No. 10, ©voyager, all rights reserved
Jack and I have been on the hunt for the rich reds and oranges of autumn, but today this bit of green caught my eye. Tomorrow Bubba (Jack’s nickname) and I invite you to tag along as we share the showy colours of our very own neighbourhood in an extended Jack’s Walk.
While David’s tulips are most gorgeous, my woods are just as colourful, though the flowers are my potted plants.
I’m going to try something new here and give you a nice video instead of plastering everything with photos. Because I’m taking so many pics right now, it would clog the blog. Please let me know if you like it or not.
I never tire of autumn colours, but the sight of these gorgeous tulips sent in by David from Australia made me more than a little nostalgic for the season of new growth. The white ones in particular caught my eye. They look so fresh and crisp. David Says,
It may be Autumn/Fall up North, but here in the South, Spring has sprung, The Grass has riz. Shot these tulips last week in Bendigo, (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bendigo)
such a lovely sunny day it was impossible to shoot without humans getting in the pics. Enjoy.
Thanks, David. I am enjoying and so will everyone else.
©David Brindley, all rights reserved
This week’s recipe comes thanks to kestrel. Hmmm, too bad we don’t have plums this year. I’ll let kestrel take over:
This time of year I am overrun with plums and like to find ways to take advantage of the bounty. Way back in 1984 I got this recipe from a friend, and over the years I’ve tweaked it a bit to make it more to my own satisfaction. I want to let people know that one of the first things I did was to cut the amount of sugar in the original recipe in half! If having LOTS of sugar is important to you, remember that you could double my amount and still be in line with the original recipe.
Very neat setup
ere I have all the things I’ll need to make plum liqueur: plums, spices, empty jars, brandy and sugar. This is the basic recipe:
1 1/2 pounds (680 grams) plums
3/4 cup (255 grams) sugar
12 cloves
Piece of cinnamon stick
750 ml plain brandyThe original recipe called for vodka, but I felt it was not as smooth as I like when finished, I think brandy gives a better taste.
Destoning plums. Probably everybody’s least favourite part…
Start out by cutting the plums in half and removing the pits. If you are busy, what you can do instead is take a fork and pierce the skins to the pits, in five or six places on each plum. That will work just fine and is a lot faster.
Looks good already
This is a half-gallon (1.89 liter) jar. I’ve put in plums, 3/4 cup (255 grams) of sugar, plus the spices.No, don’t think about it
Now I’ve put the 750 ml of brandy in the jar. Put the lid on securely, and shake the jar. Shake it for a minute, wait, shake a bit more, until the sugar is more or less dissolved.I’m not going to wait those three months, whatever kestrel says
After 24 hours, you can already see the wonderful color developing. Leave the jar(s) on your counter, giving them a shake now and then. This is the hard part: wait three months (I know, it’s very hard to wait so long!) and then strain the contents into a jar. By then it will be a lovely deep purple color. Not only is this nice for sipping on a cold winter evening sitting by the fire, it also makes a nice base for a stir fry. It’s a wonderful gift for the holidays; use a fancy pen to write up the recipe, put the plum liqueur in a decorative bottle, and there you have a memorable and welcome gift.
I only have one question: Would it not be easier to dissolve the sugar in the brandy first so you don’t have to shake the whole jars?
I would love to someday to build a crossbow. It definitively is on my ever growing to-do list.
Not that I feel particular inclination to be armed, but the simple yet not easy to make mechanism of a crossbow (or even a bow) intrigues me.
Tod Todeschini not only makes crossbows, he also likes to share his extensive knowledge about them. Here he uses that knowledge to speculate a bit about how pictish crossbows could look like.
I’ve been in a bit of personal debate recently about whether or not to get me some sort of starter kit to cast things in resin, with the arguments in pro being that you can create beautiful stuff, and those in contra being that I already have half a house full of crafting supplies.
The argument was resolved nicely when one of Marcus’ boxes of wonder arrived this week which included everything you need to get started, including the proper gloves (not pictured).
Oooohhhhhhh…
You can see the resin, moulds, colours, glitter, some of Marcus’ gorgeous abalone shells, some dried and coloured flowers and even gold leaf, which peasant me almost spilled on the floor because peasant me had no idea what it was. I’m not sure about those rectangles, I guess they are a work surface for mixing small amounts with colour.
Of course I couldn’t wait to get started. I thought that this would be a great way to use our “mermaid tears” that we collected at the beach.
Very first bracelet
As you can see it’s not perfect yet. I think I didn’t stir the mixture for long enough and my ratio was probably a bit off. Also the pieces all sunk to the bottom. I think I need to cast something like this is two or three sittings, which will probably test my patience a lot. But I’ve also got a lot of ideas already.
Thank you very much, Marcus. You’re definitely at least as crazy as me, but I love you all the more for it.
So this happened. And yes, snowflake that I am, I find it offensive. Deeply so.
