Tuesday, May 4, 2021

Just...Life


This morning I could not think of one good reason not to take a walk but I could think of many reasons why I should (including my morning existential angst being up in the red zone), I got off of my lazy buttocks and walked to the county line and back. I saw No Man Lord and we waved and I saw the sweet man who has the motorized wheelchair in another neighbor's yard and we all waved, and I saw that plant you see above. Sorry that the picture is not very good but you can get a feeling of its brilliance. I used my plant identification app on it but I didn't really check it closely and when I got home I found out that it had NOT properly identified it but I'll try again soon. 

The magnolia grandifloras are blooming and yesterday evening my sweetheart brought two of the magnificent blossoms home for me. He tries to find some to pick for me every year around Jessie's birthday because the day she was born we had taken a walk around our neighborhood and he had picked me one which was in a vase of water in our room when she was born and I like to think that one of her first impressions on this earth was the scent of that magnolia. If so, it could explain some of her sweetness. 


I took this picture this afternoon and they have already passed their prime, having already let go of their tiny matchstick stamens. Their scent, however, is still strong and I had them on the little altar table in the hallway but I moved them into the kitchen where I spend so much time in order to enjoy every last molecule of their deliciousness that I am able to. 

It's been a rather lazy day for me, aside from my walk. The only thing I picked was a small head of cabbage which I used half of to make a sort of pickled slaw to go with the chicken enchiladas I am making tonight with leftovers from last night's roasted chicken. And oh- the roast function worked quite well! I was pleased. I've made up the filling to roll into the tortillas but I'm still not quite sure whether I am going to use corn or flour tortillas, salsa verde or salsa rojo. Because I am being lazy, neither one of those sauces will be homemade. I am not feeling the gourmet love tonight. 
Maybe tomorrow I will. 
And since we're talking about food (when am I not talking about food?) I will say that my egg-yolky lemon cake with lemon glaze would grant me easy admission into the old southern lady club. It tastes exactly like something a grandmother would make, perhaps for bridge club. It's moist and lemony, tart and sweet, yellow as the yellowest rose in Texas. 


This morning, Darla had ten eggs underneath her. I need to mark yesterday on the calendar and then the date three weeks from then as 21 days is about what it takes to hatch eggs once the mama has begun sitting. Think about that- three weeks from an egg that you would crack into a pan and fry to a perfectly formed baby peep with down,  tiny feet and wings, a voice loud enough to let its mother know if it is in distress, eyes, a beak that comes with an egg tooth that helps it get out of its shell, and the ability to follow its mother around, to copy her actions as she shows it how to scratch in the dirt to look for tasty things to eat. It's beyond amazing to my way of thinking. 

It is so pretty out this evening. The sun is shining through the new green of the oaks, the pecans, the wisteria, the magnolia. It's coolish and there's a sweet breeze. I can hear the chip call of the cardinals, a hummingbird is darting and dipping its beak into the nectar I have hanging from the bird feeder. I can smell the confederate jasmine. I am reading (with my eyes) the Lonesome Dove series and am about to finish Dead Man's Walk and move on to Comanche Moon. It is a very fine thing to know that I will be spending months with Gus and Call as they traverse the plains and the desert, facing bears and Mexicans, starvation, heat, freezing weather, boredom, terror, Comanches and Sioux, their own ignorance when it comes to survival, their fears, their attempts at finding love. 

I guess I better go figure out what sort of enchiladas I am making. 

Love...Ms. Moon

31 comments:

  1. well, "just Life" is just great! Chicken love, lemon cake love, and the most amazing magnolias ever seen! Lonesome Dove and the homesick blues.

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    1. Thanks, Linda Sue. If you and Stella came over for tea, I would make a lemon cake.

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  2. That sounds like a very full life to this reader. Full of scents and flavors and connections.

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  3. Replies
    1. Only in that it has many, many egg yolks in it. No butter!

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  4. Is that red plant a firecracker plant? Some of our neighbors have them and I’m looking for some for us. And that cake? I can almost taste it.

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    1. Nope. Not a firecracker plant. They have very small red blossoms. Cake is good!

