Garden Tuesday: Rhododendrons!

This rhododendron might be 80 years old. I've struggled to keep it 6 feet high or less.

Please excuse the peeling paint on that shutter.

The flowers are always so pretty for a couple of weeks!

Pear Tart

I'm pretty sure most of you are here for the food, or maybe for Thor. You probably don't care much about the rocks at Vedauwoo, which will be a topic very soon. But, to try to keep you food folk happy, here's a dessert I made Thursday night, when the temperature inexplicably fell to early April levels.

The original recipe called for fresh pears, cored and sliced. I don't know about your households, but mine devours fresh fruit. So, other than the apples that we pick from our own trees, fresh fruit is never used in cooking. It's OK, this came out great, despite the fact that the only semblance to the original recipe, from Betty Crocker's Shortcut Cooking for the Smart Cook, is the crust. And I even changed that around. *sigh* No wonder I can never duplicate anything!

PEAR TART

Crust:
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup flour
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup finely chopped pecans

1 to 1-1/2 pounds sliced canned pears, well drained

1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 tbsp flour
1/2 tsp cinnamon
2 tbsp butter, softened

Preheat the oven to 375F. In a bowl, stir together the flour, brown sugar and pecans for the crust. Cut in the butter until the mixture is crumbly. Press into the bottom of a tart dish or pie plate. Bake at 375F for about 8 to 12 minutes, until the crust is browned (it will vary depending upon the size of your dish and therefore the thickness of your crust). Remove the crust from the oven, and arrange the drained pears in the crust (or just dump them in, as I did). In your bowl, mix together the remaining ingredients until the mixture is crumbly. Sprinkle over the pears, and return to the oven for about 15 to 20 minutes, until the top is bubbly and the pears are tender.
Cool before serving with whipped cream. Resist the temptation to cut it while it's warm if you want a pretty dessert - learn from me. There's a reason there's no picture of this tart looking all pretty with wonderful, highly caloric fresh whipped cream on a pretty blue flowered plate: because it fell apart on the way to the plate. But the way my guys wolfed it down, I'm thinking it didn't matter that it wasn't pretty!

Abe Lincoln is on I-80

This statue is at the highest point on I-80 between the east coast and the west coast. It's right around 8000 feet in elevation. Yes, there are higher points in the Rocky Mountains, but this interstate doesn't go over them. This also happens to be the western end of Happy Jack Road, which runs between here and Cheyenne, right past Curt Gowdy State Park. Yes, it's named for the sportscaster Curt Gowdy, who was a native or something. (We once almost bought land off Happy Jack Road, which is why I know it so well. And in case you love the odd street names, we also seriously considered a house at the end of Experimental Farm Road.)

Note that it was cold enough that the boys' jackets were zipped up. They didn't waste any time getting back to the car, either.

Good thing I have enough zoom lens on my camera to get a decent picture of Abe!

Back to the trip to Colorado and Wyoming. This is the sign welcoming us to Laramie. If you squint carefully, behind the brick building in the foreground, you can see the city of Laramie. There's not a lot to it, other than the University of Wyoming.

This is a restaurant on the main street in town, Third Avenue. I really liked the doors on it. Sadly, it looks like this was another victim of the recession.
This church is the biggest in town. I believe it must be somehow associated with the university, since it's built in the same style, although it's several blocks off campus.
This is a door to the church, as seen from the side street off Third Avenue.
There were a number of little, 1950s-era motels like this one around. Ryan loved the bronc0busting bear on the side of it, so here it is for all of you to see!
Laramie's an old town, no doubt, and very small. But it is interesting! Next week: Rock climbing along I-80 (NO, not ME, silly!)

Beware of Bungee Cords

My dearly beloved had cataract surgery in one eye recently. While he was in the pre-op area, I exchanged pleasantries with an older gentleman; the next day, at hubby's 24-hour post-surgical check, we encountered the same gent, with his wife, who was wearing the same dark glasses as my own beloved.

This man queried how my dearly beloved was doing, and I asked the same question of his wife. "Oh, she can't see, but we're hopeful." Turned out that she had been hit in the eye by a bungee cord, and it had detached something or other in her eye. They live 200 miles from here, and no emergency room or doctor would even look at her.

