Wild and Mostly Wonderful

Indian Summer is upon us, and all is well at Camp Anderson.

The kittens are growing like crazy and fitting in with the family quite nicely. They grow and look more "catty" with each passing day. "Kinky" and "You're Not Kinky" are the only names to have stuck for longer than a moment, though we have learned to tell them apart without having to feel the tips of their tails. For one thing, Kinky always has a dirty nose.

When they went for their baby-shot boosters last week, they each weighed in at 5.75 pounds, and the vet predicts "big cats."

They seem as big as lion cubs when they fly around the living room during their nightly games of chase, using everything in sight as part of a their grand obstacle course. We have been able to successfully dissuade them from bothering our TV and electronic stuff. Most of the time.

They're like kitten angels when they sleep.

A major storm rolled through this area on Wednesday afternoon, and while we avoided any damage here on the home-front, some parts of the county experienced quite a bit of damage with downed trees and power lines, and several homes and businesses in the downtown area suffered damage.

A large tree fell in the backyard of our old family home on Foster Avenue.

In recollecting recent years, neither Jack nor I can remember a storm this powerful, and we were ready to jump into our safe place. Luckily, we didn't get to that point. Luckier still and despite the horrible weather, no one was hurt.

We've had some good things going on in the kitchen, and the local Farmers' Market continues to provide us with a bounty of delicious, local fruits and veggies.

Last week we made the same Spicy Orange and Honey-Glazed Chicken that we fixed for my birthday, but his time we paired it with some delicious cheese grits and okra, which we fried whole.

I used the back of a metal spatula to "smash" the pods until the ribs were all split-open, then they went into a buttermilk bath to soak for about an hour. I dredged them through a mixture of half cornmeal and half cornstarch that had been seasoned with a generous pinch of salt and black pepper before frying them about two inches of hot vegetable oil until they were golden brown.

The outsides were perfectly crisp and the insides were tender and delicious - just the way fried okra is supposed to be.

Late summer has brought color back to our yard with the blooming of wild sunflowers, native echinacea, and statice. Wild and wonderful --

Have a great week, everybody!

All Good July Must Come to an End

And like that, July is gone.

I can't believe how quickly summer is passing, and before long, we'll be digging out our fleecy, woolly, warm, snuggly clothes and talking about Christmas.

Sis and most of my teacher friends had "development days" this week in preparation for the return of students next week - local kids have already done registration - so for many people I know, before summer is even half over, it's over. While I understand the need for kids to get in a full year of school days, herding them back to class this early in the season seems cruel and unnecessary.

Jack and I have a couple of new additions to the family, yet-to-be-named twin kittens I found on a roadside in Cannon County and had to bring home with me. They were hungry and skinny, and the weather was very hot. I initially stopped to save a turtle from the middle of the road and left the driver's side door of the car open with my fast food sandwich (Filet-o-Fish) in my seat for the four dozen seconds it took to scoop the turtle to safety. By the time I got back to the car, a scrawny yellow kitty was all up in my sandwich, and a matching sibling was heading my direction.

No houses are nearby, and one look at the surroundings was all I needed to make the decision to bring them with me. Like I already said, they were hungry and skinny. They were also cute and friendly, and as soon as I started interacting with them, they purred and wanted to be petted.

The first couple of days were all about taking them to the vet for check-ups and baby shots and getting them started on some nutritious kitten food.

Both kittens are boys, and with the exception of one kitten having a kink at the very tip of his tail, they're identical. "Kinky," as we've started calling him is slightly heavier by an ounce or two, and his coat is a teency bit darker than "Not Kinky," but it's damn hard to tell them apart.

They're sweet as can be and seem to have gotten accustomed to the environment. They play and romp and have the biggest time. Especially first thing in the morning. Shew! They can be rowdy. And then they curl up together and sleep.

Our other critters are adapting. They know us. They've been through this before.

The old cats are pretty cool with it because kitten food tastes a lot better than what they're in the habit of eating, and the dogs have the same kind of appreciation for what they leave in the litter box.

Sorry about that, but it's the truth.

In other news, I've spent some time the past few weeks learning the craft of making pies from scratch. I've made pies before but never with enough regularity to achieve consistent results. I've had a pot-pie success here and there over the years, but as far as really throwing down and making a PIE, I'm a newbie.

The BEST Chicken Pot Pie

Fresh summer fruit has provided the perfect opportunity to hammer down some basic skills and figure out the what's-what of creating a classic pastry dough, and I have to say that my most recent efforts are on the above-average side of the curve.

Blackberry pie over July 4th weekend was amazing.

The past two weekends I've taken advantage of fresh, local blueberries.