It has been suggested my kids go as this painting for Halloween.
 
I think it works.

Cinnamon Apple Dutch Baby YUM

 

I'm not a buddhist, but this is enlightenment: "We're All Doctors Trading Sadness for Numbness"

I'm not a buddhist, but this is enlightenment: "We're All Doctors Trading Sadness for Numbness"

I really like what she has to say here. I think I deal with a case of depressed mom attempting to sort out risk/benefits of meds/breastfeeding at least once a week. Sadly as I am the baby's nurse and not the mom's I am severely limited in making recommendations that may conflict with recommendations from others that she take meds. Don't get me wrong, post partum depression is real, meds help, babies with depressed mothers do poorly, etc.. It's all true. BUT, can we at least try a bit of exercise and some sunshine therapy, or WOW, maybe some talk therapy? Many of the moms I know on meds are prescribed by their PCP, not a therapist.

Rant done.

 

 

 

Bigos (Polish Hunters Stew)

I tried Bigos at a Polish festival in PA recently and loved it. So of course, I had to try to make it myself. This pot is massive. I'm freezing 7 five cup containers of it.

 

There is no one right way to do this but this recipe looked like a good start to me
http://easteuropeanfood.about.com/od/maincourses/r/bigos.htm

Of course I did my own thing, I used, 6 bay leaves, 6 cups dehydrated mushrooms, 28 ounce can petite diced tomatoes2-3 cups Shiraz, 9 ounce bag pitted prunes, 7 medium sweet onions, about 1/2 cup olive oil, 1/2 of a huge cabbage, 4 pounds of bagged sauerkraut, 1.5 lbs smoked kielbasa, 2 slices smoked turkey "chops", a fresh ham hock and left over bits of lamb and beef. I first fried the onions and half the cabbage then put it all together in a big pot and cooked about 3 hours. Due to space considerations I could only use half the cabbage and half the sauerkraut. I cooked the remaining cabbage really browning it a lot for color and flavor then added it and the remaining raw sauerkraut at the end.

It needs salt and pepper and I think when I serve each container I will heat it up with a fresh small bag of sauerkraut because the long cooking tempers the sour too much. I may also add more prunes with the final heat up. It is supposed to get better over time and it is one of the endless stew dishes (you just keep adding stuff) so this is in the spirit. Seriously, YUM.

Mid Sept blooms

I collected these from around the yard today. Outside they are not nearly as cute, being just an isolated bloom here and there.


In the kitchen
 

Moved to the dining room on a tray
 
 

tomatoe
cardinal vine
mystery plant with varigated leaves and red flowers
smart weed
Sedum Autum Joy
mystery nightshade
borage
lantana
petunia
phlox
eggplant
daisy
clematis
aster
fennel
green pepper
dill
mint
Russian Sage
snap dragon
garlic chives
Sweet Annie
poke
spiderwort
liriope
miniature black eyed susans
buddlea

Cedar Waxwing

Many of these birds were swooping around seemingly eating insects over one area of the river and seemed to each defend a specific territory. They made a specific cute little high pitched noise too.
 

 

Delaware River canoe trip

I paddled about 6 miles from the Smithfield Beach to the Delaware Water Gap, stopping to swim once and drifting with the current a lot.

 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 

 

 
 

 

Monocacy River near Buckeystown, MD

I stopped to look at the river and saw these kids swimming.
 
 
 
 

Garlic Chives

I like the way each flower cluster has one flowerette that sticks up above the rest.

 

Fallen Scag in West River

This fallen scag can be seen via google maps in the link below.

 

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&q=Galesville,+Anne+Arundel,+Maryland&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=30.599615,78.662109&ie=UTF8&cd=1&geocode=FU2xUAId4whw-w&split=0&ll=38.848782,-76.544811&spn=0.001834,0.004801&t=h&z=18

Construction cranes off a cove of the West River

In the same area there are now a lot of construction cranes and tipsy boats.