A Symbol of Peace

Hello Friends,

What we have here is an olive branch, or at least an olive twig. Nope, no olive trees growing in my yard. This was plucked not from a tree, but from a can of sliced black olives. It was well preserved and flexible, almost as if it was just picked instead of having gone through the canning process.

I placed it along side hubby's salad, explaining that it was an olive branch that was in the can. Now oftentimes you find bits of stem from green beans or other canned produce, but this was definitely a first. He wondered if perhaps it had been put in there intentionally. My thought is no, but it is a nice idea as the olive branch has long been a symbol of peace.

In the Genesis, Noah sent forth a dove to see if the waters had dried up upon the land. The second time the dove went out, she came back with an olive leaf. She was released a third time a week later and did not return. The olive leaf represented the peace of God sent out from the heavens.

Also, from the book of Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were often depicted in early Christian art with a dove and olive branch. These were the three men thrown into a fiery furnace, but they did not burn, saved by faith.

In relatively more modern times, the United States, after declaring independence in 1776, created the Great Seal. In addition to the bald eagle, stars and stripes, it shows the eagle clutching an olive branch in his left foot. On the branch there are 13 olives and 13 leaves.

U.S. Great Seal by By Andrew B. Graham

Other countries, including Cyprus, Israel, and Eritrea, as well as the United Nations, also have the olive branch on their flags or other national emblems.

Knowing some of the history of the olive branch makes finding that small twig in the olive can even more special. Peace to all of you.

Until next time, stay safe and stay sane.

They Have To Lie

Hello friends,

There is always something going on isn't there. As my mom would say, if it's not one thing, it's another, and that pretty much sums up the country and the world on the whole.

What isn't lacking is the hate and lies that are constantly spewing forth like an overactive volcano. For example, certain party members and, of course, the media, are jumping on the tragedy in Texas and railing about budget cuts and staffing shortages. Why? Because if the President hadn't cut so much money from the weather service budget, then the tragedy never would have happened. If he hadn't fired all the weather forecasters, then this horrific event never would have happened. It is all his fault! Blah, blah, blah.

Wrong! That is all lies and nonsense. In the first place, any budget cuts have not even gone into effect. Secondly, there were more than enough forecasters on duty for the weather event. They generally run with two, and bump that up to five for significant weather events, calling in extras or requiring overtime. 

So, no, that did not effect the forecasters' ability, but they have to lie...it's who they are.

Then next up in the blame game is "climate change". Ah, but we know better. Climate change is a man-made, bureaucratic hoax to manipulate the minds of the masses into believing that we are somehow responsible for global warming, cooling, etc. Don't get me started on geoengineering, and what that could be doing to the weather...trying to fix something we did that we really didn't do in the first place. Oy!

At any rate there are several factors that led to this tragic event. One, it happened in the middle of the night when everyone was sleeping. Likely no one even heard the warning since cell service is between spotty and non-existent in that area. Also, I doubt that anyone had a weather radio either. Sirens? Nope. 

To credit the forecasters, they put out watches and warnings and then an emergency flood warning to evacuate immediately which I think went out about 4 a.m. 

Since the camp was so close to the river, it would seem that an evacuation plan could have been in place in the event of an emergency. Perhaps someone could have been on watch monitoring the weather with a way to communicate quickly with other adults. This is just speculation on my part. Maybe it would have a difference, maybe not. I suspect plans and procedures will change now, though.

We all say that things like this shouldn't happen, but they do. That is the way nature works and given the wide shallow river, the amount of rain and the fact that it is in hill country, flooding can happen quickly. It has done this multiple times in the past. What made this more deadly is that it happened at night.

It is devastating for the families and the community, and our prayers are with them, as well as all the search and rescue personnel. They have seen things that they will never forget. 

Until next time, stay safe and stay sane.

Eyes On The Garden, Folks!

Hello Friends,

Garden news: Each of my pepper plants are producing and the cherry tomato is loaded. The Better Boy probably has a baker's dozen and the Celebrity is bringing up the rear.

Sadly, the squash are not squashing yet. Had a few small ones on the zucchini, but they never developed. Also, the cukes are not as tasty as I'd hoped. Here is a picture of the one I picked today. I spotted it Friday and said it would be ready to pick in a couple of days. It is now Monday and it has tripled in size since then. This is the Straight Eight variety. 

