drawing pokeberries

Pokeberries are so pleasing in all their stages. I constantly admire them,study them, and draw them. tune in to their beauty here.

cotton's progress

my cotton looks great.  lots of big white bolls.  as the days grow shorter, the fat brown cotton bolls start to open up and the cotton puffs out.  here’s a look…

victory garden- south

picking up on our journey around

callaway gardens

from last week, we also wanted to share images from their huge 7 acre vegetable garden. known both as

mr.cason's vegetable garden

and also as

the victory garden- south

, it covers a large open site in the middle of callaway gardens.

it is the southern location for the filming of the long-running PBS show,

the victory garden

. there are outbuildings, functional sheds and compost bins, and row upon row of veggies, herbs, fruit trees, and flowers.

seasonal splendor

ingredients:

beautyberry's, castor plant, coleous, marigolds, dog fennel, and cotton.

brunswick stew

this past weekend we went over to a friend's house for a soup party.  she made 3 different soups and we sat out on the front porch and watched the sun go down.  it inspired me to make a big batch of brunswick stew.  it is normally served as a side to collard greens and BBQ.

recipe

1 yellow onion

1 can of tomatoes

2 cups of broth

1 1/2 cups of lima beans

2 small potatoes

2 carrots

1 1/2 cups corn

1 pound of meat;  rabbit, squirell, chicken, pork, ...or i used a meat substitute to make it vegetarian

1 tablespoon tabasco

1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley

chop up the veggies and throw them into a slow cooker and let the stew cook all day.

morning dew

yesterday morning i took advantage of the mild weather and went for a walk.  i couldn't stop staring at the morning dew sparkle like glitter.

cotton leaves

humidity's dropping, and so are the nightime temps. yeah!!  my cotton looks great; big bolls opening up into perfect white clouds.  the leaves are very handsome and turn the prettiest colors in the fall.

butterfly house

we spent a weekend at

callaway gardens

for a wedding over memorial day.

it was actually alot of fun because the bride is of the callaway family, so we spent most of our time in the countryside at their swimming holes and lakes.

but, it was also fun to walk around callaway garden itself. one of their neatest things is the

butterfly center

which is home to hundreds (maybe thousands?) of butterflies.

seeing them close up was a treat, especially for the two year-old that was there with us.

here are some hatching butterflies:

and here are some just flying about:

they have these beautiful watercolor studies in their entrance hall:

fried okra

after months of 100 degree days our okra plants are still hanging in there.

we made a southern favorite;  fried okra.  you only need a couple of ingredients to make this addicting treat. we ate it plain but it is great dipped in a homemade aioli or homemade catsup.  enjoy!

i don't really have a recipe to make fried okra....it is just that simple.  here is how i like to make it......

start by heat up some vegetable oil to about 350 degrees.  put about 1 cup of cornmeal in a bowl and add some salt and pepper.  i also like to add some cayenne pepper but that is up to you!  beat a couple of eggs and set aside until your oil is up to temp. when ready, take an okra and wet it in the egg, then dredge it in the cornmeal mixture and carefully drop it into the oil.  remove from the oil when the batter appears golden.