Walking, quiet out there

 I went for a walk as far as the pond, and had it to myself. No frogs leaping, no ducks, no turtles. Just me and the windblown trees and the water

I wonder how these plants will fit back in the house when it's time

Underfoot is always interesting, not many nuts down this year, but here's evidence if what used to grow there 

Back home, there's an industrious spider, whose web wasn't visible until the sun shone through it and I noticed how big it is. You can see filaments all over the tree 

See her there?

Signs of winter planning here, coleus started in water to be potted up for a houseplant soon. The parent plant is outside, leggy and a bit awkwardly shaped, so I think it can stay out. 

I started it from seed last year, then brought it in to continue as a houseplant, taking it out again this summer. So its descendant is now to be an indoor plant again.

This afternoon's peace was broken into by Gary and the other neighbor and another discussion about the doors. 

At this point everyone's a bit loud and irritated about them, one neighbor also shouting, she talks in a shout, about a couple of other only slightly related grievances. 

We did reach a conclusion about the doors and Gary escaped by driving off for lunch.  I escaped when the other neighbor finally wound down..

I find her wearing, permanently angry and aggrieved, no doubt well meaning, but to an old lady who lives quietly alone, so loud. She's one of those TV on all the time people, constant noise suits her. I probably take her too seriously. Retired teacher, maybe not enough to take up her energy these days.

Happy day everyone, from a quiet home, just crickets and me!

Apricots to cheese and onion, spiderwebs

Yesterday's reading in Apricots on the Nile led, of courses, to the kitchen. The memoir is lovely, old family photographs and anecdotes about relatives, staff, and with inserted recipes. 

This one was definitely for me. Sambusaks, pockets of pastry filled with a cheese mixture. I adapted, making a cheese and onion and garlic filling, all minced together, using the last of the feta crumbles and the parmesan, and a bit of  the cheddar, and an egg 

In the course of making the filling, a random chunk of onion ended up on the page, the first evidence that this is a cookbook.

The resulting dough is enough for twenty, but I froze half of it for a future fruit filling, probably apricot and cranberry or blueberry. Maybe even apple.

Home grown basil, fancy touch 

The pastry is lovely, light and crisp, flaky. That's because it's equal parts butter, avocado oil and hot water. The pastry with various fillings, is a keeper. Could be fruit tarts, too 

This book will be slow going, if this keeps happening. Delicious interludes expected.

And this morning's patio prowl, after a day of torrential rain, showed spider activity

And the zinnias are coming along

*Also the spider wort out front, growing where nothing else will.

*correction, thanks to Ellen's greater knowledge, it's dayflower, commelina communis. Corrected also on spoutible, to thanks from followers there, too.

I expect our local frog and toad population are happy today. Certainly the birds are, after the rain. There was a gang of house sparrows pecking busily all over the path.

Happy day everyone, I hope you get rain if needed. And relief from it if needed. Quite a bit of flooding around here. But thanks to a good power company, no loss of power.