Feeding the Fish



Wonderful Hubby loves to spend time on some of the acreage our family owns.  His uncle purchased the property many years ago.  There is a wealth of wildlife including deer, turkey and rabbits.  We've also seen a few quail and foxes. 

 

 

 

 

 

This acreage hasn't been farmed for a number of years so it's a bit overgrown with wild flowers and various grasses.  What a perfect place for me to practice some photography!

It's a peaceful, quiet place....

This time of year, he visits this acreage several times a week feeding the fish in one of the ponds.  It holds bluegill, trout and catfish.

Sometimes, we see the fish just barely break the surface to grab a tasty morsel.

I think I'm beginning to understand why he loves this place so much!

Thanks for joining us!


Linking to:

http://thetablescaper.blogspot.com/2013/07/oh-places-ive-been-12columbus-circle.html

A Walk Through My Garden

  Last year's drought really stressed things in my gardens but this spring we've had relatively cool weather and ample amounts of rain.  Here's a sample of how my flowers are looking this year.



  My Stella D'oro lilies are bold and bright!

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

     The clematis is blooming, as are the hydrangeas!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  I had to replace several of my hydrangeas after last summer.  I went with the Endless Summer variety.  I've had good luck with these in the past.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Guess you can tell I'm partial to my Hydrangeas!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

   As I round the corner of the house, my day lilies take their turn at blooming. They don't want to be out done by everyone else!

This is a minature petunia. Isn't it pretty!   See the statue of the children in the background?  My teacher friends gave that to me when I retired.  It was the perfect gift  because I had been a remedial reading teacher for the last 12 years, and if you notice, the children are reading!!  It also is a great addition to my 'garden-scape' and something I'll enjoy using in different parts of the yard through the years!

  

 

  I'm also an herb grower.  I really like using them in my recipes.  Here are parsley, chervil and mint.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  I also use a lot of thyme, dill, basil and rosemary.  This year I'm also trying sage, tarragon and fennel.  (Well, I don't think fennel is an herb, but it's a new addition to my vegetable garden this year.  If it thrives, I'll give a report about that later.)  I have some of these other herbs in the veggie garden but also like to grow some on the back porch, just outside the kitchen.  I keep my trimming scissors on the herb bench, ready and waiting.

A planter with thyme, tarragon and chives.



   Now to put the camera away and get out the garden clippers.  I think it's time to bring some of these goodies inside to enjoy!  Thanks for stopping by!

Yesterday I retired from teaching!  I've had many special hugs, parties, emails, even a flash mob(!).  One card contained a poem bookmark that summed up how I hope to live the next part of my life. 

Advice from a Waterfall

 

Go with the flow

Roar with excitement

Let your cares fall away

 

 

Create your own music

Immerse yourself in nature

Stay active

Make a splash!

 

YourTrueNature.com                             

I intend to follow this advice, to the letter!

Here are a few more photos taken the same day I took the ones near our creek.  We call these flowers "Missouri Bluebells" but I'm not sure if that's their real name.  If you know what they're really called, let me know! 

 

 

 

Italian Wedding Soup

I've joined a Facebook Cookbook Club and this month's theme is Italian.  Wonderful Hubby and I will be celebrating our 25th next month (WOW!!) and have been making plans for our 'celebration.'  I have wanted to try Ina Garten's Italian Wedding Soup recipe and this month seemed like a good time!

This soup boasts chicken meatballs and this was the first time I've ever used ground chicken or chicken sausage.  (Actually, my local grocer didn't have chicken sausage so I substituted with turkey sausage.)

For the meatballs:
     3/4 lb. ground chicken  (I used the whole pound)
     1/2 lb. chicken sausage  (I used turkey sausage)
     2/3 cup fresh white bread crumbs (I used whole bread I had on hand)
     2 teaspoons minced garlic (2 cloves)
     3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
     1/4 cup freshly grated Pecorino Romano cheese
     1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese, plus extra for serving
     3 tablespoons milk (which is not pictured here)  
     1 extra-large egg, lightly beaten
     Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper

Place the ground chicken, sausage, bread crumbs, garlic, parsley, Percorino, Parmesan, milk, egg, 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper in a bowl and gently combine with a fork. 

With a teaspoon or small ice cream scoop and drop onto a sheet pan lines with parchment paper.  This should give you about 40 meatballs.  They don't have to be perfectly round.

 

Bake the meatballs at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for about 30 minutes or until cooked through and lightly browned.  Set aside.  (I actually made these the day before, let them cool and stored them in a plastic container in the frig. until I made the soup the next day.)

