my poor broken kindle

broken kindle




cant even turn it sideways, its still missing too much text to read.


the screen saver shows the missing sections too


even with the power off, you can see something is wrong with those sections

wasps

the hive that appeared in my new, partially filled raised bed garden. i came across it accidentally while scooping up shredded leaves to use as mulch.


as close up as i could get of the wasps


from farther away


towards the bottom right you can see a bunch of wasps buzzing about.



bonus picture of molly diligently watching out the front window. with nose prints all over the window. you never know when those pesky bunnies will come out and need to be barked at!
molly watching out the front window (with nose prints on window)

the pears are coming along

luscious pears


parker pear


summercrisp pears


patten pears

bunny tail grass and front gardens

i'm really loving this bunny tail ornamental grass. its so cute!


i dont know if they're perennials here or not. i would like them to be! it says they are for sure in USDA zones 8-11. but i'm in zone 4. it says they reseed themselves, but would the seeds survive a minnesota winter? i dont know. so it may well be only an annual up here.


the garden in front is coming along. the new daylilies all seem to be surviving.


the other garden out front


the lamppost ring is nothing but dill that wont stop reseeding itself. and despite being seeded with at least 24 sunflower seeds, none of them made it. the bunnies chewed them all down. in this picture there are 3 seedlings, towards the right. but the bunnies got those too.

oriental ramen salad

i burned myself making this oriental salad that is a favorite in the family. this recipe comes from my aunt nanette. mmmm good stuff.

break up and brown the ramen in a pan with butter. smaller pieces are better. be careful not to burn them. discard the flavor packets or save to use in something else.


mix up the dressing but dont put it on until ready to serve.


dump the cole slaw mix in a bowl


add the browned ramen


add the mandarin oranges


add the dressing and mix it up. yummy yum. i love all the different crunchy textures.



here's the recipe:

oriental salad
2 packages ramen noodles (any flavor, since the flavor packets are not used)
1/4 cup butter (1/2 stick)
1/2 cup almond slivers
16 ounce bag of shredded coleslaw mix (or shredded cabbage if you prefer)
11 oz. can mandarin oranges, drained well
1/2 cup oil (any oil is fine, olive, canola, vegetable whatever you have)
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1/2 cup sugar
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1/3 cup green onions, diced. (5-6 of them)

Directions
1. Break up the uncooked ramen noodles into small pieces, the smaller the better.
2. Add the butter to a frying pan, and brown the noodles over medium heat. Watch carefully, stir often, and don't burn them! set aside to cool and keep separate until ready to serve.
3. Cut the white bulbs off the green onions and discard. Use the lighter green sections and chop/dice small. You can use the darker green parts if they're firm/fresh enough, but dont use any limp parts.
4. Whisk together the oil, vinegar, sugar, soy sauce, and onions until well mixed. Set aside and don't mix in until ready to serve, or everything will get soggy.

When ready to serve:
4. Combine the noodles, shredded cole slaw mix, mandarin oranges, and almond slivers. Stir to mix ingredients.
5. Shake the dressing up to remix the oil and vinegar, before pouring over the salad. Toss to cover evenly. You may want to hold back the last tablespoon or two of dressing until you see how well coated everything is. Sometimes there ends up being a little puddle of dressing in the bottom of the bowl, but sometimes not.

hostas

my dad dug me up a clump of hostas from his, and i spread them out and planted them on the north side of my house. i'm not sure they'll all survive. when i split them apart, some of them broke off without very much root, but i planted them anyway.

dog park pictures

there is a lovely large fenced in dog park in my suburb that the dogs really enjoy going to.

when you walk in, this is the right side of the park. you can see some of the fence, but then the tall grass starts. its either this tall grass, or other tall plants i've photographed, that keep irritating puppys eyes.


there is a great big hill. you can see the tall grass on the right, and the fence reappears towards the top of the hill.


there is a dog in that tall grass. all you can see is the tail.


puppys tail/rear end. head down sniffing stuff.


molly leaping out of the tall grass. she checked it out for a while, then leapfrogged her way back out.


the other side of the hill has really tall plants that the dogs just adore running thru.


its a little swampy out beyond the fence, cattails grow there. and theres a pond a little farther down.


view of the back half of the park, from partway up the hill. the park is fully fenced in.


front half of the park


these are the super tall plants on the right. thats puppy in front of them.


can you see puppy in there? right in the middle. that stuff is over twice as tall as he is.


close up of the leaves. they're 5 lobed. whatever it is, it dies back to the ground each winter, leaving tall hollow reeds. then grows up just as tall the next year. anyone have any ideas?


theres also nettle in there.


standing in the back half of the park, looking at the hill


standing in the back, facing the front. its a really large dog park.


happy puppy! well on his way to being worn out. see how far that tongue is hanging out!


there are 5 picnic tables scattered about. thats my bag, chuckit, and jug of water on the right. unfortunately some idiots litter and leave behind their water or jugs (under the table) despite the fact that there are garbage bins scattered around. they leave cigarette butts too. i try to pick those up when i see them because i've known some dogs who try to eat them.


run molly run


the city supplies dog poop bags at the entrance (and garbage cans scattered around inside the park), but sometimes the bags run out. so helpful dog park people leave bags of plastic bags tied to the fences or trees in various places.


puppy taking a pit stop at his water bowl. nearly worn out, but not quite


molly is still going


picture of the hill from up front near the entrance. you can see the shadow of the large overhead lights. the park is lit up at night and in winter.


after another 10-15 minutes of running around, we have touchdown. puppy lays down at the water bowl and is done now. all worn out. not getting up.


happy puppy, panting hard


molly by the entrance. there are two gates around the corner behind the trash can. you can see where the excited dogs wear a constant path running right into the park


molly could probably have run around a bit more, but once puppy lays down and is done, she doesnt venture very far. so we go home.