the afternoon were in the mid 90s.

Saturday we decided to take a drive down Orogrande Creek to the North Fork of the Clearwater River to pay our annual visit to the Kelly Creek Work Center.  Each year we travel to Kelly Creek to purchase some of their T-shirts, which always feature scenes from the area.  Proceeds from the sale of the T-shirts benefit the widows and families of firefighters who die fighting wildfires.

On the drive up, we saw:

An osprey working on a nest.  As we drove away, I watched the bird and I was thinking how that angle was so much better when I saw the bird throw a large bunch of twigs or something over the edge, into the river below.  House cleaning, animal world style.  Wish the photo was clearer, but the nest was quite a ways away from the road and my digital zoom gets a bit grainy.

As we drove I was hoping we'd see a moose at Cold Springs.  In 13 years, I've only seen a moose at Cold Springs once.  Turns out, luck was on my side..

Cold Springs, where we saw the moose, was a hub of activity.  We noticed many semi-trucks and trailers for catering, showers, and equipment.  Base camp for the firefighters no doubt.  There was a lot of activity, not the type one would expect to see if the wildfire was no longer burning, as the trailers were traveling up the river to Black Canyon, not away from Black Canyon.  So we began to speculate that our friends' reports were incorrect and the fire was not contained.

If Cold Springs was busy, Kelly Creek was buzzing.  First thing we saw was a group of people rigging up a helicopter, which eventually took off with what appears to be a tent or duffle bag full of supplies.

Once inside we learned the fire is not contained; there are actually two wildfires burning.  Forest Service personnel advised us the first fire is about four miles west of another campground we usually camp at; it is growing in size and had reached the Clearwater River.  This is not good.  The road is open, but no one is allowed to stop or fish along the way.  The clerk who sold us our T-shirts rode her bike up earlier and said she saw burning snags (the tops of trees) falling at a rate of one per minute.  Staff advised us campfires are allowed; it was not the Forest Service who banned campfires, but rather the Department of Environmental Quality because of all the smoke and the ban only affected Idaho County.  One thing I noticed during the visit and inquired about was the lack of hummingbird activity; every year we visit the Work Center we see at least two dozen hummingbirds outside at several hanging feeders, but on the way in I only saw two.  Back at our camp, not a single one had visited the feeder and this is highly unusual.  The clerk indicated the fire is probably responsible, but also toward the end of August the hummers do start to thin out, as many begin to make the journey south for the winter.

That's all for now.  I will finish this entry tomorrow, hopefully, as there is much more to share.  :)

Recipe for Zuccini Bread

Just for you Jimmy!  :)

ZUCCINI BREAD

     Mix together:

3 eggs                             1 Tbsp. vanilla
1 c. oil                              2 c. peeled and grated zuccini (or shredded)
2 c. sugar

      Add:

3 c. flour                           1/4 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt                          1 Tbsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. baking soda           1 c. chopped nuts

     Bake in greased and floured loaf pan.  Bake at 325 degrees for 45 to 60 (or longer) minutes.  Makes 2 loaves. 

NOTES:  Oven temps vary.  Mine took 75 minutes to fully bake.

I added about a tbsp of peanut butter to the last two loaves, as I was running low on nuts.

Enjoy!

 

Hmmm, no one has commented that I keep mispelling zucchini. 

It's 3 AM - Do you know where your zuccini bread is?

Last night I baked four more loaves of zuccini bread...the two remaining from Thursday night is not enough.  Only this time, after pulling the last two loaves from the oven I set them on a shelf in my kitchen garden window to cool...well out of the reach of a certain four-legged (if only I'd thought of that before).

This morning Sam tells me Allie woke him up at 3 AM with a cold nose in the armpit.  Thinking she needs to go outside, he gets up and lets her out.  Minutes later he lets her back in and returns to bed.  That's when he heard the sound of Allie going up the stairs (our room is in the basement).  Kitchen is upstairs.  Zuccini bread is upstairs, in kitchen.

I'm sure Allie was just checking to make sure Rumbeau didn't eat the zuccini bread while she was on her break outside.

 

BTW...this morning all four loaves of zuccini bread made it to their final destination...the freezer.  None disappeared overnight.  :)