So, when we went back for hubby's one week checkup, he inquired about the woman whose eye got hit by the bungee cord. The doctor looked blank for a minute, and then said, "Oh, yes. She was lucky; she's gotten some sight back. A lot of people get hit in the eye by bungee cords that snap, and many of them are left permanently blind."

So, bloggy friends, please, use rope, not bungee cords. Thor wants you to keep being able to see his adorable doggy smile.

Thor's Memorial Day

What's a dog to do when his people are being stooopid and hanging out by a hot fire, doing the "toasting marshmallows" thing? Ask politely. Never help himself, of course.
Sit next to your boy in hopes of scoring a graham cracker (without Mom, the Evil Midget, seeing, of course).

Watch your girls and see if they'll share.
And convince your girl that sharing her water is a great idea!
Happy Thorsday, everyone!

Garden Tuesday: Fire

After the winter and spring leave you several piles of downed branches at least this big, what should you do?
Roast marshmallows for Memorial Day, of course!

Happy Memorial Day!

This is Memorial Day weekend here in the US. Established in 1868, May 30 was designated as a day to remember those who had died in the War, and decorate their graves with flowers or other remembrances; it specifically stated that organized remembrances should not be held.

Of course, since them, parades honoring veterans have become commonplace for Memorial Day. And we now use the day to remember all of those who have passed before us, in addition to those who gave their lives defending freedom everywhere.

And, lastly, Memorial Day is enjoyed as the start of summer: We gather with family and friends, barbecue, or even just toast marshmallows, and look forward to 3 months of lazy, hot weekends. As for me, I'm thankful that we no longer have to wear bathing costumes such as this (hubby's grandmother, presumably with one of her nieces, at about age 30, around 1910 or 1911).

Happy Memroial Day, everyone!

Buildings along 287

These pictures are virtually all the evidence, save road signs, that I saw of humans along Route 287. I believe I missed one building, and I missed a train. These pictures were taken along a stretch of about 50 miles.
Many places were quite shabby.
Evidence of crop irrigation. There's relatively little rainfall here; when the snow melts, of course, it simply recharges the aquifers.
This looked to be a pretty vast place.
Windmills often run water pumps for the livestock.

This gas station is right as you enter Laramie, Wyoming. These small, privately owned and operated stations used to be quite common in the US, and they used to be able to fix cars at most stations. Now they're all closed down, and in most places, the buildings have been torn down. It's an unusual reminder of time gone past.

This is the last thing before we entered Laramie. It's doubtless got something to do with processing and shipping agricultural products, since there's a rail siding at the back of it, but I didn't notice a sign identifying it.

Here's hoping you all have a wonderful Memorial Day Weekend! I might see you here; it depends upon how the weekend goes!

Happy Thorsday!

Thor spent Ryan's birthday party sitting right next to Cass, eyeing the cake. Of course, he knows better than to put his head anywhere near the table. Mom's a Fierce Midget and takes her Manners Rules very seriously.

Still, a guy can look, right?
But his Great Red Protector rewarded Thor with cookies while everyone else ate cake, so that was alright with Thor!
Happy Thorsday, everyone!

Along 287, Again

Back to the drive up 287. The blue skies were spectacular. In this shot, it's hard to tell where the snow on the peaks ends and the clouds begin.
This was an interesting crag beside the road.
This is what it looked like when we parked next to it.
As we got closer to Laramie, and higher in elevation, the snow was not only on the peaks, but also in the valleys and fields.
This was taken from a high point on the road.
A mesa in the middle of the rolling fields. There may have been cows out there, but we were too far away to see them. The distances you can see are simply mind boggling to those of us from the East Coast, where the ground rolls up and down, trees tower over us, and the skies are not endless. (There is a reason they call Montana "The Big Sky State," and most western states could be similarly named.)
Tomorrow is Thorsday, then I'll show you some of the structures we saw along 287.

Garden Tuesday: Still Flowers!

My first dogwood tree is flowering. It's pinker than this, but that's the best I could do in the rain.

And this azalea looked dead last year! It had no leaves, and certainly didn't flower; I didn't bother to have it dug up. Good thing, because I guess it just wanted a vacation!

Now, if only the rain would stop...we were without power until 4 this afternoon, which is not a good way to make my household happy. Thor has been whining for hours, and can finally sleep. You all know dogs need electricity, right?