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  5. Is that red plant a firecracker plant? Some of our neighbors have them and I’m looking for some for us. And that cake? I can almost taste it.

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  6. Is that red plant a firecracker plant? Some of our neighbors have them and I’m looking for some for us. And that cake? I can almost taste it.

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  7. Magnolias, lemon cake and brooding hens, bliss.

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  8. Lemon desserts of all kinds are my favorite! That looks delicious! My sister and I will visit Lilacia Park tomorrow and the lovely smell of lilacs will be everywhere there! It will be a sweet day!

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    1. "Lilacia" is my new favorite word. I hope y'all had a good time today.

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  9. just seeing that magnolia blossom is *so* Jessie......I can see the beautiful memories it holds for you. Cake looks beautiful. Gad you saw No man Lord..... I have just finished a whirlwind reading of 7, yes, 7 Willa Cather books....... wonderful writing. Now I am moving on to Jojo Moyes.....both in book form (bedtime) and CD in car....... loving those as well. Sluggish here today with 90 degrees.....ugh. We can only hope tomorrow cools a bit. neither dogs nor humans are meant to deal with this (though you do- with humidity to boot)
    Susan M

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    1. I am not sure I've ever read any Jojo Moyes but she sure has written a lot of books! I'll have to try one. It's been up in the nineties here a few days too. I AM NOT READY FOR THIS! And hell yes- we do have the humidity.

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  10. There are a lot of quite big magnolia trees around here, but sadly, just as they came into their beauty a few weeks ago, a night frost got them all and they turned brown overnight.

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    1. Are they the same magnolia? I know that out west they call what WE call Japanese magnolias, magnolias. Do yours have huge bright, glossy, waxy leaves?

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    2. Yes, they are most likely a different type of magnolia....they don't have glossy leaves!

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  11. That lemon cake is a beautiful color, and I can practically smell the magnolias! I'm not sure about the mystery bush, but I'm sure I've seen it before.

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    1. OK, I dug around on Google and I think the red-flowered bush is this:

      https://plants.ifas.ufl.edu/plant-directory/sesbania-punicea/

      Invasive in Florida, of course. :)

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    2. well, scratch that, no moist wet environment here.

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    3. HA! I was counting on you, Steve, to identify it and you have not disappointed! Susan M

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    4. Thanks, Steve! Yep. I think I've posted this plant before and even probably ID'ed but of course I've forgotten. But I do recall thinking that it was invasive. Can't believe it's not growing in my yard because every other damn invasive is. Thanks for doing the detective work.

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  12. my magnolia is blooming too as are all of them on this street of which there are many. can't reach any of the flowers on mine yet. I was thinking I would get one of those red flowered plants until Steve identified it. it is pretty though.

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    1. The tree in our back yard is so tall I can barely SEE some of the blossoms, much less pick one. You'd need a crane.
      That flower is actually a brilliant, deep orange rather than a red. That's what it looks like to me, anyway.

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  13. That cake looks just wonderful - any chance of the recipe? And who eats all these wonderful cakes? Is it just Mr. Moon? I love to bake but unless I give some of the cake away it would get wasted!

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    1. I based my cake on the recipe here:
      https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/7388/egg-yolk-sponge-cake/
      But I used lemon instead of orange.
      As I said, I made two cakes and one is in the freezer. We've only eaten half of the other one. They're both pretty small.

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  14. I find plant apps hopeless - a great idea but just not up to the job. A bit like some of my blog posts!

    On the other hand this fine writing painted a picture...

    'The sun is shining through the new green of the oaks, the pecans, the wisteria, the magnolia. It's coolish and there's a sweet breeze. I can hear the chip call of the cardinals, a hummingbird is darting and dipping its beak into the nectar...'

    Thanks for that.

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    1. The best plant app I've tried and the one I use is called "Picture This." It's mostly right but I guess I didn't really get a good picture of that particular plant. As you can plainly see.
      Thank you for liking my writing! And thanks for visiting here and taking time to comment.

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  15. It may be a trumpet vine. Does it send up little vines all over the ground?

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Tell me, sweeties. Tell me what you think.