Mondays, they're like that

Man, I do like to hear this kind of "mountain talk."  Some of these terms I even recognize, to my amazement.



Saw this over at Ace's.

Man, the baby goats are popular at my house!

The 18 year old has them both drinking from a bottle nicely, and they hang around us and let themselves be caught without problem. 

They have been "baaa-ing" so much they are hoarse!

Great fun!

Someone has been very, very bad!

This tells you all you need to know about the Obama administration, and the fate of the nation should he manage to fool enough people into voting for him next November.

Trouble

 Although liquids freeze and evaporate quickly into the thin atmosphere of Mars, persistent winds may make large sand dunes appear to flow and even drip like a liquid. Visible on the above image right are two flat top mesas in southern Mars when the season was changing from Spring to Summer. A light dome topped hill is also visible on the far left of the image. As winds blow from right to left, flowing sand on and around the hills leaves picturesque streaks. The dark arc-shaped droplets of fine sand are called barchans, and are the interplanetary cousins of similar Earth-based sand forms. Barchans can move intact downwind and can even appear to pass through each other. When seasons change, winds on Mars can kick up dust and are monitored to see if they escalate into another of Mars' famous planet-scale sand storms.

Below, similar barchan dunes here on Earth, specifically in the empty quarter of Saudi Arabia.

Let us pray...

Saturday night cabin.

Door looks new.

Very nice.

Saturday night freckles.

Ok, after working half a day, meeting with some college consultants, and doing a little yardwork, I got going in the black bean chili recipe I found the other day on Every Day Dutch Oven.

I deviated from the recipe by buying dry beans, so I had to soak them overnight and then simmer them for a while today. At the store, I couldn't find any Swiss Chard (man in the store, you know!), and settled for something called "Green Chard," which looks about the same.  Finally, I found some old cube steak that had been in the freezer since, I dunno, 1978?  I figured the boiling and such would serve to soften it up just right.

Well, I can tell you that things worked out quite well.   Even the 18 year old, who is notoriously finicky about her food, declared that it was "pretty good."

Above are the basic ingredients in the Dutch oven, ready to cook for a while.   Looks good right there, and the cumin and red pepper powder smelled flat out fine.  That always bodes well.

Just at the last moment, the green chard went in.  That turned out to be the proper timing, as it barely cooked them, and avoided the limp rag effect so easy with fresh greens like this.  I'd bet some beet greens would be outstanding as a substitute.

Add some sharp cheddar, and some sour cream, and you have a feast fit for a cold snowy day.... or even a nice spring day like today.  I declare this a success, and Lid Lifter says it is even better a day later when all the ingredients have had time to mix and simmer together!

Recommended!

Perseid meteor from above, as viewed from the International Space Station.

This is so very appropriate.

President Scooby Snack has cost every American family and person thousands of dollars due directly to his policy of raising the cost of fuel of every type. 

Because the cost of power goes into everything, through manufacturing, transportation and extraction, nothing has escaped the President's effort to impoverish a nation he hates. 

The only escape for the rest of us is coming our way in November.  Let's hope we come to the end of this long national disaster at the voting booth.

Saturday cabin picture.   That looks like a fine - in fact just about perfect - cabin for the proverbial getaway.  Imagine sitting on the front steps there with a steaming hot cup of joe, and a couple of dogs at your feet, as you contemplate the possibilities of the day ahead.  

Heaven!

Well, we now have this year's goat babies at our house.

This is the second year the wife and girls have agreed to foster baby miniature goats for a gal down the street.  She sells them as pets, and in order to socialize them with people, we take them just after they are born and raise them up, feeding them with a bottle every couple of hours or so.

They catch on to the process quickly, and they are as cute as can be. The girls love it, and it also teaches them quite a bit of responsibility. The wife gets to talk baby talk to them as well, which entertains everyone.

After a couple of months of this intense attention, they are totally imprinted on people, and they will come to the call like a dog.  They make good if mischievous pets, behaving much like a dog that wants to play tricks all the time.   

I'm sure this will be an entertaining couple of months here at the house.