My grandparents lived in an old white farmhouse

nestled in the middle of mesquite filled ranch land...........with a creek in the far back full of crawfish and surrounded by cotton fields. I don't quite remember if Grandma raised many flowers,

but I always have a vivid picture in my mind of her two large Lantana bushes that greeted everyone as they stepped up to the front porch. These two bushes spread the length of the porch and their pink and yellow blossoms were full  with buzzing bees and floating butterflies. When my grandparents moved into town, a few cuttings were taken from the bushes and planted at my grandparents new home and my mother also planted a cutting.

Now I have a large Lantana in my front yard, from that same cutting of my Grandmother's so long ago. It is full of buzzing bees and butterflies of every shape and color. It is in full bloom now and I always think of my grandparent's and their place out in the country when I see it like this.

How about you?

Do you remember special plants of your grandparents?

I would love to hear!

Goodbye, my dearest friend.......

I was not ready to let you go..............

and I want you back.............

just one more cup of coffee, one more smile, one more recipe shared............................

 I will forever miss you............

Alice

12-13-43---------8-21-11

Should you go first and I remain
To walk the road alone,
I'll live in memory's garden, dear,
With happy days we've known.
In spring I'll wait for roses red,
When fades the lilac blue,
In early fall, when brown leaves call
I'll catch a glimpse of you.

Should you go first and I remain
For battles to be fought,
Each thing you've touched along the way
Will be a hallowed spot.
I'll hear your voice, I'll see you smile,
Though blindly I may grope,
The memory of your helping hand
Will buoy me on with hope.

Should you go first and I remain
To finish with the scroll,
No length'ning shadows shall creep in
To make this life seem droll.
We've known so much of happiness,
We've had our cup of joy,
And memory is one gift of God
That death can not destroy.

Should you go first and I remain,
One thing I'd have you to do:
Walk slowly down that long, lone path,
For soon I'll follow you.
I'll want to know each step you take,
That I may walk the same,
For someday down that lonely road
You'll hear me call your name

By A.K. Rowswell

There is an iron skillet with fresh baked corn bread

sitting on the stove to cool, now in the oven is a large pan of country fried chicken, sizzling away. A pot of red beans is simmering on top of the stove, and to go with all of this is a creamy dish of Baked Creamed Corn.  The recipe is on my cooking blog...........My Country Kitchen..................

my cooking blog, that has been long, long,  neglected...............I haven't posted a recipe there in ages!

http://countrykitchenkat.blogspot.com

Many of you already know that I have a cooking blog, but for those of you who don't and want a taste of good country cooking, just click onto the link above and visit awhile! There is also a link on my sidebar if you want to come back and visit in the future.

 I cook constantly............all throughout the day. I always like to try new desserts and breads, and I am always in search of something different to feed my family.  Somehow, through all of this cooking, I have let my cooking blog go to sleep. So today, there is a new recipe.

Do any of you have corn from your gardens............or do you love corn and have some cream style corn ready? I have a wonderful, creamy recipe for Baked Creamed Corn, that is just the best with any dish you decide to make! 

How about you?

Do you have a different way of preparing corn for a meal?

I would love to hear! 

It is a 60 mile round trip into the nearest town

for me to run errands or to buy groceries. So I always try to stay "stocked up" with the basic ingredients in my pantry. However, sometimes, I forget........today........was one of those days. I forgot to buy  aluminum foil. I use strips of foil to place on the edge of my pie crust.........because if I don't, the crust always gets too brown.

I already had my pie mixed and poured into my crust when I realized my shortage.........and then I remembered seeing a wise old cook on TV one day, who prepared and baked a whole chicken .............placed in a brown paper bag.........in the oven! It came out looking wonderful and the brown paper bag never burned. Luckily, I had a brown paper bag in storage and cut strips of it and placed it on to the top of my pie crust edge.

I then placed it into the oven and baked the pie , for the required amount of time.........and look!!!.........a beautiful, perfect crust !!

As my family devoured the pie...........I was thrilled at my new discovery, and promptly wrote down aluminum foil on my grocery list............how about you??

Have you any special baking hints on what you do when you run out? I would love to hear.

Look at this....................that's right !...........it's mud !!!! Thank you all for your prayers for Texas, and for me as I whined about not having any rain. The biggest , blackest cloud pulled up and just sat over the farm grounds........for over an hour and a half..........dumping 2 inches of much needed rain !!