I had eagerly awaited the first ripe tomato and remarked to hubby that it would be ready soon. Today was the day. I reached in and plucked out a small but otherwise ripe and ready tomato. 

Alas, I turned it over and this is what I saw.

The cardinal rule of gardening is that you must keep eyes on everything every day. Sometimes multiple times a day. It is however hard to see what is happening on the bottom of every tomato. In my defense, they grow in clumps in the center of the plant inside a four-foot tall cage. I must reach inside a 2" by 4" opening the welded wire fence to harvest or prune away dead leaves, the latter involving getting scissors in as well. I may need to rethink some things next year. 

I have some organic fertilizer to put out and that might help. I think I also have some calcium spray I can use. Blossom end rot results in two things, both involving calcium. Either there is not enough in the soil, or there is insufficient uptake.

The storm that came up through SC dumping copious amounts of rain in some areas only gave us 0.4" of rain, so back to watering this evening. Sigh!

I had planned to do a roundup of all the good news on the national and political fronts back before the holiday, but that, as they say, is old news now. Maybe I'll do a post with my take on some of the highlights...we'll see.

Until next time, stay safe and stay sane.

Speaking of Herbs

Hello Friends,

In the continuing saga of gardening 2025, here is a rundown of what's growing in my herb garden.

New this year

English Thyme
Lemon Thyme
German Thyme

Garden Sage (wide leaves)

Italian Oregano

Sweet Basil

Parsley

From previous years

Sage

Chives

Greek Oregano

Lemon Balm

Rosemary

There is also a small pot of dill waiting to be transplanted.

I have an interesting recipe for you. Now please stay with me on this because it will surprise you.  

La Tagliata (Italian grilled flank steak)

2 lbs. beef flank steak

Freshly ground black pepper

4 TB extra virgin olive oil

4 anchovy fillets

2 Tsp. finely chopped garlic

3 TB finely chopped Italian flat-leaf parsley

Salt.

Put the olive oil and anchovies in a small skillet and place it over medium heat. Stir with a wooden spoon and cook until the anchovies begin to dissolve. Add the garlic and cook for another minute. Add the parsley, stir for another 30 seconds, and remove from the heat. **After making this for many years, I don't measure anything.**

Slice your cooked steak against the grain, and serve with the hot sauce. 

The sauce is the focus of the recipe here, so my comments on the steak is to cook it to medium rare and slice it on an angle against the grain. This will make it more tender.

You can also use flat iron steak or my favorite, skirt steak.

This recipe comes from Every Night Italian - Giuliano Hazan

Also, check out my post from a few years back: The Secret is in the Seasoning: Herbs and Spices.

Enjoy the recipe and until next time, stay safe and stay sane.

First Summer Garden Update

Hello friends,

I have a garden update for you today. The tomatoes (Better Boy and Celebrity) have nearly topped their cages and have little green maters on them. Everything is showing promise, even the zucchini, which up until a few days ago only had male flowers.

We had been getting regular thundershowers with enough rain to keep things going with out watering. Cue the arrival of a major heat wave with plenty of sunshine and temperatures in the mid to upper 90s. I had to put shade cloth over the poor cukes yesterday, and 15 minutes later they were in the shade. Don't worry, it's not climate change, just summer.

I'm not a real morning person, so watering happens later than I'd like, but I do try to keep most of it off the foliage. My straw was not what I normally get and it molded, so some of my plants do not have mulch yet. Lesson learned...don't get that again. Only got it because it was all they had and I needed straw. Argh, still need more straw or something. Never use the colored mulch in the garden. I haven't looked for data on that, but the dye stains clothing, so I can't think it is good for plants.

I have been enjoying my expanded herb garden, and hubby has been getting some in his nightly salad. Maybe I need to do a post on just herbs and include a favorite recipe. You will be surprised.

At this moment in time, the temperature in our neck of the woods is 94° with a heat index of 109 reported from a nearby weather station.

Wherever you are, I hope you are staying cool and hydrated. Until next time, stay safe and stay sane.

Update, I noticed after putting this post together that I had gotten my finger in two of the pics. Too hot to do a retake!