“We are disappointed that the largest retailer in the world and in the U.S., Walmart, does not acknowledge or respect the millions of victims of various nationalities, who suffered under the Soviet regime – those deported, including the elderly, infants and children, political prisoners, dissidents, members of resistance movements and all those who lost their lives, health or family in the Gulag or other repressions of the Soviet totalitarianism,” a letter to Walmart, signed by the chairman of the Estonian Pro Patria party, Helir-Valdor Seeder, Estonia’s minister of justice, Urmas Reinsalu, and the Estonian member of the European Parliament, Tunne Kelam, said.
It’s like some symbols of authoritarian regimes are verboten, while others… are hip and trendy? By virtue of being labelled differently? (And yes, the term ‘communist’ as applied to the Soviet Union bears little resemblance to its application to the underlying philosophy, but this is not that discussion.)
©voyager, all rights reserved
I love the way fallen leaves collect on the ground and flutter with every passing car. They softly whoosh and dance and sometimes my heart swells just at the sight and the sound of them. I can often be found kicking my feet in the gutters and setting them in motion. Jack politely stays on the sidewalk, often giving me a look that says ‘mommy, we’re not allowed to walk on the road,’ but even his good manners can’t stop me. Come dancing leaves, my feet are restless and my ears hear the waltz in your sighs.
Along the path there were also several statues that could be used as resting places. None of them looked too comfortable, but who cares?
©Charly, all rights reserved. Click for full size.
One thing people may or may not know about me: I luuuuuurrrrve horses. Sorry not sorry, I do. And while some of us have had very varied experiences with them, I would like to share something that tends more towards the wondrous grace and amazing beauty of this magnificent animal.
Mari Lwyd by Rhyn Williams, at DeviantArt
Okay, okay, that’s not the subject of this post, but seeing as Halloween season is approaching fast, here’s more info via HyperAllergic on the Mari Lwyd phenomenon. (Very pagan, and I love to see these spooky traditions still maintained today.)
Anyway.
So, in short, I am both happy and sad: I recently discovered a new documentary series on HORSES! on the CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, ha) website.
Here’s the trailer:
And oh my gosh, it’s horses, and wild scenery, and people, and dramatic music and slo-mos, and wow! I thought it was a four-part, but it’s a three-part mini-series (part one, part two, part three). Why so sad? Because the videos are only available in Canada (as anyone not in Canada might have already discovered by clicking those links). The CBC does have a youtube channel, but it’s been no more helpful, because from what I can tell, this hasn’t been posted yet (or maybe it’s because I haven’t subscribed).
The article that led me to this find is here, unfortunately for some reason I cannot find the actual article on my computer so you have to settle for the mobile version.
Our ancestors settled every corner of the planet on foot. But when we harnessed horsepower — roughly 6,000 years ago — the human story changed forever. For clever-but-slow Homo sapiens, the strength and speed of horses was a perfect complement. Horses transported us, pulled our loads, plowed out fields, herded our livestock, and carried us into battle (or sped us away from danger). In ways no other animal could, horses were our constant and irreplaceable companion.
In the age of machines, we still talk about “horsepower.” But horses have lost their central place in human life; we now keep them as pets and companions.
But while their importance in the human world is fading, there are some horse cultures that survive today. In Equus: Story of the Horse, we meet some of them.
The documentary visits Kazakh nomads, the Yakuts of Northern Siberia, the Blackfoot of the Western Plains, and the Bedouin. Some of those horses (the northern ones) are seriously cute.
In honour of all horses who inspire us (in one way or another), here’s a fusion of Mongolian throat singing and traditional Latvian folk music. It is quite something. Don’t forget to enjoy the gorgeous scenery, too!
©voyager, all rights reserved
The weather here has been glorious for the past 2 days. It’s T-shirt warm with cloudless blue skies and it was wonderful to be outside with the sun warming my back. We slowed down a bit to take in all the pretty colours and stopped once or twice to watch the squirrels dash here and there squirreling away their treasure. I think I should grab a book and go sit outside. Housework can wait. There won’t be many more days like this and it would be a shame to waste it.
In memory of Caine, who taught me much about the value of our surroundings and the value of water, and to celebrate Indigenous People Day, because Indigenous People all over the world have to fight for their water, against the black snake of oil and fracking, against the industries that use it as a throw away article, against the companies that will take people’s water and then sell it back to them in bottles..
I am very privileged to life in a beautiful place where I can probably say hello to tonight’s drinking water by taking a walk in the morning. This morning I took that walk and took pictures of the water here.
©Giliell, all rights reserved
The sign telling you that this is a protected water reserve
Small and sparkling in the sun.
©Giliell, all rights reserved
Slowly meandering between the trees
©Giliell, all rights reserved
A footpath with stakes to walk on.
I live in a swamp, that’s why I’m always bogged down.
©Giliell, all rights reserved
Mirror, mirror…
©Giliell, all rights reserved
And finally, should the humans get thirsty, there is a wonderful fountain. You cannot see the actual nozzle, because it’s quite deep, but the water is always fresh and delicious. ©Giliell, all rights reserved
During my photo walk previous week I tried to take “flash at dusk technique” of a dried up stalk of Heracleum sp. A bit before than, when the sun was still shining strong despite being low over the horizon, I tried to take a picture of a late blossom of Ranunculus sp.
However, as it transpired, I must put the pictures bellow the fold.
