Early Spring

 If  Phil, the Official groundhog of Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, is correct, we are going to have 6 more weeks of winter.  That may be the case in the north half of the USA, but I am not so sure for us down here in the south, as General Beauregard Lee, the groundhog of Atlanta, GA did not see his shadow, and so Spring is on it's way here!  And that is also what my daffodils are saying.  They are 2 weeks ahead of schedule on their growth and blooming.  I figured this out by researching my own blog, (because I always take pics of the daffodils when they bloom, I just can't help myself) I found that they are indeed earlier than usual.
This has been one of our mildest winters.  We have had loads of rain, but that is what Wintertime is like down here.  So far, no ice storms, no snow and no freezing my you-know-what off.  But, Winter is not over yet, and I am not one to speak too soon, or did I already do that?

Early Daffodils 2012

January

I have not felt much like writing any posts lately.  We have had a houseful of company since the start of the New Year, and my focus has been elsewhere.  We celebrated our National Championship win over LSU Tigers and we are now going through College Football withdraws.  Our second son, Josh and family drove down from Pittsburgh to watch the "game" with us and also spent over a week with us.  I love when the grandchildren come!  I am not sure they have ever come before this time of year.  This is our rainy season here, and true to form, it rained, and rained, and rained the whole time they were here.  Fortunately, they (grands and parents) found comfort at the local Aquatic Center and spent some time almost everyday swimming and working out there.  

Josh loves to build fires when they visit, but this time it was nearly impossible to be outside and sit around the campfire making 'smores.  I managed to start a fire in the old cauldron a couple of days near the end of their stay when the rain had ceased, but the wind was fierce.  

Here are a few photos of what it has been like here for the past month.  

Fungus growing on a very large dead Poplar

Wet weather creek

While they were visiting, Kathy, our daughter-in-law, made perogies.  What a process!  She stuffed them with mashed potatoes and cheese.  The Grands pitched in and helped put them all together.  They were delicious!

Casey helping

Kathy, Jacob and Casey hard at work.

Good Luck Food

Every year I make the "good luck" New Years Day food.
In my childhood home we always had pork and sauerkraut.  They say the pork is for progress, wealth and prosperity.
When I moved south I learned about greens and black-eyed peas with smoked hog jowl.
The greens (I prefer collards) represent money and the peas coins, and I would guess the hog jowl would be the same as pork.  I love all these dishes and love making them and of course eating them!
Hope all of you who read this have a prosperous, safe and happy new year.  Thank all of you who follow and leave comments.

The Christmas Coconut

We had a very nice Christmas here at the Compound.  The dinner crowd was smaller than usual and there were no out-of-state visitors this time.  So, it was a little quiet and we enjoyed that for a change.  We had a nice dinner of ham and Marguerite's famous Sugar Cane Bourbon Glaze slathered all over it.
But no food photos this time, instead I want to tell you a story.
In the summer of 1969, a couple of years before I ever met my husband, he needed a summer job to make money for his first year of college at the University of Alabama.  His father had been a Merchant Marine for quite some time now after serving in WWII in the Navy.  He would go off on long trips; traveling all over the world, to make money to send home to his family.  This particular summer he was going to Viet Nam, carrying Army supplies to bases there.  He "got" Bogie a job working in the kitchen on the ship.  They left port from New Orleans (I think) and headed down to the Panama Canal.  Bogie (that's my husband now) was very sea sick, and they were planning on letting him off in California when they got around to there if he did not improve by then, and send him back home.  But, just a day before they were to reach the west coast port, Bogie improved and was able to make the full journey to Nam and back.  I love it still when he tells me about his trip into the war zone.
As they went through the Panama Canal, they stopped at different ports and Bogie bought some souvenirs.  He had always wondered what happened to the coconut bank he brought back from the canal.  Today, he often goes to the consignment shop on base at Redstone, where he works to see what little gems he can find.  He has brought home some interesting things from there.  Because it is on an Army base, people who are moving on bring things there to be sold that don't seem to have much importance the them anymore.  The photos will tell the rest of the story...............

Coconut Bank was still a dollar!

.This was the best Christmas gift ever.  It meant a lot to him and also to me.  It was filled with change too, but the change will stay put in the bank, you would have to break the coconut to get it out, and I am not doing that!!!

Getting ready for Christmas

Fresh out of the oven

Do you have "things" you are expected to make folks for the holidays?  These Tea Rings are one of those expected things.  They are a lot like cinnamon rolls.

Decorated Tea Ring

Pecan Sandies

Fudge

What to do with all that Sweet Gum Tree Fruit

Our Pets

Just like most of you, we have had many pets come through the Compound.  Right now we are down to three; Two dogs, Petey, a mix bulldog/boxer and Buddy, a mix breed mutt.  Before Annie died, she was the boss.  Since then the "boys" have had to figure out who is who.  I don't think they have as yet made up their minds who is going to be the lead dog, but I can tell you that Petey's size has grown quite a bit since Annie is gone.  He has grown into a 3 year old "man."  I am still amazed at how much his build has become more stocky and taller.  He mostly has a very "laid back" demeanor.

Sweety Petey

  Buddy on the other hand, is high strung.  It is very hard for him to relax and if I move outside, he moves.  He hardly leaves my sight.  He had a rough childhood before we adopted him and I think that may have something to do with it.  He came from a fenced in area about the size of a postage stamp to 15 acres of free roaming.  Our friend, Bill, always kids and says "Buddy thinks he has died and went to Doggy heaven!"  He has a wonderful life here with us.  He is older, and I am not quite sure how old; maybe seven or eight.  He is a very loyal dog and I am very happy to have him in our lives.

Buddy is camera shy, I had to get assistance to get this photo!

The boys get along well together and play and wrestle.  Here is a small video (from camera, so it is slow) of them romping about the yard.

And then there is Momma cat.  Here she is just finishing an inspection on the car brakes.  We also adopted her from a family that had moved out of state and couldn't take her with them.  At first I thought Petey was going to eat her alive, but even though they keep their distance, I feel much more confident at this point that he will not.

A Frosty Morn

I love getting out early on a crisp, frosty morn.  The air just feels so clean and fresh.  This particular morning it was around 27 degrees Fahrenheit (-2.7 Celsius.)  As you can see, the leaves are long gone off the trees and wintertime is settling in.  

Looking East to sunrise, and the Fig Tree in the foreground

Looking SW to what was our garden spot

Frosty Bush