Un-official Event with Girls from a Particular Group

We seem to randomly bump into some girls from Tate's sanctioned "girl group" at a local winery - odd, really. The moms are really fun and the girls have a great time. Smith was along this time, too, and was a popular target. Oddly, he was the first to ask to leave...

Yes, they are sitting on him.

Catching Up - Appalachian Trail

Late July - The kids and Spud and I went to Bear's Den, a local-ish hiking spot on the Appalachian Trail. It's so beautiful there! We had a few odd things happen. 

One, Spud was snorting through some grass/weeds at the side of the trail and jumped back quickly. Something got his ear - we never felt a bite or sting, but his ear by the end of the hiking trip was easily 10 times thicker than it was when we started! Poor guy kept shaking his head to make it stop. 

Two, there was a large camp group at the rocks, so we found a more secluded area to sit and relax. However, as soon as we got to our little spot, there were two women on the rock in front of us who had just opened their urn of ashes, which caught the wind and was heading in our direction, one rock back...we quickly moved aside while I whisper-screamed, "don't breathe in!!" It did end up in a nice conversation with the kids about who, exactly, was in that urn and why were they released here - was it the person/animal's favorite spot, or the people releasing the ashes? Where would they want ashes left? It wasn't scary or morbid, just a nice conversation.

Three, as we were leaving, we noticed piles of trash that the campers left. These were church organizations! They just up and left, leaving fruit snack packs, ziplock baggies, drinks, etc - as if they had just raptured or something. But they hadn't, as we caught up with them a bit later, and told the councilors about the trash EVERYWHERE. Guess what they did? A whole lot of NOTHING. Said oh no, then got on their buses and left. Good example.

I guess I was angrier about that than I thought...

Post-ashes

Walking like an Egyptian

Beagle with a fat ear

Heart rock (always think of Papa when we see these!!)

Olan Mills fake tree shot

And another Fair

David took the day off and the 4 of us went to another nearby county fair - but this one is a BIG one. It's the one where I grew up, although in the 80s it had a very scary component to it. There were roving hoodlums and ne'er do wells - if you were there at night, and a teenage boy, chances are you would be mugged, or at least an attempt made. Somehow they cleaned up their act, the fair that is, and it's now a very family friendly environment. I went with Smith a few times when he was little, but it's been 8+ years! (Remember this, Eliza?)

So this is 2013...

Jenga-style safety, yikes!

They rode this, I think, 7,264 times. Thank god for the wristbands.

Pumpin out some hot tunes for your listening pleasure!

Duck races. Also had potbelly pigs, "regular" pigs, goats. Adorableness.

Sheep make me think of knitting. This one had such a beautiful color - very caramel. Gorgeous, and very friendly for a sheep!

I swear this mini pony looked like a stuffed animal that could walk!

A great day! David coming was a last minute addition, and I told the kids the only down side of him coming with us was that it meant less JUNK that we would eat. He's more strict about that stuff than me...hey if it's a special event, I'm in! So we had to forego the fried oreos, but definitely got our fill of petting goats and sheep and pigs and cows and bunnies and birds!

Pumpkin Butternut Squash Soup

A neighbor brought by a butternut squash the other day. I went to pick up Tate at a friend's house, who was just finishing up roasting a butternut squash for soup. You can see where this is going.

I found this recipe, on Joy the Baker, for pumpkin-butternut squash. We grow sugar pumpkins in our garden and I had 2 cups of pureed pumpkin left over from last year in the freezer, so a soup was born!

Sadly, I did not get any shots of the soup in progress, which is a shame because it was really pretty. Swirls of cream in the orange pumpkin squash, with little bits of green from the onions. I substituted quite a few things - chicken broth in place of veggie, green onions in place of shallots, and I just kind of mixed it all together until the consistency came out how I wanted.

Afterwards, even while cleaning as I was going, the kitchen was a bit of a scene. A beautiful mess, really. David asked if it was all worth it - yes! Sometimes the cooking then consuming of something is worth it all.

I am the only eater of said soup - while I imagine Smith would like it if he tried it, he won't, and Tate is not a soup girl. David would not willingly eat butternut squash. So, more for me, and I will definitely make this again. Delicious.

County Fair

After 7 years of living here, we finally made it to the County Fair! The impetus was a couple friends with daughters showing their sheep. Meat sheep, not wool sheep. It was a great day, not too hot, as that can be rather unpleasant while looking at all the animals.

Oh the names!

Tough mama

Gorgeous cow

David suggested this participant needs further schooling

This winner was next to the 2nd place winner, a bunch of rubber stamps in a drawer. My friend Tara suggested we sweep the fair next year by submitting something in every category.

GOB!!!

Possibly my favorite part of this day was the nutella and banana crepe - oh yum! 

Pickles!

We went to a farm stand the other day and got pickling cucumbers and made pickles with our garden grown dill. Apparently they aren't "dilly" enough, so I'm tinkering. We'll see. I tried a different recipe than the last time I made pickles - a few years ago. The last time, they were too salty.

I made this cute bag for Tate a few weeks ago, for her to take books with her to Hilton Head. It was a super simple crochet, sewn together on one side, and she decided she wanted an orange and lemon slice for the front. I was angling for a cute animal, but she insisted. I also made the hat, below, but that was for me - however, I hate figuring out if my gauge is correct while knitting, and this hat, consequently, is snug on me. But cute on Tate! 

While getting the pickling cukes, the owner of the farmer's stand started a conversation with Tate, and asked if she'd like to come into the field and pick some okra. We've never eaten okra before. The owner was so nice - sure makes me want to go back again and again!

We're heading to a bluegrass concert in town tonight - after eating peppers from the farm market with cheddar cheese and chorizo inside. I also made this amazing guacamole with goat cheese and corn. Great food this time of year!

Horseback Lesson

Tate loooooooves horses, and wants a pony desperately. That's what she asked for for her 7th birthday, but in lieu of that, my mom and dad got her a private, 2 hour riding lesson at a nearby barn. My friend Eliza has her horse there, and she passed along the name of the amazing Becky, who does lessons. She was fantastic! Lots of discussions with Tate, listening to her answers, really drawing her out. Not that she really needs a lot to draw her out, but it was a very special 2 hours. She rode Dulcinea bareback, gave her a bath, everything - really a great time. And I got some bonus time chatting with my mom!