Thursday, August 30, 2012

Thursday's Thirteen: Harvest Season

We live in the middle of a almond orchard and it's Harvest Season which means...

*All photos were taken by me or my daughter

1. All these lovely almond blooms
2. That opened in the early spring time...Fell off.
 3. The nut has matured during the long hot summer.
 4. And the almonds have dried and the outer shell popped open
 5. Dried Almond
6. Almond cracked open and ready to eat.
The Harvest begins on Thursday Aug. 30, 2012, which means I get woken up bright and early by the machines shaken the bejessus out of the trees and hear the hiss of almonds hitting the ground.
7.  In my home garden, we're also grown tomatoes
8. Green peppers
9. Which turned finally to red peppers
My daughter cooked them with chicken and pasta, yummy.
10. There's several orange trees on the property, which makes an awesome orange Julius.
11. My husband and daughter's favorite, grapefruit. 
12. We have a few strawberry plants
13. Which keeps us in strawberries, yum!

Do you do anything special during harvest season?


Saturday, August 25, 2012

Neil Armstrong--First man to walk on the moon

Neil Armstrong, passed away following complications resulting from cardiovascular procedures, age 82.

It was sad to hear about Neil Armstrong. I still remember being woke up by my parents, to watch Neil Make his "Giant leap for mankind" on the moon in 1969. I was eight at the time, which I suppose dates me.

Thursday, August 23, 2012

Thursday's Thirteen: Random Photos From Around My House


 1. Humming birds at our feeder
 2. Blooms on our Crape Myrtle tree
 3. Sunset and wind chimes
 4. Our dog Snaps
 5. Our cat Freya and dog Snaps hiding from me because they didn't want to go outside. The brats.

 6. My container garden
7. Peppers
 8. Nearly ripe tomato
 9. Mystery footprint in the sticky trap
10. Almond bloom
 11. Fancy daffodils 
 12. Yellow Daffodil 
13. Almond blooms against the sunset

Wednesday, August 15, 2012

My post on Good reads

ForerunnerForerunner by Andre Norton


I just finished Forerunner last night and feel a little disappointed. I've read Andre Norton since I was in HS and I'm found of her work. I've always loved her strong female lead characters.

Forerunner is written from the POV of the main Character Simsa, who is raised among the Burrowers (simple people who live underground and dig for treasure in old part of the city).

Simsa's black skin and white hair marks her as different. With little to no education, and raised by an old woman who never told her anything about her history, Simsa has to make it on her own after the old woman dies.

When the Starmen come, Simsa sees an opportunity she's been waiting for.

After she sells some old broken trinkets to the Starman Thom, Simsa finds herself in trouble with a local crime boss. She then sets out on an adventure with Thom as he goes in search of a long lost city and his lost brother.

In the end, Simsa finds out who she is and discovers more power than she's ever dreamed of (which reads like God in the machine).

I found the dialogue stilted and the ending abrupt. After a long rambling speech by Simsa, it's as if Norton said that's it, and the book just ends with no real conclusion to the story.


View all my reviews

Friday, August 10, 2012

Furry Friday

Here's our little dog that I let in for company, who's sleeping on the job. 
(one of my self-made photos)

Saturday, August 04, 2012

Caturday

Here's one I made myself out of an old photo of two cats we used to have.