Tomatoes and Garlic

Tomatoes and Garlic

Welcome to The Rancher’s Daughter

The holidays are now upon us, tomorrow is Thanksgiving. The weather is still very pleasant. Today we enjoyed a nice family game of badminton on the front lawn. The leaves are about half fallen and I can sense the air changing and the impending winter.

I had to face facts today when LB bought a new ash dump door and fireplace grate. He has wood chopped and stacked. I do enjoy a crackling warm fire when it gets cold, but it still reminds me that summer is gone, fall is leaving soon, and gray winter days with leafless trees are just around the corner.

The woods behind the house are absolutely gorgeous right now. It is a wonderful feeling to be able to see them all day long from my office window. During the summer and fall, all we can see all around us are trees. When the leaves fall and winter arrives, the trees stand naked in the woods and it is the only season of the year when I can actually see any traffic on the dirt road on the backside of our property.

I cannot see much in the way of details because of the distance, but I can see a big difference between summer and winter.

We’ve had a few chili days, enough to warrant the beginning of soup and stew season around here. So far we’ve had homemade chili, my delicious chicken stew, homemade beef stew made with tender beef tips, and my momma’s homemade vegetable soup recipe.

I took a little time off to sort through my recipe books and get things a bit more organized. I do enjoy crock-pot cooking and will post some great recipes using that handy appliance in the coming weeks.

I have experimented with my Cajun Gumbo recipe and it is now absolutely delicious. I’ll make it a point to get that posted as well.

I did take a final swim the first week of November. I had to wait until the sun was just over the pool, and the water was cold but refreshing. LB finally drained it about a week ago, and I’ll miss it so much until we fill it again the first of May.

I think what I miss most of all is the sound of the waterfall and the spinning water wheel. LB had it set to power up every morning around 9, and it ran all day and then shut off in the evening. You get really used to hearing those sounds.

It is sort of like living by a train track. Many years ago when I was very young, I rented a small house beside a railroad track. In the very beginning, I thought I’d go crazy with the sound of the trains going by throughout the day and night. After a while, though, I loved the sound, and it got to the point that I slept better hearing the trains. When I did not hear the trains going by, something did not feel right.

Even though I was grown at the time, I still enjoyed placing coins on the rails just before the trains passed. After the train went by, I retrieved my flattened coin, which was very warm, almost too hot to touch. It always amazed me that the coin stayed in place until the train wheels reached it.

Now I am yearning for the sound of a train to pass by.

I still have blooming impatiens outside my office window in the flowerbed, and two pepper plants that just keep hanging on. LB and I harvested the last of the peppers about two weeks ago and I made homemade pepper sauce and pickled pepper eggs. I’ll make a note to post that recipe, too.

I have a ton of pictures I’ve taken for recipes and just can’t seem to get them posted, but I’ll make it a point to do that during the holidays. I have so much work to do, but I know I work too much and should take more time off than I do.

For now, enjoy the holidays, cook something tasty, and visit us often. Wishing you a blessed day from the Deep South, down here in Sweet Home Alabama.

the Rancher’s Daughter