Wednesday, August 12, 2020

What we're eating – and not eating

I've been keeping my eye on my fig "crop" – all two of them. One has started sagging with promise, and I decided today was the day. I probably could have left it to ripen one more day, but didn't want to lose it to something else. It was tasty!


 Figs really are strange delights.

This afternoon I got busy on the three zucchini waiting patiently on the counter (from other people's gardens). I grated all three, made a chocolate orange bundt cake, a double batch of black bean zucchini burgers, and put the remainder of the prepped squash in the fridge for future use.
Poppy is not a terribly motivated eater, and has lost some weight. I've started bringing her food and water dishes out into the great room, which seems to help.
She has six notches in her belt now. After quickly downing mice #3 and #4, she left half of mouse #5 in the tack room. Tonight she caught #6, and showed no interest in eating it. The steel wool I packed into the hole in the corner hasn't eliminated access; I guess Poppy has job security. Is Chuckie sensing that someone else is stepping up to the plate? He's taken to waiting outside the door while Poppy hunts.

The other day I found this Carhartt scrub shirt on sale at Wilco Farm Store. It's color, comfort, and multiple pockets made me decide it would be the perfect shirt for Poppy's agility class. Unfortunately, the instructor broke her wrist today, so no class for us tomorrow.

 Guess I'll come home after work and enjoy my little jewel of an orchid,

 and work with my mare.

I had a mustang trainer come out and work with her/us today. You can read more about that on my horse blog. Excited about making progress!

That's it for now from . . .

10 comments:

Mama Pea said...

Lots going on at your place as usual! Poppy has really caught on to being the main mouse eradicator around your homestead. Sure would be a good idea to figure out where those nasty little meese are getting in, wouldn't it? You may have more of a population this winter than either Poppy or Chuckie can handle. Our onslaught of them looking for warm winter quarters hasn't started yet, but I know it will.

thecrazysheeplady said...

I've heard we can grow figs here, but I've yet to try it. They look fun :-).

wyomingheart said...

What a handsome Rock Star!!! He will be catching mice soon... just needs to watch Poppy a time or two! They may make a great tag team...perhaps...LOL!

FullyFleeced said...

I keep hoping our figs will ripen this year- ours look to be the same variety as yours, and are probably about a week behind in maturing. Sure hope we get a little more heat to get them to the finish line!

A :-) said...

Time really does march on - doesn't it? We're nearly halfway through August, which I find so hard to believe . . .

Mokihana said...

Michelle, would you be willing to share your recipe for the bundt cake? Chocolate and Orange together send me to the moon!!

Michelle said...

Mama Pea, I have one last source of unsecured food in the tack room; once that's gone I'm going to move everything out, look for holes and clean it. There is the real possibility that I won't be able to plug all the holes, but hopefully between Poppy and removing food, we'll keep them at bay.

Figs can die back in a harsh winter here, but will regrow from the root. I think that may only apply to younger plants, though, because I've seen a lot of big fig trees here.

I think Chuckie is a lover, not a hunter/fighter, wyomingheart!

Denise, I've tried to identify the variety but learned there are a lot of green-skinned figs with pink innards! Hope yours ripen for you; my second one is starting to.

I'm so glad, A....

Sure, Mokihana; shoot me an email (first link under "LINKS").

Susan said...

Oh, boy, that cake looks fantastic! So do those burgers! All eight of my zucchini and summer squash plants died, so I am on the hunt for OPZs (other people's zucchini). I wonder if you can freeze shredded zucchini that's been squeezed fairly dry? Such a beautiful orchid!

Michelle said...

Susan, I have frozen grated zucchini before without squeezing (I think the moisture is essential for its use in recipes) and it works just fine. I just pre-measured it for recipes, because it "shrinks" upon thawing. Also, those burgers are gluten-free so you could enjoy them, too!

Helen said...

I was excited to see some figs on my potted plant and then one day they were GONE! I'll net it immediately next year. Drats.