Since I was relieved from watering duty the next couple of days, I put my crochet hook to work and made some plaid pot holders. Now back to that pie................pumpkin..........is there any thing  better??

What is your favorite type of pie?

This is the time I start getting the greenhouse ready

for fall planting and storage of plants for the winter. I am beginning to enjoy this greenhouse with each year that I learn from it. It's hard to enjoy one of these in my area in Texas, because of the extreme heat. It stays vacant from early May thru September. Because of this, ones that I know who also have these, do not enjoy them.

But I am finding ways to make it work. As most of you know,in late fall,  I drape the whole greenhouse in plastic and then place a heater inside of the greenhouse for the winter season. This has worked so well in keeping my plants alive. In late spring, I tear off all of the plastic and remove the heater, and then open the windows and door. I really can't find a realistic way to use it in the summer. I also have problems with mice moving in and eating every thing.  

How about you??  Do you have a greenhouse? What are your issues with it?  

I have also began to appreciate container gardening more. It's funny. I thought that when I had acres of land, I would have acres of every thing growing on them. The drought, the weather and the critters have given me many challenges. With the containers, I have been able to control the weather elements and watering conditions................

and things seem to grow better..............

however, I have placed rubber snakes within the flowers and vegetables, because even the birds are raging havoc on every thing that I try to grow. So far, the rubber snakes have scared them away.......I might use them in the greenhouse to scare away the mice............will it work.........do you think???  

I am thinking of raised beds out in the garden area next year, protected with fencing, and chicken wire over laps with the rubber snakes.

I really like the primitive and country look that the wooden containers give. The flowers and vegetables have a nostalgic look to them on the porches and patio.

How about you??

Do you like to plant in containers..............do you have critter problems?

I would love to hear!

A Texas prairie, for some folks,

is nothing more than an eye sore, especially during severe drought,................

full of thorns from the cactus and the weathered mesquite trees,.......

 rock hard ground, dry drab grass, and venomous creatures, like the rattlesnake and scorpion...........

much of this natural prairie is being plowed under..............for cotton or maize or other crops............leaving nothing but dry dust...........

now.....hang on................

 this is not a post to bicker over what folks do with their land............

and I am not going to be chasing a tractor out in the field with a "Save The Land" sign...........

no, I won't be doing that..............

I will just take care and enjoy the small acreage I live on ...............which to me holds so much beauty..........one just has to look to see it all.  There is so much more to this prairie than the eye can see..........in the above photo is a bush that grows abundantly on the grounds. It is a Joint Fir.

In plant talk, the Latin name.........Ephedra antisyphilitica.

It is a shrubby, squat, conifer. During  a wet season, it has a blue green color.  It is more like a bush than anything.

However, the deer love to eat it..........we had a buck in our front yard last year.......which makes me glad that this bush is growing on our grounds.

Throughout the whole grounds are wildflower ..............and weeds.

However, some , even if they are weeds, hold such a beauty of their own.

I fell in love with this plant/weed pictured above. I have not found the name of it yet,but isn't it cute with the little pod that almost, (to me) looks like a miniature Chinese lantern?? 

This is what it's small bloom looks like.

There is also tall and strong weed- like prairie grass. The rabbits and mice love to hide in this.. Among it grows this plant/weed, with clusters of pale blue.

A look closer and one can see the soft petally flower that grows on it. Even though we are dry as over cooked toast, I still leave a large pan, about 3 ft wide and 2 ft deep of fresh water out where I feed the birds.

 We have quail, two types of dove, road runners and quite a few different type of birds come to bathe and drink daily. I know we also have the scary wild critters at night...........

But I love the fact, that in the middle of this dust bowl...........there is a prairie..........

a prairie,........ that when I am an old lady, asleep in my bed.........

, among the memories of the one I love and the babies that came and grew up............

 will remember and dream about.

That is the sweetest of dreams for me............. 

Salem, my color consultant, is as excited as I am

with piles of of enticing embroidery floss lying here and there.

I have taken on a business offer with my embroidery that I cannot refuse. I am now selling my embroidered items in an antique/consignment gallery in Dallas, that a friend of mine operates.

This coming month I will be offering hand towels with vintage designs on them. After that, I will probably do a few holiday designs. I am looking forward to see how this venture goes!