 

For the Soup:

     2 tablespoons of good olive oil

     1 cup minced yellow onion

     1 cup 1/4-inch diced carrots (about 3 carrots)

     3/4 cup 1/4-inch diced celery (about 2 stalks)

     10 cups chicken stock  (Ina always suggests homemade, but if you don't have it .... store bought is fine!)

     1/2 cup dry white wine

     1 cup small pasta such as tubetini or stars  ( I used acini di pepe)

     1/4 cup mined fresh dill

     12 oz. baby spinach, washed and trimmed

 

For the soup, heat the olive oil over medium heat in a large heavy-bottomed soup pot.  Add the onion, carrots, and celery and saute until softened, 5 - 6 minutes, stirring occasionally.

 

 



Add the chicken stock and wine and bring to a boil.  Add the pasta to the simmering broth and cook for 6 - 8 minutes, until the pasta is tender.  Add the fresh dill and then the meatballs to the soup and simmer for one minute.  Taste for salt and pepper.  Stir in the fresh spinach and cook for one minute more, until the spinach is just wilted.

 

Ladle into soup bowls and sprinkle each serving with extra grated Parmesan cheese.

 

 

We enjoyed this last weekend when the weather had turned a bit chilly for May.  It really was delicious and quite filling.  I thought about serving a salad with it but decided not when I put the whole bag of spinach in! 

 

Ina Garten scores again!!



She's Lady of the Manor: What's with the name?

 

No, I'm not so pretentious to think I'm some high society lady with a title!  The fact is, when I was considering beginning this blogging journey, one of the hardest parts was deciding on a name.  I wanted it to convey the idea that, as I was retiring from the working world, how excited I was about all the new things there were to learn and adventures to experience.  Easy enough, huh?  That's when I realized how many bloggers there were in the world!  Every name I thought of was already taken!!  I can't tell you how many I tried.

One evening as I was working in my Picasa photo program, I came across this picture I'd take while playing with my camera.  It's of a pillow Precious Daughter brought me from a trip to London.  The image jumped out at me and I realized it was just the right light-hearted, tongue-in-cheek title I was looking for!  One that was on the whimsical side.  One that shared whatever interested me at the time or showed a new skill or hobby I was trying out.  ... because I'm the boss now!  "Lady of the Manor" seemed to fit the bill! 

Someone had already snatched up the actual Lady of the Manor user name so I altered it a bit, adding "She's" to it, and my blog was born!  She's Lady of the Manor!

I hope you'll stop by now and then to see what I've been learning and what adventures I've had.  I'll try to include some interesting info on Wonderful Hubby, Precious Daughter and Favorite Son, too.  They make my life so special!  I am one lucky Lady of the Manor!

The memories made along the journey

make the destination even better!


 

Cathedral Basilica of Saint Louis

Early in December of last year, Wonderful Hubby and I took a Christmas tour of restored homes in the Soulard Neighborhood of South St. Louis City.  While in the city, we also went to Mass at the Cathedral Basilica. 

The Cathedral was completed in 1914 and was designated a basilica by Pope John Paul II in 1997 in recognition of its beauty and historical significance.



The exterior of the Cathedral Basilica is designed in the Romanesque style. 



The interior is decorated in the Byzantine tradition with soaring domes and beautiful arches. 

The Cathedral is known for it's incredible mosaic art depicting stories of Christian faith and history.

  

The mosaics are made with over 41,000,000 glass tesserae tiles using over 8,000 shades of color.



The nave and altar areas are quite impressive not only in size but color.

There is also a Mosaic Museum in the lower level which shares information about the construction of the building and the creation of the mosaics. We didn't tour it during this visit but will the next time we're there. The mosaics are truly amazing! I would love to learn how they were created!


Cathedral Basilica is located in the Central West End of St. Louis, Missouri, at 4431 Lindell Boulevard.

Linking to:

Oh, the PLACES I've Been!

Spring Is Almost Here

In my part of the country that's sometimes a tricky thing to predict.  Just 2 weeks ago, we had 12 inches of snow.  And last week, we enjoyed temperatures in the 70's.  I've been out and about in my yard this weekend trying to find tangible signs of the new season and  I may have just captured a few bits of evidence.

  

Daffodils (or Jonquils, as my mother used to call them) are blooming behind our shed. You have to know they're there to enjoy them!

 

Pansies from Precious Daughter.  I think there are a few violets peeking through, too.

Grape Hyacinths around the old pin oak in the front yard. 

  

The crab apple is starting to leaf out.  And look at that beautiful blue sky!

I've even found a little spring inside!   

Hoping you're finding a little spring in your backyard soon, too.

 

 

 

Linking to:

 

Seasonal Sunday