Drones and the Garden

So, many years ago we got onto the "go get a drone" craze and bought this little thing with a camera thinking we would be able to get some good drone shots like everyone was saying you could get.

Suffice to say those pics never happened. This was due to many things.  The most inhibiting factor was the extremely difficult steering of the drone itself.  We at first thought this was a user error.  We'd never flown a drone before and who were we to think it would be just so easy?

Well, after many years we broke the drone back out for some very simple shots.  We figured we couldn't miss now that we had met someone who actually flies drones for a living.  Yes this is an actual job where you deliver goods by drone.  He looked at the little thing and told us how cute it was and that it shouldn't be difficult.......  Then he wept.

Not only is the drone super hard to fly for ANYONE, it's size makes it doubly so.  Within 30 seconds he had nearly lost the drone over a fence. In less than a minute he had crashed it twice and one of the guards fell off.  So no, we aren't necessarily bad drone pilots, we just have a crap drone.

So what about the fact that it has a camera and can take pictures?  Well, due to its crappiness, and low signal strength, if we ever got it high enough to take a good aerial photo, the wind would carry it off into oblivion and we would probably never see it again.

Looks cute hovering 1 foot above the ground though, doesn't it?

Local Cattails

Growing up we did a lot of camping.  So much so that I might go a month before I had a weekend at home.  On the plus side of things though that meant I learned a lot about the world outside of the four walls. Among them was plants.  Of course we had a garden and I was taught a lot about that as well but the wild plants you can harvest and use for various reasons such as the cattail

These guys are on my way home from work. They grow in a ditch near a corn field so they always get some water throughout the year.  They particularly sprang up during the spring rains we had.  And if you've read much of this blog you know we had a lot of it.

These plants are super edible.  The brown cattails can be harvested young and added to recipes in various ways.  These are a bit thinner than the ones we were around down in Southeast Texas.  There they were nearly twice the size of these.  But the one thing I always found fascinating was that the roots are edible.  I've yet to try them but originally I was told they were usable like potatoes.  Looking into this more, they are nothing like potatoes...  They are a grass and they are more like, well, grass.  One site said that after cooking they are eaten like an artichoke, peeling back the leaf areas to eat the starchy stuff at the bottom.

Bird Watching

This is a perfect spot for the cats to look outside and watch the birds.  Of course since there aren't many trees, bushes, or anything else really to attract the birds we've put in a bird feeder a few feet away from the window so the birds can come and not be too close to the cats to be startled by them.

So far we have a few little birds that have found the feeder and water tray below.  The wire basket keeps the seed from getting too wet but at the same time lets the shells fall through.

I'm sure at some point we'll have plenty of things attracting bids and I'll be wondering why I ever though attracting them in the first place was a good idea. For now though it helps keep the cats busy and their minds active.  I like watching them as well so for now it's a win/win.

I think I'll get smaller food though since I think the little birds are more likely to be the ones coming to eat here.

At the apartment we had some feeders but the birds never came.  I mean, like NEVER!  It was sad.  At least we had rabbits hopping around though.  That's something I joked about relocating to the house but that would not be a great idea.  The dig a lot and would wreak havoc to everyone's flower beds.

What's a bird you've always liked to watch?   Leave a comment below.

Lemon Passionfruit Bars

For my wife's mystery series she likes to make recipes for the different books. This one is a lemon and passion fruit bar that I ended up having to finish myself because she had a teaching gig this last week.  It came out pretty good though.  It was supposed to have more passionfruit jam than we had but it still looks good.  The seeds really make it pop.

One of the seeds I'm not so fond of are blackberry seeds.  They just about always get stuck in the teeth.  Also watermelon seeds just because there are so many of them.  We got peaches recently and they too have a seed problem but a much different one.  Many peaches have a hard time removing the pit and much of the peach gets wasted.  I love when they have the freestone peach though, that sucker comes right out.

Talked about passion fruit recently but it was about the vine and flowers, how they didn't really look real in person.  That might be something to grow though since they really do taste good.

What are some other fruits that have seeds that you find annoying or at the least problematic?  Another one for me used to be pomegranates but I've since learned how to cut them to release the seeds (also get stuck in the teeth) without much hassle.

