So much for the idea of more frequent postings…

One of the things that I’ve been doing other than actually working on this site has been cooking, and one of the things that’s been fun to be working with is the garnet yam:

• 1/2 Pound each: garnet yam, Yukon gold, red and purple potatoes. Dice to uniform half inch squares
• 1 Large celery stalk, finely diced
• 1/4 Cup shallot, finely diced
• 1 Small Jalapeno pepper, finely diced
• 2 Hard boiled eggs, peeled and diced
• 2 Pieces of bacon, cooked crisp and crumbled
• 1/4 Cup champagne vinegar
• 1/3 Cup mayonnaise
• 1/3 Cup sour cream
• 1 1/2 Teaspoons coarse ground mustard
• Salt and pepper to taste

Put the potatoes in boiling salted water. Add The yams after the first few minutes of cooking time. Once done, drain and toss with the vinegar and allow to cool. Mix everything together in a large bowl. Add the mayonnaise and sour cream in small portions. You may need more or less, depending on how much moisture is in the potatoes. Allow to sit for at least two hours in the refrigerator. Adjust seasonings and serve chilled with fresh cut chives over the top.

I was using Photoshop to tinker with the contrast and highlights on this shot when the insides of the bee just sort of appeared out of thin air.

If you look closely (you can click to enlarge the image) at the base of the stone arch bridge you’ll see a guy who’s busy fly fishing in the Mississippi river in Downtown Minneapolis. Then you also see the high tension power lines over his head, and the power plant smoke stacks and you wonder, would I want to eat those fish?

Be the rain likes butterflies.

www.monarch-butterfly.com

We planted a new tree on the boulevard in front of our house last weekend.

From the day our old maple was marked for removal (More Trees Please and Red Band Redux) to the day we put the new one in the ground was just over 10 months. Having paid out of pocket to have the stump ground out, and also paying for the new tree did help to expedite things. Plus, we got to pick the species (Autumn Blaze.)

We found this sitting on a pile of compost that was left behind after the city had removed a dead and hollow tree along the river. All the plants, animals, bugs and the inevitable pieces of plastic that ended up inside the sheltered trunk came pouring out as the tree was cut off at the base. Sort of a natural time capsule that was opened up after who knows how many years.

I thought maybe posting number 100 would be a good time to give a little credit where credit is due.

Neil Young.

This site is named after a song of his. Postings also sometimes take titles from his work (Down By The River, Birds, One Of These Days, Sleeps With Angels, Rust Never Sleeps, Harvest…)

A great artist and a great friend of Mother Nature.

Cheers Neil, and Thanks.

Needed a little time off  from postings.

Back now, hopefully with a little more regularity. Took this shot of our local hydro-electric feature. The water at the base of the dam is teaming with fish feeding on algae, and then of coarse the heron, hawks, falcons and eagles all stop by for a snack.

I don’t hear much talk of this dam being controversial, but others sure are. Here’s a good example of one group trying to reverse the ecological impact these structures can have on the world around us: http://www.hetchhetchy.org/

7.4.’91 – 7.13.’10

Rest in peace buddy.

I did a posting last year that talks a little bit about free food in the public domain (Harvest). This time though, I can get specific, and point out that right now you have a good chance to make one hell of a nice mulberry pie if you go up to 34 Crocus Place here in St. Paul. Plenty of ripe fruit hanging out over the street just waiting to be gleaned.