Monday, July 5, 2010

misc Monday July 5

It's been usually warm up here in the NC Appalachian Mtns - low-80's. Our local weatherman says, "Dry and hotter weather is the theme this week. Drought will be on the minds of many as the week wears on without any July rainfall."


I put that chili over some pasta and asiago cheese, fairly good but,


now wish I had stuffed the rigatoni with some homemade goat cheese.


June's udder is getting lots of action


June went picking and SweetPea was babysitting all 4 girls.


blue-eyed Sundance, a wether, is June's son from 2009, her 3 girls from 2010 will be the dark gold/white coloring like him which I like. In goats, I go for the golds/reds/whites although most Nigerian breeders like a large variety of colors and patterns.


two young pullets - Silver-laced Wyandotte and a Delaware


I cannot for the life of me find two pimento-cheese containers. The good stuff, http://www.augustascreations.com/ , that's usually $6 per container but 1/2 price for $3 per. While unloading the groceries, I had 'em in my hand, but poof they are gone, vanished.

We were both off from work today so I spent the hot part of the day cleaning and reorganizing the kitchen. I tried to recruit Mike to help me but he was "too exhausted" and ran away. Can't find the pimento cheese but I'll tell ya what I did find, 5 cans of beets. I'll remind you that I live in a RV. What in the world am I doing with 5 cans of beets, we aren't exactly big-beet eaters. I must've had a craving for beets one day, didn't have any, and by gosh, I was never going to be without beets again.

I added in some apple-cider vinegar and sugar so I'll put some on a salad tonight.


Here's 5 boxes of tea.


digging around a little, I found a bunch of stuff but still can't find the pimento cheese! I'll just have to make my own I guess.

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups extra-sharp Vermont white or yellow cheddar
1/4 cup pimento - drained, finely chopped
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
½ teaspoon Tabasco sauce
Salt
chopped Vidalia onion
************************************
[now I segue from a pimento-cheese recipe to complaining about black flies]
I take pride in that I like to live in harmony with the wildlife up here, even insects, however, I have had to declare war on the black flies, they have bit the shit out of me for the last time -

Black flies are persistent and irritating pests which swarm around humans and other animals. including livestock, poultry, wild birds and mammals. Their biting can disrupt outdoor activities at home, recreation and work areas, as well as impact on livestock production. Black flies get into the nose, eyes, ears and mouth and crawl into clothing when abundant. On cattle and horses, the ears seem to be the favorite feeding location. Flies lacerate the skin and suck blood. A strong anticoagulant in the saliva facilitates bleeding of the host. A lesion may form at the bite and the bitten area itches [miserably]. http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/ent/notes/Urban/blackfly.htm
I have brought out the arsenals:
Can of OFF spray


FLY TRAPS


and I'm packing the heat too, to be continued...

7 comments:

Melodie said...

Well I am sure envious of your temperatures! It will be months before we get low 80's ...in the day time anyways! The babies are just as cute as they can be!

Anonymous said...

You know, ever since Hurricane Alex swept up from the Gulf, making a long pass over Oklahoma, we have had tons of rain and hundreds of flies. They hover all around my front door and dart in the minute someone comes or goes. I'm sick of them! May need to bomb those pests!

Liz

Kelly said...

We have wicked black fly season. I love it when we have a breeze. The little nasty buggers can't attack. We have had temps in the 90's. Trying to keep cool water available to all the animals. Oh, and us too.

Alison said...

If you come down here and straighten out our pantry, I will get Miss Chef to finish off your beets! If Mike was "too exhausted," where did he get the energy to "run" away? :)

Let us know how that personal clip-on bug repellant works. I was eyeballing those in the store the other day. Would be better than coating myself in chemicals, I think.

Anonymous said...

The baby goats are just too sweet for words this year. Love their colors.

We are using OFF when sitting on our front porch. I've even taken to wearing long pants as I'm tired of mosquitoes crawling up my shorts and biting me on the butt!

Di

Mom L said...

I'm so very proud of SweetPea! Who would ever have thought she'd willing look after 4 babies, even if her back is turned to them in the photo!

Your kitchen assault reminds me of packing to move here last year - while cleaning out the tiny pantry in my apt. kitchen, I found 3 boxes of salt and other unnecessary multiples hidden in the back.

Nancy in Iowa

Jennifer said...

Just catching up on your blog, sorry I have missed so much while our high speed internet was down! The flies are terrible here this year!