Summer Ramble

Man, I love summer. Sleeping in, strong coffee, writing, visiting blogs, writing some more, strolling through the garden and then hitting the studio. Maybe some toast with Pilar's Apricot Pineapple Jam and butter.

Look who I found clinging to a corn stalk. I really must read the directions for my camera some day though. I know it has a macro setting but darned if I could find it in the excitement of the moment. Little froggie was no bigger than the tip of my thumb.

This is Mr. Hermanito looking sheepish after his walkabout. Now when he goes outside he has to have a minder. John follows him as he slowly scopes out his territory. Hermo told me he likes his new security guard.

I'm starting to pack boxes of art supplies for teaching at Art Unraveled in Arizona. Check out the studio chaos. Very confusing to keep everything straight and not leave anything behind. I finally figured out how to print and purchase the USPS labels on my computer and to put in a pick up request for the boxes. Thanks to Emma for putting that bug in my ear.

This is a dish of Verdolagas, part of our supper last night. It contains olive oil, crushed amaranth, chopped verdolagas, onion, green chilis and tomatoes. Shredded cheese is suggested as a garnish but we ate it with corn tortillas (it was spicy). If you go here you can read about the extraordinary nutritional benefits of this wonderful green.

(..."contains more Omega-3 fatty acids (alpha-linolenic acid in particular) than any other leafy vegetable plant. Simopoulos states that Purslane has .01 mg/g of EPA. This is an extraordinary amount of EPA for land based vegetable sources. EPA is an Omega-3 fatty acid normally found mostly in fish and some algae. It also contains vitamins (mainly vitamin C, and some vitamin B and carotenoids), as well as dietary minerals, such as magnesium, calcium, potassium and iron. Also present are two types of betalain alkaloid pigments, the reddish betacyanins (visible in the coloration of the stems) and the yellow betaxanthins (noticeable in the flowers and in the slight yellowish cast of the leaves). Both of these pigment types are potent antioxidants and have been found to have antimutagenic properties in laboratory studies.")

Here is John with the wonder plant. Mexicans know this plant as verdolagas but when I was growing up we just called it pigweed.

End of today's nature tour.