So I haven't actually put many recipes before but for all of you who might want to make this, here's the recipe

Butter, for greasing the pan

1 box (10 oz.) Chocolate Teddy Grahams

6 Tbsp. unsalted butter, melted

For the Lemon Curd

1 tsp gelatin powder

Finely grated zest of 1 lemon

Finely grated zest of 2 limes

½ c. lemon juice

¼ c. lime juice

10 oz. sugar

8 large eggs, at room temperature

6 Tbsp. cold unsalted butter, cut into pats

For the Glaze Layer

½ tsp gelatin powder

10 oz. Passionfruit jam

 

Use butter to grease a 9” x 11” baking dish (which we call our lasagna pan). Line the dish with parchment paper, letting the paper drape a few inches over the long sides of the pan. Set aside.

Place the chocolate Teddy Grahams in a blender and pulse until crumbly. Add the melted butter and pulse until the mixture is the texture of damp sand.  (Originally we tried to use 4 Tbsp. but the crumble was not good.  I think too much was left in the bowl we melted it in.)  Pour the graham mixture into the prepared pan and use the bottom of a cup to press the crumbs down, to make an even crumb layer.  Place the crust layer in the refrigerator to chill.

For the curd, sprinkle 1 tsp. gelatin over 1 Tbsp. water in a small bowl. Set aside for 5 minutes until it blooms.

Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan, combine lemon and lime zest, lemon and lime juice, sugar and eggs.  Whisk until smooth. Cook, whisking constantly, over medium heat until thickened. Remove the mixture from the heat. Add the bloomed gelatin and whisk until it dissolves. Add the butter in batches, whisking until melted.

Strain the curd through a fine sieve over the chilled chocolate graham crust. Spread evenly, then refrigerate for 2 hours or until set. (I left this overnight for a nice solid base)

When it is almost ready, sprinkle the other ½ tsp. gelatin over ½ Tbsp. water in a small bowl. Set aside for 5 minutes until it blooms.

Heat the passionfruit jam in a microwave-safe bowl until warm.  This should be just above body temperature.  Add the gelatin and stir until melted. Pour this mixture evenly on top of the curd layers, gently spreading with a basting brush so that the jam reaches all corners. Refrigerate for 2 hours or overnight.

Once set, cut into bars.

A Chocolate is Announced

Finally have the advanced copies of A Chocolate is Announced!

Honestly it didn't take very long but you know how it is when you've ordered something and there's no tracking number.  The ferret is super cute on the front and the wrap around image is perfectly aligned.  Is should be by now since I've been doing this for years now.

Amber is going to be going back to Hawaii again next week cat sitting and doing a little more research for the new book she's been working on (not a Bean to Bar Mysteries book).

In every book she has a new animal she interacts with.  In book 1 it was her own bunny Knightley.  Since she's had goats, an octopus, a dog, a horse, a cat, and a cockatoo. We almost got a Miniature McCaw years ago but it just didn't pan out.  Of course we've had cats before and now our two new feline friends.  We've also had cockatiels and  parakeets but they didn't last long.

What are some of your favorite pets?  Is there an animal you'd like Amber to use in one of her upcoming Bean to Bar Mysteries books?  If we get any awesome ideas and use it you may just get a free copy of the book it shows up in.  Of course that probably means you've read some of the series already to get a good feel on how it would play in.

Pink Hibiscus



So pretty but this is one plant that I probably won't grow.  My grandpa grew these and cross bred them down in southwest Louisiana where the humidity and temperatures were nearly ideal for these to thrive but even he had to overwinter them sometimes by bringing them into the house due to occasional cold snaps.

Up here we get both colder and hotter so growing them would be an issue.  Not to say you can't grow them since this picture was taken up this way but not what I want to sign up for.

Another plant I do plan to grow and possibly cross pollinate is the day lily. If you've read a bit of this blog you may remember the one I used to have that I had crossed back down south and brought with me.  I should have put it in full sun and kept is alive better but alas it's been long gone. This past week though I have purchased 2 different varieties and plan to put them up front of the house in the planter area.  They should do quite nicely.  I got them the same time I got the fig tree I planted out back.

