Last week was a hectic one, with meetings the first four evenings of the week and an interview at the museum midweek. Several rainy days in a row set Jim behind in his work, but on Friday he was finally able to begin building a patio cover southwest of town. Then, when it finally dried up on the weekend, he had to catch up on the mowing, cutting the grass for a lady in Patriot Park on Saturday and mowing our yard Sunday afternoon.
I'm just an old softie when it comes to animals, so I rescued a plump hen which I saw in the ditch on my way home from the museum commission meeting Monday night. I kept her in Jim's lawn mower and tiller shed overnight, then went up in the rain Tuesday morning to borrow a cage from my brother-in-law. I also borrowed some antiseptic powder and doctored a wound on her side.
I toyed with the idea of keeping the hen, thinking I'd have a new pet and maybe get an egg now and then as a bonus. I had no chicken feed and she didn't seem too impressed by the bird feed I offered her as a temporary choice. I decided it wasn't practical to hang on to her and buy feed for just one chicken, so I visited friends who live a few blocks away and offered her to them. They seemed delighted to add another bird to their flock.
I asked for and was granted visiting rights since the hen's new home was nearby. Unfortunately, when I saw her new owner playing guitar with his friends at the farmers' market Saturday, he said she was no longer alive. His wife had discovered the hen had a broken leg and was going to set it. However, she wasn't eating or drinking either so they suspected she had internal injuries and decided to end her life. I was happy I had at least found her a good home for a few days and she didn't have to stay out in the midweek rain.
I got some nice red potatoes at the farmers' market and also bought a blackberry cobbler. It was delicious, with lots of berry juice to soak up the clumps of crust dropped on top. I was able to purchase it with my farmers' market tokens and, best of all, I didn't have to fight the briers, the heat and the June bugs to pick the berries. Blackberries have been good this year. Friends on a berry farm south of town gave me a box the previous week. Jim didn't want me to make a cobbler so I enjoyed some atop a bowl of vanilla ice cream one night and put others on my breakfast cereal several mornings. I'm still getting a few strawberries from our patch, and I've bought a box of blueberries at the farmers' market so we've been blessed with a variety of berries.
We've also enjoyed an abundance of squash. Friends at the Kingdom Hall shared squash, cucumbers and peppers. The next weekend sister Nancy and her husband dropped by and brought us a few squash. I fried a nice big zucchini one night and, a few days later, sister Mary Alice sent a bag of squash, peppers, tomatoes and cucumbers. Then Jim installed a water heater for folks who sent him home with a bag of yellow squash. That prompted me to get out my Farm Journal vegetable cookbook and prepare a baking dish full of Southwestern squash. It's a tasty dish flavored with onions, green chilies, melted butter and cheese.
Friends held a yard sale in Bentonville over the weekend. They're disposing of many possessions in anticipation of a move. I went with some early shoppers Friday and found a few treasures, a couple of pairs of sandals that fit real well, a pair of big mixing bowls, a trio of picture frames and a few books.
I sat down and read "The Delectable Apple" that evening and I'm looking forward to delving into "The Voices of Moccasin Creek," the record of a childhood spent in the mountains about 35 miles from Russellville. Then there's a colorful book telling how to attract birds to one's backyard and "Dogs," a photographer's record of over 220 breeds of dogs. Like I said, real treasures!
Susan Holland is a reporter for the Westside Eagle Observer. She may be contacted by email at [email protected]. Opinions expressed are those of the author.
Editorial on 07/15/2015