Soy-oy-oy-oy-oy

The title reminds me of this limerick I used to sing as a kid, along with Wee Sing Silly Songs:
Aye aye aye aye
In China they never grow chili.
So sing me another verse that's worse than the first verse.
Make sure that it's foolish and silly!

I wish I had a good segue for my post about food, but I don't. Okay, so for lunch today one of my co-workers made these delicious soy burgers from scratch. He just bought a bag of soybeans for a buck, soaked them and then chopped them up in the food processor with some vegetables. I'm going to work on developing the recipe, but basically you can make 15 large patties with one bag of soy beans, 2 extra large zucchini, 1 large bell pepper, 1 1/2 bags mushrooms, 1 1/2 bundles green onions and a little cornstarch and cornmeal. And they are good. That means that for around $5 you can feed a whole slew of vegetarians at a barbeque! Not bad, my friends, not bad at all.

Enjoy your second weekend in August.

A Horse, Of Course

"There is something about the outside of a horse that is good for the inside of a man." -Winston Churchill

Boy, Remy, you sure are cute. Even with your mouth full.

Good Dog

“A dog is not considered a good dog because he is a good barker. A man is not considered a good man because he is a good talker.” –Buddha

Hello, Beautiful

Hello, beautiful. I just met you today, but I already feel comfortable calling you beautiful. You are incredibly stunning. I hope that's not out of place.

Forgive me if I've been too forward, but I have never met a Peruvian daffodil until today, and I now think that you might be one of the supermodels of the plant world.

But first, I had to dig a big hole in order to plant you in the garden.

Not to worry, I had a supervisor. Tucker was not far from sight, or the hole I was digging. I'm just glad he's more interested in dirt than the plant, as all parts of the plant are toxic. (Don't worry; he never came into contact with it, nor will he, and thus far he has suffered no ill effects, if his current snoring is any indication.)

Who knew dirt could be so comfortable?

Look! It's a Basset Hound in camouflage. Incredible, right? No one will ever be able to tell that he's here. Except, um, everyone. Don't tell Tucker, okay? He's doing his best to fit in, and we all know how difficult that is.

Objects of My Affection

The garden is brimming with these beauties. In the fading evening light, I go out to rows and pick a couple handfuls for dinner. It's a lovely time; I appreciate all the blood, sweat and tears that went into this production.

And by blood, sweat and tears, I mean that literally. It's been a wild ride, not one in which I ever imagined being able to harvest these at this rate. I'm seriously considering setting up an "on your honor" stand outside my house.

It's been a busy summer. Unfortunately, this blog has taken a bit of a back seat to working at my "normal" job, spending time with the animals, traveling and tending to the garden, in addition to taking care of the everyday life things. But I'm here, I promise. Please have patience with me posting. Please? I'm willing to beg. Thank you very much. Muchos gracias. Merci beaucoup. Maximus tibi gratias ago.

That's all the languages I know how to say thank you in, but I think you get the point.