Dry Days.....Wet Days

June and July have given us dry days...

that bring the bugs out...

~

and wet days that keep us in...

and Magnolia blossoms wet...

~

Saturday was a wet day for us...



so when Alivia came down to visit...
out came her favorite book...and
behind it she hid!




just ignoring me and...
even trying not to smile for the camera...




but actually, I later got what I wanted....
one of her...deeply engrossed in her book!



Later she was off to draw...but what would it be...



After giving it some serious thought...


she made up her mind...and created some art...
that's how I enjoyed yesterday.


~
Today...being a dry day...
Herhusband walked down the drive to
retrieve the trailer from the barn...



while I waited at the gazebo...

which yesterday...being a wet day...

the swing wore a raincoat ready for rain.

So after Herhusband left to help grandson

Dustin move some things...

I went into the field...with camera...

pass the windmill...

and pass the bench in the field....

to the hillside just beyond the wire fence,

where the blackberries are....

it is quite steep here in places...

with ragged old trees...

and areas of plants with tall white blooms.

It's thick with tall straight trees...

and dense with low growing fern...

On a walk here last week I discovered...

a Hawk feather...a small snail...

then an even smaller snail...

and an old empty shell...

on the ground just beneath.

Also on that walk I placed something...

at the base of this middle tree to see

how it might change in a week's time.

This was it a week ago...a little green walnut

on a stack of rocks...even had a smiley face.

Today it looked like this...

green turned to gray... the leaf pulled away...

and the pebble fell off...

but he's still smiling.

~

In a week I will return to see what I find.

On my way home this Box Turtle crossed my path..

with dark leathery skin...

and glowing pink eyes...which I just learned means

it's a male...females have yellowish brown irises.!

I found this slight heart shaped rock near him...

so I thought I'd take it home...

Eventually...I reached an entrance to field...

walked pass the pear tree...

then pass the Magnolia tree which has

a dry bloom today.

Oh, remember Alivia's artwork yesterday?

Well, she drew appropriate pictures...

One dry day.....One wet day!

Note which one includes a smile

and which one a frown!

Summer Favorite

Blackberry Crisp is a summer favorite of mine...
..made with berries I pick myself....

Thursday morning I went out early, with an

overcast sky...and a gentle breeze...my camera,
two plastic pails, and long sleeves...
to pick the blackberries near the field.

~

You need to move slowly, look over, above,
under, behind, around, beneath, between,
and still...you may miss berries...
and get snagged!!!

I managed to pick 2 quarts in an hour
with just a few minor confrontations
with the briers...

They ranged in size...but most were of
this nature.



I washed them twice and put them aside.




Again this morning I went out very early,
right after reading Bernie's Blog.
Blackberries will ripen overnight...
Dylan says they ripen as soon as you pick
and leave an area...he may be right!

Herhusband told me to watch out for snakes...
as I went out the door.
Guess what I found...

~
No...
not a snake...


just a Walking Stick bug...



He had fallen into the pail first thing...



then guess what hissed at me...

after I stepped on it....


~
No...
not a snake...


just a turtle buried under a tangle of vines.



I finished after an hour and went back to
the house...
and while Herhusband was washing the van...




I washed some blackberries again...




I ended up with 2 1/2 more quarts today...




which I used 4 cups of...for the crisp...
placing them in a deep pie pan....
sprinkled them with 1/2 cup of sugar
and 2 teas. of cornstarch...



then made a topping by cutting a stick of butter
into 3/4 cups of flour, 3/4 cups rolled oats,
1/2 cup br. sugar, 1/2 teas. cinnamon, and about
3 Tb. of chopped almond pieces...

then baked it at 400 * for about 30 minutes.

Left it to cool on the counter....

while I ate a salad for lunch....

and then afterwards...dished it up for dessert!

I took mine with me to finish reading the blogs

of all my friends and discovered an award from

Jientje and an award from Eileen.

Thank you both!

I will accept, show and pass them on later...

but now I am going to have my first taste

of the season of my "summer favorite"...

and it was delicious...

right down to the last bite!

Wish I could share it...with all of you!