The fig tree by the way has been in the ground now three days and seems to be acclimating nicely.  I must remember to water it regularly though for a while until it's fully set.  Also the clay soil around here is a bit rough so I amended it with some potting soil and cut it in before I planted.

Morning Glories

This guy was catching a ride on a much larger plant to get some vertical going on.  Cant remember if it was a banana plant or a travelers palm but you can see the leaf peaking out there on the left.

Some of the best flowers are on these kinds of vines.  The passion fruit flowers are surreal.  The first time I saw one I didn't think it was a real flower but a plastic ornament in their garden on the fence just so it didn't look like weeds.

Honey suckle was what we grew up having all around the neighborhoods.  Eating random flower nectar was the afternoon past time for us kids. I still pick up random fruits (pretty sure I know what they are but not 100%) and nibble sometimes.  My wife tells me I'm going to poison myself one day and she isn't going to feel sorry when it happens.  But I know better.  She'll feel a little sorry and make sure it doesn't kill me at least.

Growing random plants is another story though.  Those I'm usually not eating and by the time they get big we can easily identify them.  I do however pick up Texas walking onions though for soups, when I can find them.  They make tiny little onions instead of flowers for the most part and you can collect them and use them instead of having to chop anything.  Super handy.

What do you like to plant or wild harvest?  How often do you get to eat what you grow?  I'd love to hear in the comments.

State of the Garden

This may well put things into perspective.  So far I have a nice hazy vision of what I'm thinking I might want to do with a portion of the yard... maybe.

Right now what I really need to do is mow.  In fact that's what I'm probably going to do straight after I get home so the neighbors don't get upset with me now that we've had more that 24 hours between rains.

At work I was looking at regrading an amenity center open space with lots of grass.  At least that's what it looked like before they dumped 12 feet on top of half of it.  Now I get to figure out how to put in an ADA ramp down the 4:1 slope without it costing much...  I've found though that if  you start at the top and wind a little you can get under 5% down the walkway and although you have to do some cutting and filling along the way it should look nice when it's done.

I'm still evening out some spots in the back myself.  Might need to do it again and make the back a little smoother.  It's so hard to get a nice even slope.

On the plus side, the green onion and rosemary plants are loving the new place and have kept right on going.  The pineapple plant super loves it and is growing a lot more than previously.  The center is getting thick.  I can only hope it might produce a flower and of course a new baby pineapple.  That would be awesome!

And if you're wondering what t hat white thing is in the middle of the picture, I don't have any clue.  I was just holding my phone and the camera came, on as it does, and I accidentally pressed the power and up volume buttons and took a screen shot of the camera looking at something probably in my hands.  But I don't recognize it.

Enough With the Spring Rains

 

I'm sure we're going to want the rain months from now but at the moment it's feeling like a bit much.  The ground is thoroughly saturated and the lakes are filling up to the point that they have to release water downstream.  And because each lake feeds into the next lake for overflow they all have to release at some point.

The gate to the lake at the side of one of the bridges is entirely underwater now.  The sign marking the gate is also now underwater.  Suffice to say you shouldn't try entering the lake from this point since you're bound to hit something you can't see.  A large majority of the trees we had been able to see in the lake, from when it was turned into a lake, are also now not visible.  Of course they're probably mostly rotted but they can still cause damage or at least make it difficult to maneuver around those areas in a boat.

Also on my way home recently I was routed down a road that had a bridge that was prone to flooding so much that it has gates on either side just in case it's under water.  I've seen this before and actually seen the gates in use down around the Venus area.  I had to walk for about 45 minutes to get back to my car since I couldn't find a ride.

Fortunately we're well above lake level by thirty feet or so.  One of the things I looked into when thinking about purchasing a house where we did.  So although we get the weather, we don't get the flooding like we've been hearing about with older neighborhoods where they didn't plan for rain events as much.  Individual houses were built up but not the roads or ditches.

Bean to Bar Beach Vid

 Here's one of the Bean to Bar mini clips.  This one is for book 3 where the mystery is aboard a cruise ship out of the port of Galveston.  This is a busy port in real life and this would probably be a difficult murder to pull off but, hey, this is fiction.